Classic rock station KLOS (95.5 FM) fired its weekday afternoon hosts Kevin Ryder and Doug “Sluggo” Roberts on Friday, Sept. 6, months after the station’s owner fired the midday DJs at KLOS and three other Los Angeles stations.
Ryder had joined Roberts at KLOS in 2021 after KROQ (106.7 FM) fired him from the morning show he’d cohosted for three decades, most of those with Gene “Bean” Baxter, his partner on the long-running Kevin & Bean Show.
Ryder confirmed the news in an Instagram post on Friday, noting the irony of losing his job on the same day that KLOS debuted a “Where’s Kevin?” marketing spot on its social media.
In Ryder’s video several people are seen shouting “Where’s Kevin?” while looking in an elevator and under a desk. “Well I’m not there anymore,” Ryder says as he looks up from his freezer where he’s filling his arms with ice cream and other treats. “KLOS fired me.”
Fans and friends, including former KROQ on-air colleagues such as Allie Mackay, Kat Corbett, and Danielle “Chip” Lehman, expressed a mix of outrage and condolences.
“Feels like the right time to bring ‘Beat Kevin’ to TV. I’ll get the wiffle bats,” wrote Jimmy Kimmel, who long before he was host of ABC-TV’s “Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel” spent five years as Jimmy the Sports Guy on the Kevin & Bean Show.
“We skipped right over Nerfs?” Ryder replied.
“Hey Jimmy, ever thought about buying a radio station?” chimed in Roberts, who before KLOS had previously worked at KROQ with both Kimmel and Ryder.
Fans, several of whom noticed that the KLOS Facebook page still had the “Where’s Kevin?” post up as of midday Saturday, where predictably upset.
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“Seriously? At least take the post down — really bad form KLOS,” wrote Andrea Larkin below the original post, which still promised Ryder would represent the station at a Comedy Store event later this month.
“Welp. Looks like KLOS will go the way of KROQ with no one listening anymore,” wrote Jessica Witmer. “What is wrong with you guys? Big mistake. Big. Huge. SMH.”
Station owner Meruelo Media could not be reached for comment on Saturday.