Media: January 2026 • In Remembrance
Tony Fitzpatrick (1958 – 2025)
2025 was an especially cruel year for this media writer because I lost two personal friends, Harry Teinowitz and Tony Fitzpatrick. Harry passed away in July, and Tony died in October. If the crowd you draw at your memorial is any indication, both men had a significant impact on the people who knew them.
Harry’s service at the Weinstein & Piser funeral home in Wilmette was jam-packed. Not an empty seat in the house. And when the speakers began, it was apparent the event was more akin to a roast than a wake. Harry would have loved that. His friend, co-writer (When Harry Met Rehab) and radio partner Spike Manton, set the tone.
“I thought I’d say something to Harry that he always wanted to hear. Harry, you look like you’ve lost some weight.”
Harry’s siblings and his daughter also spoke and told funny stories about the former sportscaster/actor/comedian/writer.
I interviewed Harry for this column in 2021, and he reminisced about his most famous stint on the radio in Chicago, his time on the incredibly popular Mac, Jurko, and Harry Show on ESPN Radio (AM 1000). “Mac (Dan McNeil), to his credit, found Jurko (John Jurkovic). Jurko was the most secure guy I’ve ever met. Even though he grew up in Cal City and sounded like a dese, dem, and dose guy, he often had the most thoughtful and incredible insight. He was the smartest guy in the room. And Mac could have called it the Dan McNeil show, but he called it Mac, Jurko, and Harry. I’ll always appreciate that.”
Harry feared he would only be remembered for his very public DUI arrest (“when you Google me, it’s still the first thing that comes up”), but he wasn’t correct about that. He will be remembered for his multi-decade radio career, including stints at WMVP (Harry & Spike) and the Loop (on Danny Bonaduce’s and Johnny B’s show). He will be remembered for his stand-up comedy, his role in the film Risky Business, and his Jeff-nominated play When Harry Met Rehab. But most of all, he will be remembered for his humor, generosity, and the joy he brought to so many.
Harry’s departure leaves a big hole in the lives of his friends and family, but it’s also essential to send Bruce Springsteen condolences. The Boss has felt a dent in his pocketbook now that Harry is no longer around to spend a fortune on Bruce’s concerts and recordings.
Tony Fitzpatrick was a Renaissance man. An acclaimed artist, poet, author, actor, and radio personality. He was the kind of man whose larger-than-life personality took over every room he entered, and considering the people who were his friends and colleagues, that’s really saying something.
Tony’s celebration of life wasn’t held at a funeral home. It was held at the Metro. And it was standing-room-only-packed-to-the-gills. The three-hour show featured speeches, poetry, musical performances, videos, and even a New Orleans-style funeral parade along Clark Street.
I met Tony thirty-plus years ago when we both worked at WLUP. At that time, he was co-hosting **Drive In Reviews with Buzz Kilman. The two men would muse about “quality kills” in the films they loved. Tony was already a well-known artist by then. His artwork graced the album covers of artists such as the Neville Brothers and Steve Earle.
But as bombastic and enthusiastic as Tony could be, he had another side to him. He was a sensitive, introspective, and generous soul. That’s reflected in his art. His love of birds and dogs. And his mentoring of young artists. Despite his tough-guy appearance, his humanity always seemed to shine through.
This past summer, Tony called me to say he had written a book and wanted my publishing company (Eckhartz Press) to publish it. I came to his art studio on Damon to discuss it, and he admitted that he was undergoing some health issues at the time. The next time I saw him, he had oxygen tubes coming out of his nose. When I asked him about it, he waved me off. We had important things to discuss. This new book. The stage show he was planning based on it, which was scheduled for mid-October at Steppenwolf.
He called me just as we were going to press. I had taken the day off to go golfing, so I missed his repeated calls. My co-publisher reached me first and told me that Tony had been taken to the emergency room. I called Tony right away.
“What happened?” I asked.
“My lungs aren’t working,” he said. “I need a double lung transplant.”
“Oh my God,” I responded. “I’m so sorry I missed your call.”
“That’s not why I’m calling,” he replied. “I found a spelling mistake in the book. Is it too late to fix it?”
That was Tony. When I visited him in the hospital, I asked him something I had been wondering about since the day he sent me the manuscript. The book is called **The Sun at the End of the Road.
“Were you trying to tell us something with this title?”
He got a big smile on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, pal,” he answered with a twinkle in his eye.
Tony died the next day.
Rest in peace, Tony Fitzpatrick and Harry Teinowitz.
2026 won’t be the same without you.
-Rick Kaempfer
