Tom Magliozzi, who hosted National Public Radio's beloved Car Talk show with his brother, has died from Alzheimer's Disease aged 77. The on-air personality, who ran the call-in show with his younger brother Ray from 1977 to 2012, died today from complications related to the brain disease today, NPR confirmed. In his 35-year radio career, the network said his 'dominant, positive personality' had helped inject a lightheartedness into an arena which was 'formal' and 'cautious' before. Car Talk was NPR's most popular entertainment program for years, reaching more than 4million people a week on more than 600 radio stations across the country at its peak.
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Magliozzi started hosting the radio show with his brother, Ray, in 1977
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Went national in 1987, and was the network's top show for years
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NPR today confirmed his death from Alzheimer's-related complications
Ray Magliozzi affectionately teased his late brother, who was 12 years his senior, in a statement posted on @placeholder's website: 'Turns out he wasn't kidding...He really couldn't remember last week's puzzler.'