Over three decades, from 1969 to 2004, he steadily interviewed opera singers and other figures of classical music on his show, and presented comparative recordings of arias and excerpts with commentary which the New York Times deemed "encyclopedic".
Born in Újpest, Budapest, Hungary, Jellinek was a longtime resident of the New York City area.
Repeats of his program can still be heard on several stations, among them WQXR in New York City, WFMT in Chicago, and on XM Satellite Radio's VOX channel.
Radio station WQXR announced his death in an on-air tribute on January 18, 2010.
This United States biographical article related to radio is a stub.