Bill Ayres: key obituary facts
Is Bill Ayres dead? Yes. Bill Ayres died on August 22, 2026, at age 85.
Cause of death: Bill Ayres's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Bill Ayres known for?
He was an American talk radio host.
More about Bill Ayres
Born: 1 January 1953.
Gender: male.
Occupation: radio personality.
Nationality: United States.
Occupations: Radio host and philanthropist.
Years active: 1966–2026.
Bill Ayres, an American talk radio host and co-founder of WhyHunger, died on August 22, 2026, aged 85.
Born on January 14, 1941, Ayres became a Roman Catholic priest for the Diocese of Rockville Centre in 1966 and later built a parallel career in radio, beginning at WGSM on Long Island. In 1973, he started hosting and producing a weekly talk program on WPLJ 95.5 FM in New York, originally titled On This Rock and built around conversations with rock musicians and their spiritual lives.
He served for a decade at St. James Church in Seaford, New York, before leaving the active priesthood in the early 1980s to focus on charitable work full time. He lived in Huntington Station, New York, with his wife, Jeannine, and their two daughters.