Host and producer for Studs Terkel, Lyric Opera at WFMT
Lois Baum was associate program director for 36 years at WFMT-FM, where her roles included co-hosting and co-producing the station’s annual Lyric Opera of Chicago broadcasts and collaborating with author and oral historian Studs Terkel on his daily program.
“She had a lovely voice and a beautiful, quiet personality, and her complementary personality to (co-host and program director) Norm Pellegrini’s on the Lyric Opera broadcasts was perfect,” said retired WFMT announcer Marty Robinson.
Baum, 87, died of natural causes June 17 at her Woodbridge, Connecticut, home, said her husband, David Krupp. She had been a longtime resident of Lakeview before moving to Connecticut last year.
Born and raised in Highland Park, Baum graduated from Highland Park High School. A classical pianist, she earned a bachelor’s degree in piano, harpsichord and organ from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in 1958.
Baum was acting music director at KPFK-FM radio in Southern California before joining Chicago classical music station WFMT in 1964 as its associate program director.
In 1968, WFMT’s owner, Bernie Jacobs, tried to sell the station, which needed all manner of improvements, to WGN-AM.
“We were in terrible straits,” Baum told the Tribune’s Eric Zorn in 1985. “Everything was breaking down. We had no tape to record on, no spare parts to the transmitter and no spare anything.”
Ultimately, the sale to WGN was voided after some Chicagoans, including investor Charles Benton — who had wanted to buy the station himself — and author Saul Bellow, sued in federal court, arguing that WGN shouldn’t be permitted to own another radio station in town. Exasperated WGN executives decided in 1969 to donate the station to charity, selecting public television station WTTW-Channel 11 as the recipient.
In 1971, WFMT began airing live broadcasts of opening nights at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, hosted first by Pellegrini alone. A year later, Baum joined Pellegrini as co-host, and their partnership continued for 35 years. The broadcasts aired nationwide on the WFMT Radio Network.
“She was exquisite. She prepared beautifully, and she did it just wonderfully,” said retired WFMT host Mel Zellman. “Norm Pellegrini valued her immensely because she was extremely good at what she did.”
From the 1980s into the 2000s, Baum co-hosted the Lyric Operathon, a 19-hour binge of music and conversation aimed at raising money for the Lyric Opera, along with Pellegrini and WFMT’s Ray Nordstrand.
For many years, Baum oversaw most of WFMT’s since-cancelled spokenword programs. She also produced retired Tribune critic Claudia Cassidy’s weekly arts commentaries on WFMT, which aired from 1968 until 1983.
“Lois was a crucial ingredient in creating the ethos of WFMT,” said Sydney Lewis, a former WFMT program department administrative assistant and Terkel’s former assistant.
“I learned so much from watching her work and hearing stories of her professional life as a female pioneer in the mostly male audio broadcast world — her exacting attention to detail, clarity (and) excellence as she produced spoken word essays and reviews” by Cassidy and Herman Kogan, among others,” Lewis said.
George Drury, who was WFMT’s spoken arts curator and now teaches English at Francis W. Parker School, noted that, as a woman, Baum occupied a rare place in WFMT.
“Lois believed in what she was doing, and she often accomplished what she did in the face of apathy, indifference and/or suspicion,” Drury said. “She was a remarkably successful woman in a predominantly male industry. For me, Lois remains a groundbreaking contributor to American broadcasting.”
Lewis characterized Baum as “cultured, sophisticated, elegant, well-spoken, knowledgeable, curious, determined, hardworking, caring, generous (and) nurturing.”
“(She) also was complicated, with a dash of temper and mood swingy-ness, but also a really good sense of humor,” Lewis said.
Baum produced documentaries with Terkel and WFMT announcer and producer Jim Unrath in the 1960s, and also produced Terkel’s daily talk show.
“Studs valued Lois’ opinions, and he appreciated her many contributions to the success of his show,” Drury said. “She was unstinting with her support, advice and encouragement.”
Following Terkel’s death in 2008, Baum assisted in the creation of the Studs Terkel Radio Archive, which WFMT formed in 2014 as a way to give greater access to Terkel’s daily program that aired from 1952 until 1997. Starting in 2012, Baum worked as an assistant in a survey of Terkel’s private papers.
Drury noted that WFMT and Nordstrand won a Peabody Award in 1984, and he said that “Lois’ work surely helped make that possible.”
“I think a constellation of factors enabled Lois to do such significant work,” Drury said. “Lois was wellread and interested in the world. She also was a personable, appealing on-air presence. She had what is often described as a ‘good radio voice.’ Her voice was at once elegant and down to earth.”
After retiring from WFMT in 2000, Baum remained affiliated with the station on a freelance basis, continuing to co-host the Lyric Opera opening night broadcasts until 2009 and helping the station’s archivist starting in 2010.
“I think what Lois loved about her work at WFMT was bringing the arts she loved to life for other people by taking them behind the scenes,” said Baum’s stepdaughter, Deborah Ketai. “She also loved interacting with critics — of both the arts and society — who were eloquent in sharing their views.”
In addition to her husband and stepdaughter, Baum is survived by a brother, John; a sister, Lynnea Rosner; and a stepson, Jon Krupp.
Baum’s family and friends are planning a celebration of her life.