Wilmot 'Motty' Perkins was a Jamaican radio personality and was the longest serving talk show host on Jamaican radio.
He was born and raised in the parish of Portland, Jamaica and attended Calabar High School, in Kingston. He died at his home just after 1 am on February 10, 2012, aged 80. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Elaine, and grandsons Jamie and Eden.
Wilmot Perkins had vast experience as a parliamentary reporter, a news editor and columnist working at the Jamaica Gleaner.
he began his radio career hosting the program What's your Grouse on RJR in 1960. He then took a break from the airwaves a few years later to go into farming, but returned to radio in the 1970s, as host of Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation's (JBC) popular call-in program Public Eye. He later hosted 'Hot Line' on RJR and then Straight Talk on KLAS FM 89, before hosting Perkins On Line on Hot 102 FM.
In April 2002, he took his program Perkins On Line to POWER 106 FM. With his probing interviews and keen analyses of current events, the program made for compulsive listening. Perkins On Line is spirited interaction with callers on a wide range of topics. It is described by many as "The Poor Man's University."
Perkins said the program aimed to "focus public attention on the gaping hiatus between what is and what might be, and to do it within a broad framework that embraces not only the history of Jamaica, but the history of mankind."
Perkins was sued 28 times for libel or slander but none of the suits was tried or settled out of court. All were dropped by the plaintiffs, who included former Prime Minister Michael Manley and, most recently, businessman Gordon 'Butch' Stewart.
