Before the coronavirus pandemic turned “social-distancing” into a household word, Tony Reno made a successful career out of communicating and connecting with people long-distance. For 37 years, Reno, either solo or with others, entertained countless listeners at home, work or in their cars from the Fairfield County radio stations he worked at.

“I came in on the tail end of the glory days of radio,” Reno, 59, said in a recent interview. “When I started, let’s say you were let go, you could get in the car — ‘Okay, I’m in Bridgeport. Westport had a station. Norwalk, two. Stamford, two. Greenwich had a station. ... If you knocked on four doors, two of them would probably have an interest.”