Allan Stagg Signs Off

By Scott Smith in News on Jan 3, 2007 4:39PM

Allan Stagg, the Chicago DJ who hosted “Sanctuary,” an homage to the days of underground FM radio, died Monday night in Battle Creek, Michigan, (last item) due to complications from pneumonia.

Stagg started his radio career in Chicago at WCKG in 1987 after living the life of the itinerant radio jock throughout his home state of Michigan, where he was known as George Stagg, George Jay and other noms d'air. He later moved on to WLS-FM 94.7, which later became CD 94.7 and was the birthplace of Sanctuary, a late-night radio program featuring album tracks and recreating the progressive FM radio sound. After yet another format change, Stagg moved to WDRV 97.1 FM, where he was later fired, in his words, “over wording on a tongue-in-cheek photo tour … a few quips made in jest didn't sit well with Bonneville's programming department.” Recently, Stagg worked as morning show host and program director of WWKN-FM in Battle Creek, Michigan. (More information on his career can be found under his entry at 440.com.)

Though Stagg spent years here as a radio personality, many more listeners heard him as a voiceover artist for commercials and station IDs (Stagg was also the voice of KINK-FM in Portland). While CBS-2 is running a picture of Stagg looking particularly grandpa-like, we remember him as sporting the leather and shades look found in most of his head shots and proclaiming himself to be an “aging teen idol.” If radio is truly theater of the mind, then Stagg was one of the best artistic directors we ever heard.

You can hear some of Stagg's work on his Web site as well as episode 37 of Schadenfreude's radio show from 2004.