Bob Kevoian, the co-founder and unmistakable laugh behind The Bob & Tom Show, died Friday at 75 after a three-year battle with cancer. The Indianapolis radio mainstay helped turn a local morning show into one of the country’s longest-running comedy powerhouses. He stepped away from the daily grind in 2015 but stayed in the public ear through podcasts and occasional on-air drop-ins.
Show Breaks the News of His Death
The Bob & Tom Show shared word of Kevoian’s death on its social pages, saying he died at home after a three-year fight with cancer. The notice appeared on the show’s Facebook page, and by Friday night social media was flooded with memories and tributes, according to The Indianapolis Star. The outlet reported that Kevoian was 75.
From Indy Morning Slot to National Comedy Staple
Kevoian and Tom Griswold launched The Bob & Tom Show on March 7, 1983, at WFBQ-FM in Indianapolis. What started as a local morning show turned into a syndication success story in the mid-1990s, eventually landing on roughly 100 stations across the country, according to the Indianapolis Business Journal. The duo’s run was capped with induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2015, as noted by the Radio Hall of Fame.
Retirement, Cancer Fight and a Candid Podcast
Kevoian used that 2015 Hall of Fame ceremony to announce his retirement, stepping away from the regular morning slot at the end of that year, according to RadioWorld. In 2023, he went public with a stomach-cancer diagnosis and launched a brutally honest, darkly funny podcast, "The Bob & Cancer Show," to walk listeners through his radiation and chemotherapy experience, as reported by WIBA. “You do not lose your sense of humor because you have cancer,” Kevoian said on the podcast, according to WIBA.
Fans Remember the Laugh and the Legacy
After news broke, social media and fellow broadcasters quickly filled with tributes. Fans swapped stories about Kevoian’s contagious laugh, laser timing and irreverent bits that helped define mornings in Indianapolis. Initial coverage gathered those reactions from the show’s Facebook page and other platforms, according to The Indianapolis Star. For many listeners, Kevoian’s partnership with Griswold turned a homegrown Indy program into a national launching pad for comedians and touring shows.
Show Rolls On as Tributes Await
The Bob & Tom Show continues to broadcast from its Indianapolis studios with Tom Griswold and the current cast, according to the program’s site and distribution notes at The Bob & Tom Show. The show has not yet released details about services, public memorials or any planned broadcast tributes to Kevoian.
