Happy Bobby Rivers Day, Milwaukee!
Bobby Rivers was a maverick in the Milwaukee media scene and beyond. He pushed envelopes, rewrote rules and created a zone of wit, warmth, sass and smartness wherever he went.
Rivers, who would have turned 71 years old today, was a radio DJ, television host, entertainment writer, film critic and actor who started his career in Milwaukee in the 1970s. During his five-decade occupation, Rivers interviewed Robin Williams, Dolly Parton, Paul McCartney, RuPaul, Meryl Streep, Anne Rice, Shirley McClain, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosemary Clooney, Sally Field and many others.
He died at a hospital in Minneapolis from complications due to cancer on Decmeber 26, 2023.
Friends and family near and far are remembering him today – as many do most days – and Mayor Cavalier Johnson declared Sept. 20 “Bobby Rivers Day” in Milwaukee.
“Bobby had brilliant humor. He was quick and witty and at times made me laugh so hard I was certain we were going to get kicked out of the restaurant,” says retired advertising executive and photographer, Jay Filter, who was close friends and roommates with Rivers.
“Back in the 80s, we were inseparable: a gay Black man and straight White ad guy and no one could figure us out. We relished in that.”
Robert Bennett Rivers Jr. – aka “Bobby” – was born in Los Angeles on Sept. 20, 1953. He grew up in a middle class family with his mother, who was a nurse; his father, a mail carrier; brother, Tony; and sister, Betsy, who currently resides in Saint Paul, Minn.
“Most boys in the neighborhood were playing ball, but Bobby, he was more introverted and really into watching TV. He adored Fred Astaire and RKO movies,” says Betsy. “And always, always loved to make people laugh. I remember him making me laugh a lot in the back of the (family) car. I think it made him feel really good.”
In 1968, Rivers saw Harry Belafonte guest host “The Tonight Show” and it changed his life. It was the first time he saw a Black person host a talkshow on television. He was inspired and determined to find his way onto the screen.
In 1970, Rivers – a high school student at the time – made his first TV appearance on “The Movie Game,” a trivia game show about classic films that was shot in Hollywood. He creamed the competition, making him not only the youngest winner in the show’s history, but the program's first Black contestant.
With the encouragement of a high school teacher, Rivers decided to move to Milwaukee to attend Marquette University. He enrolled in 1972 and a few years later earned a degree in Broadcast Journalism. However, his reason for picking Marquette and moving halfway across the country had little to do with the university’s offerings. Instead, he allegedly went because Milwaukee was closer than Los Angeles to New York City. And New York City was his dream town.
Chris “CP” Peppas was in speech classes with Rivers at Marquette and the two struck up a friendship. Although Rivers was yet to break into local radio or television, his trajectory was clear to his classmates.
“Bobby had that ‘star power’ immediately,” says Peppas, a Milwaukee-based musician and manager. “He drew people to him like the magnet in a supercollider.”
During college, Rivers held part-time jobs ushering at Milwaukee's Performing Arts Center (now the Marcus Performing Arts Center) and working in the Pabst Theater box office. He struggled to get a gig in media – and was even discouraged by local producers for not looking the part (ahem) – but eventually got a job writing weekend newscasts at WRIT.
Before long, Rivers was yearning for more – and more creative – on-air time. WQFM – referred to as “93QFM” or “QFM” – was the top rock station in Milwaukee and Rivers applied for a position five times before finally landing a job. He caught the attention of the program manager after listing “origami and performing frontal lobotomies” as his hobbies on his employment application.
At QFM, Rivers met Robert Marsh – known on the radio as Paul Kelly – and the two hit if off. Eventually, they formed a morning show called “Kelly & Rivers.”
“The more we DJ’d, the more people liked it,” says Marsh.
Rivers on-air persona was affable, sarcastic, whip-smart and unlike any of the other voices on Milwaukee radio. His first interview was with legendary actress Bette Davis and this delighted him.
“Bobby was an amazing encyclopedia of movie, trivia and information, especially older films,” says TV/film producer and friend of Rivers, Frank Datzer.
Rivers had an edgy sense of humor that sometimes caught people off guard. Marsh remembers broadcasting live from Summerfest with Rivers in 1978. Popular local talkshow couple Howard and Rosemary Gernette were filming “Dialing For Dollars” on a stage near QFM’s.
“One morning, Bobby sent Rosemary a note via her cameraman that said, ‘You and I have something in common: black roots,’” says Marsh.
As a gay, Black man living in the Midwest in the 1970s and 80s, Rivers had to censor what he said during broadcasts, but he sometimes made references that were enthusiastically received by his listeners. Especially his gay listeners.
“Bobby never announced he was gay, but his favorite thing was people who ‘got it.’” says Gino Salomone, film critic, TV host and friend of Rivers.
During one QFM broadcast, Rivers said there was “a big pile-up on Astor Street last night. Fortunately, no cars were involved." By this he meant there had been a larger-than-usual group of gay men cruising for connections at a popular late-night spot on the lower East Side.
Rivers didn’t want to veil who he was and felt frustrated with Milwaukee for its conservative attitude towards homosexuality despite the large number of gay residents.
