Skinny Bobby Harper

Who was Skinny Bobby Harper?

Skinny Bobby Harper was a Canadian radio and video DJ. First making it big in Cincinnati, Ohio at WSAI and in Kansas City, Missouri at WDAF-AM, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the late 1960s and joined the staff of WQXI radio, where WKRP in Cincinnati creator Hugh Wilson used him as inspiration for the sitcom's off-the-wall character Dr. Johnny Fever.

While in Atlanta, Harper also worked for seven radio stations including WGST, WLTA, WKLS and WSB. Born and raised in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, Harper's die-hard hockey fandom drove him to serve as a color commentator for Atlanta Flames radio broadcasts. After being released from WSB in 1991, Harper worked apart from radio in the corporate communications office of Delta Air Lines. He went on to work for MARTA and Underground Atlanta before retiring.

Bobby Harper died on July 22, 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia, from cancer.