Beloved KROQ DJ Dead At 69; Rocked SoCal For Decades

LOS ANGELES — Longtime KROQ-FM DJ Jed "The Fish" Gould died Monday, according to an obituary on his website. He was 69.

Gould, known by his moniker "Jed the Fish," died of lung cancer, which had only recently been diagnosed, according to his Instagram page and social media.

"A legend of the airwaves, Jed was a pioneering voice in alternative radio, a beloved agent of chaos, and the man who made Los Angeles afternoons weirder, louder, and infinitely more interesting," the obituary said.

Gould joined the station in 1978 and worked 34 years on the afternoon drive, where he "transformed the airwaves into a launchpad for revolutionary new music and culture," according to the obituary. He was an early supporter of The Smiths, Duran Duran and Depeche Mode, three British bands that built an especially large following in Southern California before other cities caught on.

"Getting to know @jedthefish over the last few years is something that I will cherish forever," current KROQ afternoon host Megan Holiday posted Monday on Instagram. "There was no one like him on the planet! Unique, wild, creative, talented, loving, kind … words can never convey his spirit. His laugh was contagious. He could light up an arena."

Former KROQ host Richard Blade shared the news of Gould's passing on Instagram, adding, "I have no words right now."

Gould also hosted the long-running nationally syndicated radio show "Out of Order." After leaving KROQ, he worked at KCSN from 2012-18 and had a brief stint at KLOS in Los Angeles.

Gould was born in Orange County and graduated from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Journalism, his obituary said, adding that at 16 he got his first radio job at KPIN-AM in rural Arizona and was fired for repeating George Carlin's "seven dirty words you can't say on the radio."

He went on to interview big names like David Bowie, U2, Sting, Elvis Costello, Brian Eno and The Police, according to the obituary, which noted he is still heard on air, as his “K-R-O-Q” voice branding remains in regular rotation.

Gould was named Billboard Modern Rock Personality of the Year in 1997 and 1999 and Radio & Records' Local Modern Rock Personality of the Year in 1998, according to the obituary.

City News Service contributed to this story.