Danny Simar, a former WFMF morning co-host and Baton Rouge radio legend, has passed.
From 1979 to 1990 Randy Rice, Jim Nasium and Margaret Taylor were the top morning radio trio in Baton Rouge. They were part of the morning routine for anyone who "grew up" in the 80s in BR - and at a time where the only entertainment in car was radio and a cassette player.
Jim Nasium was the "countrified" alter ego of Danny Simar, born in Orange, Texas, and a Baton Rouge resident for nearly 50 years. He started as a Sports reporter on WJBO when he and then-WFMF-Program-Director Randy Rice became a team - "Jim Nasium" was born and the rest is history.
He's best remembered for "Tiger Tracks" which were produced before all LSU football games. Jim asked coaches and players questions and the answers were the hooks of the biggest songs that week. Not to mention the familiar "Traffic Watch TV ad" that ran in theatres and local TV.
Danny retired from radio in the 1990s to focus on his health and family after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. The iHeartMedia Baton Rouge family of radio stations are airing tributes for the next several days, including a personal message from Randy Rice. We will all miss the great Danny Simar, aka Jim Nasium. Please join us in remembrance of Danny and his family during this time.
An early 1980s billboard on Interstate 10 in Baton Rouge at the Perkins Road overpass promotes the Rice and Naze Morning Show on WFMF.Photo: Randy Rice