"This huge gay scene was booming in Milwaukee, and yet, the rest of the world only saw Milwaukee as 'Happy Days',” Rivers told LGBTQ historian Michail Takach.
In 1978, program director Bill Stedman fired Rivers from WQFM for vague reasons, but the station received thousands of requests to bring him back, and so they did. Rivers became one of Milwaukee’s most popular event hosts as well, emceeing disco contests, a Village People look-alike contest at Mayfair Mall, a Darth Vader meet-and-greet at Gimbels and more.
“Wherever he went something cool and unusual happened,” says Salomone. “He could make anything funny.”
Sadly, the more visible Rivers became in Milwaukee media, the more he received racist and homophobic hate mail and phone calls.
“He took a lot of heat from a lot of people,” says Marsh. “A lot of prejudiced hate mail and calls, even death threats.”
During their time as roommates, Filter knew Rivers was suffering from being forced to live a closeted life in Milwaukee.
“Being gay was pretty underground back then and I know how frustrating that was for him,” says Filter. “Even though he got way more dates than I did.”
In 1979, Rivers left QFM and took a gig as a WISN-12 entertainment reporter. With this role, he became the first Black film critic to appear on Milwaukee television. He was a contributor to "PM Magazine," a localized version of "Entertainment Tonight," and went on to host “The More Show,” also on Channel 12.
“He had a great sense of humor and even then he showed he was an advocate for human rights and was aware and concerned about the discrimination in television and other industries,” says Datzer.
In the early 80s, his mother and siblings moved to Milwaukee. Rivers was making enough money to help them, but not enough. With this, and the fact he was ready for a larger and more inclusive city, he decided to finally move to New York City.
"I know New York is loud and vulgar, but so am I," Rivers told the Milwaukee Journal in 1985.
When Rivers arrived in the Big Apple, he received a call from Robin Williams. Allegedly, Williams welcomed him to New York and said, “I knew you would get here.”
Rivers was offered a late-night guest VJ spot on VH1, an adult contemporary music video channel that was part of MTV Networks. He later hosted “Watch Bobby Rivers,” making him the first Black male to host a VH1 talk show.
The show received positive reviews and solid ratings. New York Times critic Stephen Holden described Rivers as “a nerdy, post-collegiate Eddie Murphy with no axes to grind. He is a master interviewer with a gift for light, impromptu banter.”
However, VH1 never garnered the success that MTV did, and Rivers was let go from VH1 in 1990. He then hosted a late-night dating show "Bedroom Buddies," and reported on entertainment news for "Weekend Today" and "Good Day New York." In 1994, he hosted a special episode of PBS' "In the Life" honoring the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising.
In 2003, The Food Network recruited Rivers to host “Top 5,” a food-themed countdown show. A few years later, he appeared in two episodes of “The Sopranos,” playing, aptly, a newscaster.
“One night, I was watching 'Sopranos', and there was Bobby,” says Marsh.
As he did in Milwaukee, Rivers became frustrated with the limited opportunities he received in New York City and returned to his hometown of Los Angeles. He felt typecast and was primarily offered gigs covering “Black content,” like must-see films for Black History Month or to comment on a scandal involving a Black actor or musician.
“Bobby deserved better. He was such an incredible talent,” says Salomone.
Rivers moved to St. Paul, Minn. to be closer to his sister Betsy. From 2011 until a month before he passed, he wrote and reported on his blog, Bobby Rivers TV. He also wrote content for Ben Mankiewicz, primetime host for Turner Classic Movies.
“Bobby was more than just a TV personality. His genius was having a nugget of a story about any film you would discuss with him. He always knew so much more backstory than others,” says writer Gregory G. Allen, who was working on a book about Rivers' life that was halted when Rivers became ill.
In 2022, Rivers suffered several mini strokes and was diagnosed with lung cancer. He passed away on Dec. 26, 2023.
“Bobby kept his cancer a big secret from everyone. He didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him,” says Betsy. “But he still had his sense of humor until the end."
Rivers never married, but he did have a longtime partner at one point. “His name was Richard. Bobby had a thing for redheads,” says Betsy. “Richard died from complications from AIDS and Bobby never found anyone who was as good of a match.”
Rivers left behind thousands of fans and many devoted friends. Throughout 2024, Filter has been on a mission to share his ashes at his favorite places in Milwaukee, New York and Los Angeles.
“I asked his sister if I could disperse some of his ashes and she was relieved I wanted to do it,” says Filter.
So far, Filter has delivered ashes to Marquette University, Summerfest, their former East Side apartment and Lake Michigan. He traveled to New York City and visited Bow Bridge in Central Park, the location of his favorite brunch spot Eighteenth & 8th (now defunct), Times Square and outside the VH1 offices.
In December, Filter will travel to Los Angeles with Rivers’ ashes and visit the Comedy Store, the Hollywood Sign (as close as he can get to it as possible) and the gravesites of a number of his favorite actors and entertainers.
“I’m taking Bobby where he was at his very best,” says Filter. "And that's a lot of places."
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
