Fornatale hosted a show called "Mixed Bag" on WFUV which is a non-commercial listener-supported station at Fordham University. If you hit the station web page a photo Fornatale pops up with details about his storied radio career. The station will pay tribute May 5th. Fornatale got his start in 1964 at Fordham hosting a show on WFUV called Campus Caravan. After graduating from Fordham in 1967, Fornatale taught for several years before beginning his professional career in 1969 at the legendary WNEW-FM in New York.
Fornatale hosted several different shifts at WNEW-FM before launching his Sunday morning program, Mixed Bag, in December, 1982. As the name implies, the program was designed to be a reflection of Fornatale?s eclectic musical taste. Inspired by a fan letter from Suzanne Vega, he helped launch the careers of many singer-songwriters, including Vega, John Gorka, and Christine Lavin. Grammy winner Shawn Colvin told The New York Times in 2001, ?Pete helped pave the way for so many of us. He was a rare guy in radio then.?
In 1991 Fornatale moved the program to WXRK (K-Rock), where it was renamed The Sunday Show. In 1997 he returned to WNEW-FM when it launched a format of ?Classic Rock with Classic Jocks.? He came full circle to WFUV in 2001 as the host of Mixed Bag on Saturdays from 4-8 pm. The latter-day Mixed Bag typically focused on a single theme each week, with Fornatale drawing on his encyclopedic knowledge of music for songs to illustrate that week?s theme and engaging his listeners in the process through the program?s online bulletin board.
David Hinckley at the Daily News reports that Fornatale suffered a brain hemorrhage on April 15 and been in intensive care for the last week
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