Ray Briem dies at 82; all-night radio host in L.A.

LA Times ^ | 12/13/12 | Elaine Woo

[mgstarr]

Ray Briem, the longtime KABC-AM talk show host who ruled all-night radio for nearly three decades with his phone calls to the famous and the quirky and his opinionated banter slamming liberals, championing conservative causes and extolling the big-band music he loved, died Wednesday at his Malibu home. He was 82.

The cause was cancer, said his son Bryan.

Briem spent most of his life on the radio, reaching his largest audience as the host of a popular midnight-to-5 a.m. talk show on KABC from 1967 to 1994. During those 27 years he helped set the mold for what has become a major radio genre.

"We consider him one of the most important radio talk-show hosts of all time," said Michael Harrison, publisher of Talkers magazine, the main trade publication for the talk radio industry

[joesbucks]

I remember all the chatter about Ray and George on the old Prodigy White Water Board. Always was a little envious of the LA folks who could listen to those guys. (Long before streaming was popular AND available)

[DoughtyOne]

Brings back old memories doesn’t it.

During the Whitewater days, Ray and George were two of the few people saying much about Clinton scandals on radio.

They covered all of it A-Z too.

George was the first guy I heard mention the steps in the evolutionary process of Republics. In those days I marveled at the idea we were entering the final phases. I couldn’t believe it.

Well, here we are...

I liked the Prodigy WW Board, until Free Republic came along.

Thanks for the mention.