Barry Magarick, 83, of Philadelphia, a well-known advertising executive, former radio host, and member of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia hall of fame, died Sunday, Jan. 23, of gastrointestinal bleeding at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby.
Creative, audacious, and, by his own account, “impossible” to work with, Mr. Magarick was the inspiration behind many of the Philadelphia region’s most memorable advertisements over the last 50 years.
Using catchy jingles, unique sound effects, corny jokes, and arresting visuals, Mr. Magarick’s work was heard on radio and seen on TV, billboards, the internet, and in print.
Among his notable clients were Bernie Robbins jewelers, Fairway Auto Group, Norman Carpet One, and Guida Door & Window. For his own radio promotions, Mr. Magarick often spelled out his name to drive his point home. “That’s M-a-g-a-r-i-c-k,” he said in the ads.
Mr. Magarick started Magarick Advertising LLC in 1971, when he saw a niche in local retail advertising he could fill. “Many agencies did not want the pressure of clients scrutinizing results on a weekly basis and being held accountable,” he said on his company website. But he did.
“He was a very colorful character and a relentless promoter,” said his son, Joshua. His wife, Rochelle, said, “He was born with a natural instinct to do what he did.”
Mr. Magarick specialized in long-term campaigns with multioutlet retailers, automotive agencies, and legal and financial services. He won awards for his work, was a preferred mentor for college interns, and provided unpaid services to several nonprofits.
Despite the variety of his later work in advertising, Mr. Magarick had a special attachment to radio. He hosted jazz and folk music programs for WHAT radio in the 1960s and an all-night call-in talk show on WCAU radio called Psychic World in the 1970s.
He told those at his 2016 induction into the Broadcast Pioneers hall of fame that “radio seemed like magic. Words and music coming over the air. Call me sentimental. But, after all these years, it still seems like magic.”
Born Jan. 18, 1939, in Philadelphia, Mr. Magarick grew up in Collingdale and Wynnefield and got an early taste of TV work when he landed a spot on the Horn & Hardart Children’s Hour variety show on WCAU. He went on to be the announcer for basketball games at Overbrook High School and the program director at Temple University’s WRTI radio station.
Mr. Magarick traveled through Europe for a time after graduating from Temple in 1961 and lived in Israel for nearly two years. When he returned, he worked as a communications director in New York and then as promotions director of WPHL-TV in Philadelphia.
He met Rochelle Bunimowitz through a personal ad in Philadelphia Magazine. They married in 1978, had son Joshua, and lived in Center City.
Mr. Magarick was an avid collector, and he and his wife traveled the world seeking additions to his troves. They dropped by auctions, visited dealers and flea markets big and small, and kept an eye open for anything he might like.
“He was very intense to go shopping with,” his wife said. He focused on, among other things, art, antique furniture, and vintage radios, and he created a website for his antique playing-card collection.
In a 1985 story in The Inquirer, Mr. Magarick said of his collecting: “It takes a tremendous amount of energy.” His wife added: “And fortunately he has it.”
He lived with Tourette syndrome. “But it never stopped him,” his wife said. “He was creative and had a sweetness about him.”
Mr. Magarick had an insatiable curiosity, his wife said, and was interested in history, magic, and scuba diving. He served on the boards of the Philly Pops; the Union League’s Abraham Lincoln Foundation, now the Legacy Foundation; the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia; and other groups.
He supported Boys Town Jerusalem; the Philadelphia Geriatric Center, now Abramson Senior Care; and other community organizations. He liked to make up stories when his son was young and act them out with puppets and stuffed animals.
His kindness, generosity, and devotion to family and friends were, his wife said, “part of the fabric of his life.”
In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Magarick is survived by a sister and other relatives.
A memorial celebration of life is to be held later.
Donations in his name may be made to the Union League Legacy Foundation, 140 S. Broad St. Philadelphia, Pa. 19102.