On April 11, 2020 Brad Davis observed a remarkable feat - his 43rd anniversary as morning man at WDRC AM. At various times his show has been heard on both AM and FM but Davis was already a broadcast veteran by the time he arrived at Big D in 1977.

A native of Stafford Springs, Bradford Wells Davis was raised on his grandfather's dairy farm in the Hazardville section of Enfield. He graduated from Enfield High School and attended Springfield College and Leland Powers School of Radio and Television in Boston. After a stint in the U.S. Marines he began working at WACE in Chicopee in 1956.

An advertising executive heard Davis talking about milk on one of his shows and invited him to audition as host for a new program being designed for WTIC TV-3 in Hartford. It began airing Saturday, October 3, 1959 and ran for 11 years.

The Brad Davis Show was Connecticut's answer to Dick Clark's Bandstand. It was a Saturday afternoon show featuring live local teenagers dancing to the day's hottest records - sponsored by Connecticut's milk producers.

During the 1960s Brad did quite a bit of work on WTIC Radio. In the mid 60s he hosted the station's popular Saturday night Hootenanny Road Show. Featuring live performances by folk artists, the show was aired from a different high school or college campus every week.

In 1969 Brad was teamed with John Sablon on Channel 3's What's Happening, a weekly investigative public affairs show.

He was a frequent emcee at community events including the annual lighting of the Christmas decorations at Constitution Plaza.

Charlie Parker hired Mr. Connecticut for 6:00-10:00AM effective April 11, 1977. His early WDRC shows were primarily music-oriented, but Brad relied heavily on telephone calls from listeners. Gradually guests were added and for several years the show has been predominately talk-oriented. He is at home with governors, community leaders movers and shakers.

Ever the trooper, Brad did his show from Hartford's Rehabilitation Hospital for several days in November 1996 as he recovered from hip surgery caused by years of playing arena polo.

Brad's wife, Rosanna Maria (Minnucci) Davis died on January 23, 2007 at the age of 67. They had been married since 1969.

On October 20, 2015, Brad was inducted into the Connecticut Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame.

Brad's departure from The Talk of Connecticut was gradual - and sad.

For some time his health had been slipping. He was, after all, in his mid 80s. In late January 2020, co-host Gary Byron told listeners Brad was sick with the flu. But their program was still branded as The Brad Davis Show with Gary Byron.

On February 25 the station posted the images to the right on its Facebook page to celebrate Brad's birthday. Numerous listeners responded with greetings and some wondered when Brad would return to the airwaves.

April 11, 2020 was Brad's 43rd anniversary as morning drive host on WDRC AM.

On April 23 Brad's name was still listed on the company website. After that it wasn't.

Brad is now living at the Connecticut Veterans Home in Rocky Hill.

Enjoy some newspaper clippings from Brad's WDRC career.

Brad Davis Show on TV Aimed at Teen-viewers (Hartford Courant TV Week, September 27, 1959)
Davis to Leave TV for Radio Spot (Hartford Courant, March, 1977)
"Community involvement" (Hartford Courant, October 28, 1979)
"On another station soon" (Hartford Courant, January 27, 1980)
"AM/FM split" (Hartford Courant, August 6, 1982)
Brad Davis: Our Radio Friend Recalls Youth Without Father
(Hartford Courant Good Life, June/July 1994)