Jed the Fish

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Jed the Fish
Born
Edwin Jed Fish Gould III

(1955-07-15)July 15, 1955
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedApril 14, 2025(2025-04-14) (aged 69)
Pasadena, California, U.S.
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
Career
StyleDisc jockey
CountryUnited States

Edwin Jed Fish Gould III (July 15, 1955 – April 14, 2025), known to radio listeners as "Jed the Fish", was an American disc jockey who hosted afternoon drive on KROQ-FM in Los Angeles,[1] from 1978 to 2012. He interviewed alternative acts such as Brian Eno, David Bowie, Sting, and Elvis Costello.[citation needed] An early supporter of new wave and alternative bands, Jed the Fish is reputed to have been the first U.S. DJ to play Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, and The Pretenders[citation needed], and thus having helped KROQ establish itself as an influential radio station of the 1980s and 1990s.[2]

Early life

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Edwin Jed Fish Gould III was born on July 15, 1955,[3] in Los Angeles,[4] and grew up in the beach cities of Orange County, California, and later Casa Grande, Arizona.[3][4]

Career

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Jed the Fish began his radio broadcasting career while being a student at Casa Grande High School.[4] He earned his First Class Radiotelephone Operator License in 1971 at age 16, programming and hosting a radio program targeted at the "youth market"[5] on KPIN-AM.

From 1994 to July 2013, Jed hosted the nationally syndicated show Out of Order.[6][7] Out of Order was two hours long and was syndicated by Dial Global.

From 2012 to 2018 Jed the Fish was also an air personality at radio station KCSN,[8] where he programmed his own show.

In 2018, he became a DJ at Los Angeles' KLOS.[9]

In February 2019, Jed the Fish joined the Roq of the 80s lineup on KROQ HD2 station on radio.com (now audacy.com) on Sundays from 6pm to midnight PST.[10][11]

In addition to his on-air work, Jed the Fish produced the Southern California punk band El Centro's debut album in 1995[12] and the remix track “Thing” on Meg Lee Chin’s[13] Junkies and Snakes in 2000.

Awards

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In 1997 and 1999, Jed was awarded the Billboard Modern Rock Personality of the Year award.[3]

In 1998, Jed received an award for the Radio & Records Local Modern Rock Personality of the Year.[3]

Jed the Fish was awarded Billboard's Major Market Alternative Radio Personality of the year in 1998 and 2000 (in 1999 his co-workers Kevin and Bean received the same award).[citation needed] He won Album Network's Alternative All Stars award for Virtuallyalternative Radio Personality in 1999 and 2000.[citation needed]

In 2004, he tied for 8th place along with former 102.7 KIIS-FM DJ Rick Dees as one of LA Radio's top ten most influential radio people described as “amazingly inventive” and "the best pure disc jockey in Los Angeles".[14]

Personal life

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In 1994, Jed the Fish purchased a 1894 Queen Anne Victorian estate home in Pasadena, California. The estate was featured in Lucille Ball's 1968 film Yours, Mine and Ours.[15]

Jed the Fish was a graduate of USC's Annenberg School of Journalism with a bachelor of arts degree in broadcast journalism in 1978.[16] He was also a drummer, sitting in on drums for John Dolmayan during the KROQ Weenie Roast performance of System of a Down in 2002.[17]

In 1989, he was off the air for two months while he sought treatment for drug addiction.[4]

Jed the Fish was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer in March 2025, though he had never smoked.[4] He died from the disease at his home in Pasadena on April 14, 2025, at the age of 69.[18][19]

Other media

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References

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  1. ^ Leitereg, Neal J. (June 1, 2017). "Disc jockey Jed the Fish lists his pristine Queen Anne Victorian in Pasadena". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 19, 2019. Jed Gould, the disc jockey better known as Jed the Fish, has put his Queen Anne Victorian on the market in Pasadena for $2.299 million.
  2. ^ "KROQ: an oral history by Kate Sullivan – Los Angeles Magazine November 2001". www.radiohitlist.com. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "Top 10 Los Angeles Radio People of 2004". LARadio.com. Don Barrett. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Born Edwin Jed Fish Gould III on July 15, 1955, Jed the Fish grew up in the beach cities of Orange County and in Casa Grande, Arizona, where at age 16 he began his first radio job at KPIN-AM.
  4. ^ a b c d e Williams, Alex (April 26, 2025). "Jed the Fish, Quirky Pioneer of Los Angeles Radio, Dies at 69". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  5. ^ "Around the Station". DJ Jed the Fish. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  6. ^ "Out of Order show website". Westwood One. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  7. ^ "Jed the Fish Bio". Westwood One. Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
  8. ^ "KCSN". KCSN. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  9. ^ "Against common sense, KLOS are putting me on the air this Monday at 7pm". Jed the Fish on Twitter. Twitter.com. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  10. ^ "Jed The Fish is back! Listen every Sunday 6pm-midnight". KROQ-HD2. March 3, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  11. ^ Alvarez, Jimmy (September 5, 2018). "Classic KROQ Gets a Second Wind With ROQ of the '80s". OC Weekly. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  12. ^ "El Centro "Prohibido"". ReadJunk.com: Music & Movie News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  13. ^ "Meg Lee Chin Biography | Meg Lee Chin". www.megleechin.com. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  14. ^ Barrett, Don. "Top 10 Los Angeles Radio People of 2004, Best of LARP 2004". www.laradio.com. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  15. ^ "Pasadena Now » Celebrity Radio DJ Puts Pasadena Home Up for Sale | Pasadena California, Hotels, CA Real Estate, Restaurants, City Guide..." Pasadena.com. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  16. ^ Larsen, Peter (April 14, 2025). "KROQ-FM's Jed the Fish, longtime DJ at the radio station, dies at 69". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  17. ^ Cousins, Simon. "Jed The Fish playing drums for System of a Down at KROQ Weenie Roast". DJ Jed the Fish. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  18. ^ D'Zurilla, Christie (April 14, 2025). "Jed the Fish, KROQ DJ whose musical tastes helped shape the 1980s and '90s, dies at 69". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  19. ^ "Renowned Los Angeles Radio DJ/Personality Jed the Fish Dies at 69". Rock Cellar Magazine. April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  20. ^ Irwin, Corey (April 14, 2025). "Jed the Fish, Influential Los Angeles Radio DJ, Dead at 69". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  21. ^ videoarchives1000 (July 10, 2011). Win Lose Or Draw game show KRTH vs. KROQ radio 11/9/88 Part 2 (Video). Retrieved April 16, 2025 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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