This one hits hard. Ian Punnett was a friend through the darkness of the night. A radio host, deacon, and professor.. he is dead at a the age of 63.
The Coast to Coast family, both near and extended, have been rocked by news tonight that Punnett has left this planet right before Christmas.
From the Coast website, as written by Lisa Lyon:
It is with deep sadness that we share the news that Ian Punnett passed away from a brief illness yesterday. His keen intellect and delightful sense of humor will be deeply missed. Since 2000, Ian has, in various incarnations, been a valued host of Coast to Coast AM, including regular weekend hosting duties, his own spin-off show Coast to Coast LIVE with Ian Punnett, a podcast entitled Vaudeville for the Frightened, and most recently twice a month hosting duties.
I’ve had the privilege of producing for Ian these past 24 years, and I will miss our friendship and the professional collaboration. Every conversation behind the scenes was as lively and entertaining and everything we strive for on the air. Ian was great radio personified.
Since Art Bell’s demise in 2018, Punnett was the last connection to the “old days“. He gave us memorable programs, great radio. And the horse guy! And for those who knew him personally, he was a friend and mentor along with a professor and someone who had a deep religious conviction. I was lucky enough to be able to say I talked to him briefly on a few occasions and he was a class act.
Coast to Coast just got a whole lot less interesting. And the world a much less interesting place.
May God have mercy on his wife and two sons..
