Overview
Alan Cox (born June 23, 1971) is an American radio/TV personality. Cox is currently the afternoon host on 100.7 WMMS in Cleveland, Ohio. Prior to Cleveland & Detroit, Cox was on the air at the former WKQX (Q101), in Chicago & WXDX-FM in Pittsburgh, PA. Cox began his career on stations in Rockford, Illinois and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Cox is known for literate, polite and caustic stream-of-consciousness commentary, left-leaning political views, and absurdist comedy routines. Contrary to conventional wisdom among radio personalities, Cox had been successful despite divulging very little about his personal life. Since debuting the show in Cleveland, he has become much more candid, regularly discussing various aspects of his personal life.
Early career
Alan Cox grew up in Loves Park, IL- much closer to Wisconsin than Chicago, though Cox has worked to build a narrative about “being from Chicago”. Alan has recently stated he was member of the Northwestern NCAA wrestling team during his first year in Evanston. Although, he claims he did graduate, there are no records of his enrollment at Northwestern. It is accurate to say that Alan Cox began writing and performing stand-up comedy around Chicago during college in the early 1990s. A classmate in a public speaking class at Northwestern University recommended Cox try his hand at radio, and he was briefly on the air at his college station. A chance meeting with an outgoing intern at WLUP-FM ("The Loop") in Chicago led to Cox filling the position for the Jonathon Brandmeier Radio Showgram, one of the most successful shows in Chicago radio history. Cox's intelligence, humor, and willingness to do a variety of on-air stunts for the show led to his hiring as a producer. After two years, Cox left The Loop to begin his own radio show. In September 1995, he was hired to do nights at WRKR-FM in Kalamazoo, MI. His irreverent comedy and outspoken style made the show an instant hit in the college town, and he was promoted to afternoon drive one year later.
105.9 WXDX-FM Pittsburgh
In December 1998, Cox was hired to fill the afternoon drive slot at WXDX-FM (105.9 The X) in Pittsburgh, one of the country's most prominent and highly rated alternative stations. The Alan Cox Radio Show debuted to mixed reviews, but after a year, his quick wit, unfiltered opinions, and verbal sparring with listeners on a wide array of topics made Cox one of the most popular personalities in the market.
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