Farewell, Friend Martin

The Stern Show was saddened to learn of the death of one of the most notable Wack Packers to ever be heard on the Howard channels – the one and only Riley Martin. Specifics on the cause of Riley’s death are still unclear, but he had recently been experiencing “significant health issues.”

“Riley, to me, was one of the greats,” Howard said Wednesday morning. “We love you. We will miss you.”

“The Riley Martin Show” was broadcast on Howard 101 from 2006 until 2015. The subject matter for Martin’s show often revolved around his alleged personal experiences with extraterrestrial beings, specifically an alien race known as the Biaviians. In 1990, Martin penned his book “The Coming of Tan,” which outlined his incredible account of being abducted by the Biaviians in 1953 at the age of 7. The leader of the Biaviians, O-Qua Tangin Wann (also known as Tan), is listed as a co-author of that book.

Martin contended that during his second abduction in 1975, he was “uploaded” with thousands of symbols, which he later recreated on paper and sold to his fan base. According to Riley, the symbols were intended to be distributed to select residents of Earth and anyone who possessed one would be considered for a “future airlift” onto a “distant, beautiful, un-polluted planet.”

Born on May 9, 1949 in Mississippi, Riley leaves behind his wife Joy, whom he met after she heard him on the Howard Stern Show in the 1990s. Riley and Joy resided in New Jersey.

Fans of the Howard Stern Show will most likely remember Riley’s persistent requests for more money from SiriusXM and Howard, often calling in to demand he be paid “a decent salary.” Riley also spoke about his use of a “piss jug,” a large glass container that he used to relieve himself while broadcasting from his home studio. “Show me the man who’s never used a piss jug and I’ll show you a woman, ” Riley once stated on air. For a time, his online store allowed shoppers to purchase an official Riley Martin piss jug.

In addition to his visits to the Howard Stern Show, Riley also made appearances on television talk shows, such as “The Jerry Springer Show.”

“While the news of Riley’s passing isn’t completely unexpected, it is still very sad for me,” said Jim McClure, Senior Director of Programming. “I was Riley’s first producer when the show first started and spoke with him on a regular basis until he became very ill in spring of 2015. I spent many nights at Riley’s home, where we set up equipment for his broadcast. We even shared a few Thanksgiving dinners back in the day.”

McClure continued: “The Riley I knew off the air was a very kind, smart, and funny person. I’ll miss Riley and hope that his lovely wife Joy and his close friend Eric ‘Eron’ McCauley find peace and love when they remember the Space Cowboy.​”

Riley’s former remote broadcast engineer, “Double-O” Al Ragone, added: “It’s sad to see the Space Cowboy leave us, but it’s finally time for him to board the mother ship once again. ‘O-Qua Tangin Wann’ my good friend.”

Let us know your favorite Riley memory on Facebook or Twitter …