Danny Perasa, Pundit on Radio for Eternal Romance, Dies at 67
NY Times
Danny Perasa, a nimble-witted leprechaun of a man who captivated radio listeners across the nation with goofy, slyly wise stories, most touchingly about his romance with the woman who became his wife, died on Friday at his home in Brooklyn.
He was 67, and died in the arms of that woman, Annie Perasa. The cause was pancreatic cancer resulting from diabetes, she said.
Mr. Perasa was a member of the office staff at The New York Times for 34 years, then worked for the New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation. But, in a sense, his true life’s work was storytelling. Indeed, he and his wife became beloved among National Public Radio listeners who relish great stories. On Aug. 11, 2004, the 27th anniversary of the day they met, those listeners heard him tell of their snap engagement.
The Perasas had long recounted their adventures through StoryCorps, an organization that seeks to capture the life experiences of ordinary people. Participants enter soundproof booths to spin tales that StoryCorps hopes will become a national oral history. Discs of interviews go to the Library of Congress, and some of the more interesting ones go to NPR.
“Maybe I’ve still got the instincts and intellect of a 6-year-old,” Mr. Perasa said when he was 63, “and maybe I’m better off for it.”
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