Longtime Eugene country radio host Bill Barrett dies from cancer at 71

Longtime Eugene radio personality Bill Barrett died Wednesday following a longtime battle with cancer.

Barrett, 71, had spent over 50 years working in radio as an on-air host and personality and for 24 years hosting morning shows on New Country 93.3 FM.

Tracy Berry, a friend and co-worker of Barrett's at New Country, said Barrett was considered by many to be the best radio host in Eugene. She described him as creative, clever, funny and "someone with a heart of gold."

"He loved radio, he's got a truly creative sense of humor, was a man of 1,000 voices, and was one of the top voiceover artists on the West Coast for years," Berry said. "He absolutely just cared about so many things in the community."

Barrett moved into hospice care late last week but had first been diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2017, Berry said. After having a kidney removed in 2018, Barrett recovered in time to be inducted into the Country Radio Hall of Fame. Earlier this year, however, doctors found that his cancer had come back, Berry said.

Barrett fell in love with Eugene when he moved to the city from California in the 1970s, Berry said. In his heyday, he could be heard doing radio announcements and commercials all across the western United States.

The popular host retired in mid January of 2021, but still came back occasionally when Berry's co-host, Tim Fox, was on vacation, she said. The last time Barrett hosted with Berry was in February. Barrett had 11 kids, including eight who were adopted and one who he fostered. Barrett's hobbies included flying airplanes, fishing and driving into rural areas, Berry said.

Family and friends are devastated about his death, Berry said, noting that Barrett has dealt with his health challenges with "so much decency and grace, and there's so much love surrounding him."

"Miss him like crazy, but so glad he was a part of our lives," Berry wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday.

Fox, Barrett's longtime co-host, said Barrett's charisma was the first thing that comes to his mind when he thinks of him.

"I owe a lot of who I am to him. When he came into my life, my life changed and I became a better person just by knowing him," Fox said.

Fox and Barrett topped the radio charts every year they hosted mornings together, Fox said. When they met, the chemistry was instant, and Fox said it was similar to the strong chemistry of the characters on Seinfeld.

"Seinfeld was a weird show — it was the chemistry of the people that made it so popular — and that's what it was with us," Fox said.

Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.