Jed the Fish
American disc jockey (1955–2025)
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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 rock acts such as Brian Eno, Danny Elfman, David Bowie, Sting, and Elvis Costello.[citation needed] An early supporter of new wave and Alternative rock 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]
July 15, 1955
Jed the Fish | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Edwin Jed Fish Gould III July 15, 1955 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | April 14, 2025 (aged 69) Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California |
| Career | |
| Style | Disc jockey |
| Country | United States |
Early life
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
Jed the Fish began his radio broadcasting career while 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.
Personal life and death
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.[14]
Jed the Fish was a graduate of USC's Annenberg School of Journalism with a bachelor of arts degree in broadcast journalism in 1978.[15] 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.[16]
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.[17][18]
Awards
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]
Other media
- Jed the Fish is shown on the cover of Reel Big Fish's album, Turn The Radio Off[19]
- Jed the Fish appears as himself in the game show "Win, Lose, or Draw: KRTH vs KROQ" in 1988[20]
- Jed the Fish appears as a Radio Announcer in the film Night Angel in 1990[citation needed]
- Jed the Fish appears as himself in 1984 in Surf II [citation needed]
- Jed the Fish appears as himself in the 2003 documentary Mayor of the Sunset Strip, about Rodney Bingenheimer.[citation needed]