The Original Harold Lee Rush (1950-2022)

The creative genius and performance energy of Harold Lee Rush was recognized and celebrated for over four decades. At Chicago’s famed Englewood High School, Harold was a multi-year President of the Drama Club. He then toured nationally with the Robin Hood Players Professional Theatre Company and appeared in the first Black-produced dramatic TV series in the U.S., “Bird of the Iron Feather” on Chicago’s Public Television Station WTTW. During this time, he also performed with various Black theatre organizations in a variety of roles.

Back: Ramonski Luv, Doug Banks Front: JJ Jackson, Bonnie DeShong, Harold Lee Rush and Jerry Kuc

Back: Harold Lee Rush, Bonnie DeShong, JJ Jackson, Front: Wanda Wells, Doug Banks , and Jerry Kue

In 1982, Harold’s broadcasting talents were discovered by Marv Dyson, who hired him at Chicago’s WGCI radio as the producer and co-host of the powerhouse morning show, first with Bob Wall (as the only Black-White morning duo in a major market), then with Doug Banks, where Rush created the “Front Page” segment, which has been copied in morning shows across the country.

In the decade at the Gannett-owned company, Rush hosted broadcasts all over the U.S. and around the world, including London, Senegal, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, becoming one of the most well-known media personalities in Chicago, hosting TV shows, adjunct teaching at Columbia College Chicago and speaking at high schools, universities and organizations throughout the Midwest.

Rust hosted and produced programming at WGCI AM/FM, He worked at Johnson Publishing Company as morning show host at WJPC-FM radio (J106) and was the announcer for “Ebony-Jet Showcase” TV show. He was a talk show host at WVON-AM and hosted two television series at CAN-TV (“Rush Street” and “One Step Closer To The Top”). Rush has also authored internationally award-winning poetry and was much in demand as a Spoken Word artist.

Harold’s community service was recognized and honored by many organizations including Outstanding Young Men of America (1983 and 1986), UNCF Distinguished Leader Award (1987), Malcolm X College (Honorary Associates Degree 1984), Chicago Board of Education, and The Chicago Police Department “We Care” Role Model Program (1987-1990) and the Monarch Award from Xi Nu Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (1987).

After ten years in Atlanta, having expanded his broadcast horizons to include program management at WIGO radio and mastering emerging Internet technologies, Harold returned to Chicago in 2003 to assume marketing responsibilities for The Bronzeville Press. Their most popular book was ‘KINGS: The True Story of Chicago’s Policy Kings and Numbers Racketeers’, with publisher Nathan Thompson.

Harold went from a multi-facet career and in 2005 he went to WKKC FM, the official radio station of the City Colleges of Chicago as a Broadcaster and Instructor for students in the Media Communications Programs. Here he took to the airways and informed local Chicagoans on a multitude of issues, interviewing common folk making an indelible difference while mentoring young people who dreamt of a career in radio broadcasting. He retired in June 2020 from WKKC and continued to educate and inform his over 30,000 Facebook followers on the significance of African American History, then and now.