Maine Radio Legend Chuck Foster’s Unexpected Death Still Hurts Years Later

Take a moment today to remember the life of the late, great Chuck Foster. 

On Aug. 28, 2018, we lost a legend here in Bangor.

I can't believe it has been five years since we lost our dear friend and co-worker, Chuck Foster. There are just not enough words to express how much I miss him, not only as a member of the Z team, but as someone that I spent a great deal of time with on a personal level. He was my neighbor and we used to have our weekly TV nights, watching whatever the hot show was at the time. We watched every episode of The Sopranos, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and so many others, It was something I looked forward to every week, hanging with Chuck, and whatever dog, or cat, he had at the time ... and he had many. He was such a lover of animals.

Chuck was just 64 years old when he left us. He died as the result of injuries sustained in a fall at his home.

To go and look back on his career takes some time because he had a legendary one.

Born David Turek, Foster had radio in his blood. His mother was Maine’s first country music DJ. His father was a ham radio operator. His 48-year career in the radio industry included stints at WQCB, WWMJ, WWFX, WZON and WGUY in Bangor, WLOB in Portland and WABK and WRDO in Augusta and, of course, at Z-107.3

He also was the creator of All Hit Videos, America’s longest-running music video show on broadcast TV, which premiered in Maine on Friday, Sept. 23, 1983. It aired on WVII-ABC in Bangor and WBGR in Bangor, and was repeated on Adelphia Cable in the Augusta/Waterville area. It even aired in Texas. It was so popular, in fact, that it expanded to Saturday nights and consistently topped the ratings there, beating Saturday Night Live in that time slot.

During his career, he interviewed several top artists such as KISS, Quiet Riot, Twisted Sister, REO Speedwagon and Bon Jovi. He was mentioned in Stephen King’s book, It, written in as a local DJ named Chuck Foster. Foster and King had been friends since King was teaching English, well before he became a household name.

To say Chuck Foster was loved by all of us here would be an understatement. He left behind many fans, acquaintances and long-time friends. In fact, we have a framed photo of Chuck back in his Z-62 days that hangs right in the on-air studio, so he is always with us, laughing and smiling, which is exactly how I want to remember him.

His passing is still difficult for me now, even five years later. The day after we received the news in 2018, I and The Nite Show's Dan Cashman, shared our stories and memories about Chuck's life, legacy, and amazing career. Even though we were live on the air that morning, we just opened up our hearts and spoke about Chuck for 22 minutes. I could have gone on for another hour.

Rest in peace. We love you!