Born Frank Biniak in Chicago, he moved to Los Angeles with his family as a child.

He took the radio name Frank Benny when he began his career at a small station in Ridgecrest, Calif., in 1957, leaving Loyola University in Los Angeles, where he had majored for two years in electrical engineering. He later worked at stations in Portland, Ore., and Cincinnati.

The smooth-talking Mr. Benny began a long career at WGR-AM radio in 1965, where as a morning and afternoon drive man, he was part of a golden era of personality at the station, along with Shane and John Otto.

He also appeared on WGR-TV, Channel 2, as a weatherman, hosted game shows like "Bowling for Dollars" and hosted a 4 o'clock movie. In addition, he handled PA chores at Buffalo Braves basketball games. He was one of the most prominent media figures in town.

Mr. Benny abruptly quit WGR in 1985, did freelance work, had a 15-month stint at country music station WYRK-FM and worked part time at WBEN before leaving the area for Florida in 1989.

As he departed, Buffalo News radio columnist Anthony Violanti interviewed him and noted that "Benny became a legend in local radio after years of emotional peaks and valleys. He has battled booze, gambling, family problems and once robbed a bank.

"In 1971, Benny hosted a highly rated morning radio show at WGR and was a TV weatherman at Channel 2. That year he put a stocking mask over his head and walked into an Amherst bank with a toy gun. He walked out with $503 and was arrested a few minutes later. Benny was found innocent, because of what the judge called mental disease."

He returned to the air five months later on a great wave of public sympathy.

He left WGR in 1977 to open a golf shop in California but returned four months later.

In Florida, he worked at several radio stations, the most recent being WENG in Englewood, where he was news director and co-host of the morning show "The Morning Magazine."

Mr. Benny's hobbies were golf, golf and more golf, said his daughter, Kimberly Chance of Beaverton, Ore.

"If he was not on the radio or on TV, he was playing golf," Chance said. "He just loved golf."

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by a son, Stephen Headrick of North Carolina; a longtime companion, Lynn Hawkes of Sarasota, Fla.; and a granddaughter.

There will be no service.

Mr. Benny requested that his ashes be scattered over his favorite golf course.

Frank Benny had 'beautiful radio voice'

ENGLEWOOD -- Frank Benny, news director of radio station WENG in Englewood and a radio personality whose career spanned more than four decades, died May 9, 2005, of complications from pneumonia. He was 67.

"He was the master of the one-liners," said Lynda Sawkes, his longtime companion. "He could fire them off as quickly as Johnny Carson."

Described by listeners as articulate and witty, Benny co-hosted "The Morning Magazine" with Scott Holcomb from 9 to 11 a.m. on WENG.

"He could do news, and it could be total gibberish, but his delivery was so great, listeners would buy it," said Dave McClure, his WENG boss and sales manager.

Co-workers at the radio station said Benny's experience traveling and living across the United States during his long career served him well at the small radio station. Callers rarely caught him flat-footed, and he could always be counted upon for a few words of wisdom or a bit of golf advice.

A native of Chicago, he started a successful run as a morning newsman at WGR Radio in Buffalo, N.Y. It lasted 19 years. He handled the transition to the rock 'n' roll era with ease, and became a popular fixture in the WGR lineup.

Sawkes was already a fan when Benny first brought his daughter to her horse farm.

"He was just hysterically funny, a fabulous radio man," she said. "Truly the love of my life."

Sawkes says he was so successful that at one point, he was not only the 6 and 11 p.m. weatherman for WGR-TV Channel 2, but also hosted the station's "Bowling for Dollars" five nights a week, a movie matinee and numerous telethons.

In 1977, during Benny's tenure, WGR was awarded Billboard magazine's radio station of the year award.

In 1989, after a career in which he traveled often from one top-rated broadcast to the next, he settled in Sarasota with Sawkes.

Last year, he became the news director at WENG and was described by the general manager, Ken Birdsong, as the epitome of a professional broadcaster.

An avid golfer, Benny wanted his ashes scattered over his favorite golf course.

"A true personality jock, he had a razor-sharp sense of humor and a beautiful radio voice," Sawkes said. "He would have liked to be remembered with a microphone in one hand and a golf club in the other."

Survivors, in addition to Sawkes, include a daughter, Kimberly Chance of Beaverton, Ore.; and a son, Stephen Headrick of North Carolina.