1. Kidd Kraddick’s Big Secret (January 2014)
“Kraddick had always moved a million miles a minute, manic, driven, restless. He forever seemed to be juggling his two cell-phones, wondering where he put his sunglasses, his keys, his coat, his car, opening his fifth can of Diet Coke, furiously typing a script for the show. He didn’t pay much attention to his health. Kraddick ate fast food, slept little, and smoked constantly (a habit he worked to keep from his listeners).
About four years ago, he began to look like he was paying the price for his hectic, unhealthy lifestyle. Already wiry and slender at 5 foot 8, he had shed pounds and taken on a pale, weak appearance. There were days when he didn’t make it to the studio, instead joining his co-hosts electronically from his downtown condo, his listeners never knowing the difference.
When people around the station quietly asked questions, Kraddick told them he hadn’t been feeling well, but he remained vague.”
Online only a short time during 2013, the story of Kraddick’s tragic death and his concealment of his fight against cancer proved meaningful to our readers in a way that few other stories in our magazine’s history have. Within just a few days of its publishing, it was already the most widely read article in the history of our website. If you haven’t already, read it now.
