Arthur J. Singer

Arthur J. Singer died peacefully in the San Francisco Bay Area on September 19, 2024. He was 85. Born in Boston on March 24, 1939 to Samuel and Gertrude Singer, he grew up in Dorchester. From an early age, he was attracted to the arts and media of the city, from its seven daily newspapers and its diverse and pioneering radio and television stations, to its movie houses, theaters, and concert halls. He spent summers on Nantasket Beach, where he got his first job in show business—as an usher at the Bayside Theater.

Art attended Roxbury Memorial High School for Boys and Boston University, where he earned a BS in Marketing and Advertising in 1960, and an MS in Communications in 1961. At BU, he learned broadcast history and production theory. During an internship at WGBH, the first public TV station in Boston, he learned what it took to actually create TV programs. He was there at the infancy of what he sensed could be a new direction for broadcast television—and he was hooked. While at BU he met Donna Levin, who became his wife for 59 years.

Art began his career as a radio documentary writer and on-air host at WBUR in Boston, and as a producer-director at WEDH-TV in Hartford. He also served as a Staff Sergeant in the 357th Civil Affairs Unit of the U.S. Army Reserves from 1961-1967. In 1967, he became Director of Development at WETA-TV in Washington, DC.

In 1972 Art moved with Donna and their two small children to Schenectady, NY to become Director of Development at WMHT TV-FM. For nine years he led the station’s fundraising efforts and was a recognizable face during on-air pledge drives. In 1981, he became General Manager of New Hampshire Public Television in Durham. Over the next fourteen years, he and his staff transformed NHPTV into a major regional media voice and one of the most successful public networks in the industry, with viewers in four states.

Art was a consultant to public radio and TV stations around the country, and he served on the boards of many different types of organizations. He worked with state governors, made numerous appearances before state legislatures, and even testified before the U.S. Senate. He was also a talented writer. He wrote regularly for broadcast industry publications, wrote the definitive biography of radio and TV legend Arthur Godfrey (Arthur Godfrey: Adventures of an American Broadcaster, 2000), and co-wrote an illustrated history of Boston’s major role in the development of the film industry (Boston’s Downtown Movie Palaces, 2011).

From 1997-2005, Art was Associate Vice President for Television, Radio, and Film at Emerson College in Boston. He led the development of many new facilities, including a cutting-edge storefront studio for WERS-FM, and brought live TV broadcasting capability to the restored Cutler Majestic Theater.

After 2005, Art continued consulting, worked as an interim executive for multiple organizations, worked on various writing projects, and had many speaking engagements. From 2007 to 2013, he was the founding President of the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame, which still lives on. In 2016 Art and Donna moved to Marin County, California to be closer to their children and grandchildren.

Art valued his family and deep lifelong friendships more than anything. He also loved music, theater, the Red Sox, and bodysurfing in the ocean right up onto the sand. He is survived by his wife Donna, his son Michael, his daughter Marjorie, their spouses, and his four grandchildren.

Graveside service will be on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at 1:45 PM at Sharon Memorial Park in Sharon, MA. A memorial service will be held in the San Francisco Bay Area at a later date.