South Florida radio icon ‘Young Ron’ Brewer dies

Ron Brewer, forever Young Ron in the hearts of a generation of South Florida commuters as cohost of the top-rated, morning-drive “Paul and Young Ron Show,” died on Wednesday in Ocala. He was 68.

Brewer spent more than a quarter-century on local radio playing beloved straight man to prankster Paul Castronovo, most recently on classic-rock station Big 105.9 (WBGG-FM). He retired in 2016 with a celebrity-packed final show that drew an overflow, early-morning audience at the Fort Lauderdale Improv.

Brewer, whose legal name was Ron Bates, and his wife moved recently to Ocala after nearly three decades living in the Parkland-Coral Springs area. There are as yet no plans for funeral services.

The partnership between zany DJ Castronovo and the deadpan news reader Brewer began in 1990 on WSHE (103.5-FM), moving to WZTA (Zeta 94.9-FM) in 1995 and, in 2004, to Big 105.9.

Famously private, Brewer played the role right up until he decided to quit the show, which he announced abruptly on-air without warning Castronovo.

The retirement show in 2016 was the last time Castronovo saw Brewer or spoke with him. They shared a hug that night and exchanged a few text messages over the years, but that was it.

There were no hard feelings, according to Castronovo, who said Brewer’s agent told him he had “just moved on with that part of his life.”

Castronovo held out hope for a reunion show, issuing an open invitation to Brewer in a 2021 interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Reached by phone on Thursday, Castronovo was emotional.

“I’m angry that we haven’t spoken. I’m thinking about all the hilarious stuff we did. And I’m heartbroken,” he said, his voice breaking.

“I kept trying to put it back together. After … years together in a tiny room, it was odd. But he just turned the page,” Castronovo said.

Friday morning’s 6 a.m.-10 a.m. edition of “The Paul Castronovo Show” on Big 105.9 will be dedicated to old clips and stories about Brewer. Castronovo said it would definitely include a retelling of the infamous moment when Brewer fell into the stingray tank at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas after sampling some product by show sponsor Patrón.

The show’s Instagram account filled with messages of shock and sorrow from fans on Thursday afternoon.

Castronovo said he is preparing for Friday’s show by reaching out to old friends from Brewer’s heyday, including Miami Dolphins great Dan Marino, filmmakers Billy Corben and Wil Shriner, Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill.

Magill called Brewer “the greatest straight man I could ever have worked with.”

“Paul and I were always ribbing each other, that was part of our shtick, but Ron was just a super nice guy. He was a very warm guy, who was very private away from the radio,” Magill said.

Magill’s wife, Rita, the “Mrs. Magill” often referenced on the show, said she would call Brewer on his birthday. Each time he would give her an update on his two sons, Rita Magill said.

“He was probably one of the proudest dads of his boys. His heart always got so big and full whenever he mentioned his boys,” she said.

NBC6 anchor Kelly Craig was a longtime contributor to the “Paul and Young Ron Show,” but admits that she was a fan before that.

“Listen, everybody in South Florida gets stuck in traffic. Listening to them made the ride bearable,” she said.

Craig said the “uber intelligent” Brewer was a key part of the show’s success.

“On the air, he had the most obtuse and spontaneous wit that I had ever heard. Put that together with Paul and you had one of those lightning-in-a-bottle pairings,” she said. “As a person, he was very kind and caring, which wasn’t his role on the show. He was one of those guys that to know him is to love him.”

Magill, Marino, Corben, comedian Bert Kreischer and others attended Brewer’s farewell show in 2016, which ended with a handshake with Castronovo and standing ovation for Brewer to the tune of Supertramp’s “Goodbye Stranger.” Fans who had begun lining up for the show at 4 a.m. formed another line for autographs outside the club.

Brewer described himself as “relieved and overwhelmed.”

“Until something like this happens, you don’t realize how many people you’ve touched,” Brewer said.

Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.