Gerald Fisher 1945-2024

Wed Jul 24, 2024 at 6:52 pm

By Bryant Manning

Photo: Rudy Moreno

Gerald Fisher, a longtime Andersonville resident and former reviewer and calendar compiler for Chicago Classical Review, passed away Tuesday from complications brought on by Parkinson’s disease. He was 79.

A Pittsburgh native, Gerry settled permanently in Chicago in the 1960s after a short stint at Lindisfarne College in Hastings, England. Under the spell of the McLuhan craze, he completed his BA in media and communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Gerry spent his working life in the music and recording business. He co-founded Proteus Entertainment, an eclectic classical and world music label which featured local artists such as soprano Michelle Areyzaga, the St. Charles Singers, and guitarists Fareed Haque and Goran Ivanovic. He sold off his share to co-founder Jim Manfre in 2011 before the label officially closed in 2015.

Prior to this venture, he managed the classical division at the Warner Brothers Music Group WEA—and towards the end of his career he helped coordinate WFMT’s Live from Mayne Stage, a weekly chamber music series broadcast from the former Morse Theatre in Rogers Park. Between it all he sold CDs and LPs at Rose Records on Wabash, Virgin Megastore on Michigan Avenue, and Barnes & Noble in Evanston.  

On a personal note, it was Tower Records in Lincoln Park where I first met Gerry when he worked in the enormous and often lonely classical music and opera room. This was March 2005 and he was just the second person I had met in Chicago. Having his presence at Tower around the corner from my first apartment in a strange city was most reassuring.   

Our friendship was secured several months later when he accepted my invitation to co-host my three-hour classical radio show, Cyber Classical, which we broadcast from DePaul every Sunday night from January 2006 to June 2008. Through hundreds of hours together we attempted to bring levity and playfulness to a normally sedate medium. The listening audience may have been miniscule but we trudged on, happily determined to bring our obscure playlists to anyone who found us.   

Those who knew Gerry were drawn to his modesty, self-effacing humor, and an almost boyish introversion. He was a lovely person and will be missed greatly by those who loved him.

He is survived by Rudy Moreno, his husband and best friend of 35 years.  

Services are pending. Check for details at Inclusive Funeral Care as they become available.

Photo: Rudy Moreno

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