NEW YORK — Peter Dougherty, responsible for some of MTV’s on-air look in its early days and creator of the program “Yo! MTV Raps,” died earlier this month of a heart attack at his home in the suburbs north of New York City, his brother Paul said Wednesday.

Dougherty, 59, worked in the promotions department at MTV and, with colleague Ted Demme, suggested the rap show, said David Cohn, a former MTV executive. “Yo! MTV Raps” became an instant hit in 1988.

“He really was at the nexus of the early days of punk and the early days of rap,” Cohn said.

Dougherty later moved to London and was influential in creating on-air promotions that gave MTV Europe its look.