Three familiar names from the stage, the ballpark, and the radio dial are being remembered after their recent deaths. Chuck Varga helped build the metal band GWAR’s outrageous stage world and performed as the “Sexecutioner”; Bill Giles shaped the Philadelphia Phillies for decades as an executive and part-owner; and Judy Markey helped change the sound of Chicago talk radio. Their deaths drew tributes from bandmates, baseball colleagues, and longtime listeners.
Their careers had little in common beyond the unusually strong bonds each built with an audience. Markey died September 11th at 82. Giles died September 25th at 92, and Varga’s death at 68 was also announced on the 25th after he battled cancer. The Phillies announced Giles’s death before Friday’s game, while GWAR bandmate Casey Orr shared the news about Varga. A new national obituary published Saturday brought fresh attention to Markey’s life and her long partnership with co-host Kathy O’Malley.
Varga was more than a performer in GWAR’s elaborate costumes. As the “Sexecutioner,” he became one of the enduring characters in the Richmond, Virginia, band’s deliberately outrageous and purposefully grotesque live shows. His work as an artist helped establish the look of a group whose props, costumes, and characters were as central to its identity as the music. For fans, the news brought the loss of someone who helped build that world from its very early days.
As Rolling Stone reported, Varga’s death followed a battle with cancer. His bandmate Orr, who performs as “Beefcake the Mighty,” announced the news September 25th. Varga’s “Sexecutioner” gave GWAR a character fans could recognize immediately, even amid a stage full of creatures and theatrical mayhem. Fellow musicians and fans have since remembered both his performances and the artwork behind them.
In Philadelphia, Giles’s influence reached from the front office to the stands. The Phillies announced that he had died at his home in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. As NBC Sports Philadelphia recounted, he joined the club as a business executive before organizing the group that bought it in 1981. He served as team president until 1997 and later held the titles of chairman and chairman emeritus.
Giles helped bring the Phillie Phanatic to life, promoted the club through its years at Veterans Stadium, and played a role in the push that brought Pete Rose to Philadelphia before the Phillies won their first World Series in 1980. He also helped bring broadcaster Harry Kalas to Philadelphia as the team prepared to move into Veterans Stadium. Former Phillies player and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said the team called him “Uncle Bill.” Managing partner John Middleton said, “The Phillies family lost an icon today,” crediting Giles with reshaping the franchise into a major entertainment operation as well as a baseball club.
Markey’s audience knew her in a different way. With O’Malley, she co-hosted WGN Radio’s “Kathy and Judy Show,” which began in 1989 and ran for two decades in its original weekday form. The Washington Post reported that the pair found success in a talk-radio format then dominated by men. Their conversations ranged from parenting and friendships to the small mishaps listeners felt comfortable sharing with the hosts.
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Markey and O’Malley called their listeners “the Girlfriends,” a name that captured the show’s easy familiarity. A discussion could turn on an everyday embarrassment, such as Markey’s discovery that the strange turquoise strip on her new dishwasher was protective film she had forgotten to remove. The hosts also drew crowds beyond the radio studio: their annual fan convention attracted more than 1,000 listeners. After the weekday show ended in 2009, they returned for a weekend run from 2013 to 2017.
Markey died in Switzerland after choosing a voluntary assisted death, her family said. She had been diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder in 2024. Her family said she had chosen to go “out on her terms.” In remembering the show, O’Malley described what the two women set out to do each day: “We aimed to connect with people, and to talk about real life.”