Long-time Dallas radio and talk show host Jim White died on June 4, at 73 years old. According to Dallas Culture Map, White’s death was confirmed by his wife, Vicki Briley-White. He had been in hospice care for two months after learning he had cancer.
“This has been a fast and shocking journey for us. We had barely comprehended that he was ill, much less he is now gone from us,” Briley-White said.
White spent 1995 to 2004 as a talk show host and reporter for 1080 KRLD. According to Dallas Culture Map, he also hosted The KRLD Restaurant Show with Jim White. Shows lasted two hours and featured interviews with cookbook authors, winemakers, famous chefs, and restaurateurs. The show also earned a James Beard Foundation nomination for Best Radio Show on Food.
White’s career first started in 1968 when he was still in college at the University of Texas at Arlington. Channel 39, a new Dallas TV station at the time, hired White. During that time, he spent weekends trying to start his broadcast career working alongside radio personality Ron Chapman.
While at KRLD, White also helped found an annual fundraiser for North Texas Food Bank, KRLD Restaurant Week reported.
“He was ahead of his time in his enthusiasm for the food and beverage scene, producing and hosting videos featuring famous chefs, winemakers, and wine and food destinations, long before social media made such coverage common,” Dallas Culture Map shared.
White spent 1995 to 1997 as a news anchor and was recognized for Best Newscast in Texas by the Associated Press. According to Dallas Culture Map, White’s voice became one of the signatures of KRLD during his time as a host.
He launched the website and podcast called Wining & Dining with Jim White in more recent years. White frequently interviewed top chefs and influential figures in the wine industry.
White also helped establish the Savor Dallas event in 2005 with his wife, Dallas Culture Map reported. It was one of the first events in Dallas designed for foodies and brought in crowds of around 4,000 people each year. The Dallas Morning News sponsored the festival from 2014 until the festival ended in 2018.
Briley-White told Dallas Culture Map that her husband was a good man who many people would miss.
“He will be greatly missed by me and others. He was a kind, generous, highly principled, loving man who wanted everyone to succeed. He never held any hard feelings. A rare man indeed,” she said.
In addition to White’s experience in Dallas radio, he also worked for talk and news stations in San Francisco and Chicago. He was an actor and voice actor in films and commercials over the years.
According to Dallas Culture Map, a memorial service will be held at Wilshire Baptist Church later this month. An official date has not yet been announced.