‘Matty in the Morning’ host Matt Siegel retires after 41 years

Matt Siegel, longtime host of Kiss 108’s “Matty in the Morning” show and a Boston talk-radio giant, calls it a career.

Siegel, 72, announced on “Matty in the Morning” on Tuesday that he would be leaving the show after 41 years.

“My grown wife and grown children have spoken to me over the past few weeks and helped me make a decision,” Siegel said. “And the decision is this: from now on, I’m retired, I’m leaving Kiss 108 and starting my new life as a mediocre golfer.”

Siegel debuted on the morning show of Kiss 108 in January 1981. He was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcast Hall of Fame in 2012.

Following the announcement, longtime “Matty in the Morning” co-host Billy Costa, who said he would be taking over as the show’s main host, tried to put the career of Siegel in perspective.

“What he has done for Boston radio, New England radio and all of you is unparalleled,” Costa said. “Forty-one, but he also ruled the airwaves. For 41 years. It’s impossible to do in this industry. What he did was create more than a number one radio show and an award-winning radio show. He created an institution.

The announcement came after an unexplained absence from the show by Siegel and co-host Lisa Donovan. Neither had appeared on air since April 19.

Donovan did not participate in Siegel’s farewell show, with Costa later saying that she cared for her ailing mother in South Carolina.

“We love Lisa Donovan, we wish her well,” Costa said. “We hope that everything goes well and that she will answer us as soon as she can.”

Last year was a “difficult” year for Siegel, by his own admission.

There were highslike a 40th anniversary show in January that featured tributes from Billie Eilish, Gwen Stefani, David Ortiz and Ryan Seacrest.

Then there were lows, like when Siegel quit the show and threatened to quit after claiming station management told him to tone down his comment about pop star Demi Lovato, who came out non-binary. That same week, Siegel angrily criticized co-host Rebekah “Bex” Maroun on air; she announced her departure less than a month later.

“I had brain surgery, I had a broken foot. I started getting a little grumpy on the radio, which I hate,” Siegel said Tuesday. “Because all I want is to make people laugh. It’s my job to make people laugh. And I got the wrong target.

No one noted the incidents during Tuesday’s farewell, with the show’s hosts instead focusing on the positives of Siegel’s 41-year career.

Siegel closed his announcement with a message to listeners who have consistently made “Matty in the Morning” the highest rated radio show in Boston.

“I love you guys more than words can express,” Siegel said. “I will miss you terribly. It’s really bittersweet. [But] I agree with my family that it is time to leave.