Gerry Ryan

Gerry Ryan

Gerard "Gerry" Ryan (5 June 1956 – 30 April 2010) was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). He presented The Gerry Ryan Show on radio station RTÉ 2fm each weekday morning from 1988 until hours before his sudden death. He was presented with a Jacob's Award for this show in 1990.

Ryan hosted several series of television shows, including Secrets, Gerry Ryan Tonight, Ryantown, Gerry Ryan's Hitlist, Ryan Confidential and Operation Transformation. In 1987, he earned notoriety and the moniker "Lambo" after an unpleasant incident in Connemara. He was also noted for co-presenting, with Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, Eurovision Song Contest 1994 and, in 2008, presenting an edition of The Late Late Show, television's longest-running chat show, in place of the then regular host Pat Kenny. An autobiography, Would the Real Gerry Ryan Please Stand Up, was published in October 2008.

He married Morah Brennan in 1988 and they had five children: Lottie, Rex, Bonnie, Elliott and Babette. In 1997, Morah famously telephoned her husband's show and, under the name Norah, told half a million listeners intimate details concerning his personal household habits. Gerry and Morah announced their separation in March 2008. He soon began a relationship with the former South African Ambassador to Ireland and the then UNICEF Ireland executive director, Melanie Verwoerd.

Ryan was found dead in his Dublin apartment on 30 April 2010. An inquest adjudged his death to have been caused by cocaine and alcohol consumption.