The Big Lead

Popular Chicago sports-talk radio host dies

Also an actor and a playwright, the 64-year-old's magnetic personality won over his colleagues on the Chicago sports media scene as well as the athletes they discussed on-air.

By J.P. Hoornstra

An ESPN microphone before the game between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park on Apr 16, 2023.
An ESPN microphone before the game between the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park on Apr 16, 2023. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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Harry Teinowitz, a popular Chicago radio host, actor and playwright, died Tuesday. He was 64.

Danny Teinowitz told the Chicago Tribune that his brother died of complications from a liver transplant.

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Teinowitz was best known as one-third of WMVP's (ESPN 1000) “Mac, Jurko & Harry,” a Chicago sports radio powerhouse in the 2000s. Later, in 2014, Teinowitz joined 87.7-FM The Game in Chicago.

Along the way, Teinowitz's magnetic personality and gift for lightening the mood in any room earned respect not just from colleagues but the athletes they discussed on-air.

"Got the call today that my good friend Harry Teinowitz passed away, & my heart just sank," former Chicago Bear Jarrett Payton wrote on Twitter/X. "He believed in me before I believed in myself. Always lifting me up, always in my corner. Harry was the kind of friend everyone hopes to have in their life."

"Saddened to learn of the passing of Chicago media personality, Harry Teinowitz," former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Dan Evans, a Chicago native, wrote on Twitter/X. "One of the really good guys. Funny as hell. I enjoyed his wicked sense of humor and his love of baseball. Condolences to his family."

A 2011 DUI arrest became a turning point in Teinowitz's life. He went to rehab. Then he wrote a play about it — When Harry Met Rehab — that tapped into his showbiz roots.

Teinowitz had a bit part in the 1983 comedy movie “Risky Business.” His character complimented Tom Cruise’s on having a party with high school students and prostitutes.

The acting career didn't pan out, but Teinowitz carved his own path in becoming a household name to legions of Chicago-area sports fans.

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