Local radio icon Arnold dead at 79
Beloved local broadcaster Arnold “Bruce Arnold” Salvucci of Lynn, remembered as the “Voice of the Merrimack Valley” and “Mr. WCCM,” died Saturday night at Grosvenor Park Health Center in Salem. He was 79.
“Bruce was one of the kindest and giving individuals I have ever met. He always took great joy in the success of others and was a champion for many young broadcasters, like myself, as we progressed through the industry and in our careers,” said Cary Pahigian, former manager of WBZ Radio. “I first met him as an aspiring broadcaster as a teenager. He made an immediate impression on me. The moment you met him, you knew you had a friend, a supporter and someone you could lean on for advice and guidance.
“He loved the broadcast media business and was always his happiest, other than time with his family, at the radio station or TV station doing what he loved best. The words that always will come to mind for me are generous, classy, gentle and supportive,” Pahigian said.
Lou Blasi, a current talk show host for Greater Lawrence’s WCCM and Sirius XM Fantasy Sports Radio, worked with Salvucci for many years.
“I don’t know anyone who was as universally and relentlessly loved as Bruce was, by people who just heard his voice on the radio, and by people who worked with him and for him every day,” Blasi said. “You live hoping that you leave as a legacy one or two people who feel about you, the way everyone who knew him felt about Bruce. And you are lucky if you do. No one builds the legacy Bruce built in his life. He was an incredible man,” Blasi said. “He is part of everyone’s family in the Merrimack Valley.”
Born and raised in Lynn, Mr. Salvucci’s first radio job was in 1955 in Conway, N.H. During his military service, Mr. Salvucci worked for Armed Forces Radio and TV at WXLE. In 1959, Mr. Salvucci became a program manager and hosted an early morning show for WCCM.
In 2010, after 55 years in the radio and television industry, Mr. Salvucci was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Mr. Salvucci met his wife of 54 years, Lenora (Pettinelli), an employee of Lawrence General Hospital, when she called in weekly birth announcements for his radio show.
Besides his wife, Mr. Salvucci is survived by his two daughters, Sharon Crowell of Lynn and Lisa Shaffaval of Salisbury; six grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Visiting hours will be from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday at Cataudella Funeral Home, Methuen.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Holy Rosary Church, Lawrence.
WCCM will host an open line to remember Bruce Arnold during today’s morning show.