Joe Negri dies

Born on June 10, 1926, Joe Negri was about 10 days short of his 100th birthday when he died on May 30. Known locally and nationally for his role as “Handyman Negri” and owner of “Negri’s Music Shop” on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood for the program’s entire run, he was mainly a prominent jazz guitarist.

Negri was also an adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh (until retiring in 2019) and Duquesne University (until retiring in 2022) teaching the art of jazz guitar.

In the broadcasting realm, in addition to his role on Mister Rogers, Negri was music director at WTAE-TV (4) for many of the children’s programs in the station’s early years including Adventure Time with Paul Shannon, which he would also host on occasion. That role ended in the 1980s when he became one of the regular hosts on WQEX (16). He also made frequent appearances on WDUQ (90.5) and WZUM (1550; 101.1 W266DV Braddock) and WZUM-FM (88.1 Bethany).

(Trib)