Died On This Date (April 24, 2010) DJ Hideo / Popular Los Angeles DJ

DJ Hideo
1967 – April 24, 2010

DJ Hideo was a very popular and highly respected Los Angeles DJ who is perhaps best remembered as the mix show director, production assistant and on-air turntablist at local powerhouse radio station, KKBT, “The Beat.”  While there, Hideo build a sizable following thanks to his on-air spinning for the popular Steve Harvey and John Salley programs, among others.  Hideo became a key fixture of L.A.’s hip hop scene while performing with some of the biggest names of the genre as well as DJ’ing at high-profile events.  Throughout the years, he has opened for the likes of Coolio, Ludacris and Xzibit.  He also produced and hosted the West Coast Takeover show on Sirius/XM.  By doing all this and more, Hideo rightfully earned the moniker of “The Hardest Working DJ On The West Coast.”  On April 24, 2010, DJ Hideo, age 42, died after a long struggle with colon and liver cancer.

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Died On This Date (March 15, 2010) Ron Lundy / Popular New York City FM Disc Jockey

Fred “Ron” Lundy
June 25, 1934 – March 15, 2010

Ron Lundy was a popular disc jockey in New York City for the better part of thirty years.  He hosted the coveted mid-day slot at such powerhouse stations as WABC and WCBS from the mid ’60s through his retirement during the mid ’90s.    Lundy was 75 when he suffered a fatal heart attack on March 15, 2010.



Died On This Date (March 15, 2004) Chuck Niles / Popular Jazz Radio DJ

Chuck Niles (Born Charles Neidel)
June 24, 1927 – March 15, 2004

Chuck Niles was a popular and extremely knowledgeable jazz radio disc jockey who entertained and educated Los Angeles, California music fans for the better part of 50 years.   Known by such nicknames as “Mr. Jazz,” Niles could be heard throughout much of Southern California on influential jazz and blues station KKJZ for the last fourteen years of his life.  After moving to Los Angeles as a young man, Niles dabbled in acting, even landing a bit part in Breakfast At Tiffany’s.  Throughout his long and fruitful years on the air in L.A., he worked at such stations as KHJ, KBCO (later KKGO), and eventually KLON which became KKJZ, one of the most famous jazz and blues stations in the United States.   Over the years, Niles was memorialized in songs like Horace Silvers’ “The Hippest Cat In Hollywood,” Bob Florence’s “Bebop Charlie,” and Louie Bellson’s “Niles Blues.”   He was also awarded a star on Hollywood’s prestigious Walk of Fame – the only jazz disc jockey to ever be bestowed that honor.  Chuck Niles was 76 when passed away on March 15, 2004.  He never regained consciousness from a stroke he suffered a few weeks earlier.

Thanks to Micaela Pierce for the assist.



Died On This Date (March 2, 2009) Richard Pegue / Popular Chicago Disc Jockey

Richard Pegue
July 29, 1944 – March 2, 2009

richard-pegueRichard Pegue was a popular Chicago R&B radio disc jockey for the better part of forty years.  He also penned a handful of R&B songs that managed to get recorded.  Pegue was just eleven when he first took an interest to the broadcast medium, thanks to a reel-to-reel tape recorder that was given to him by his grandmother.  By his teens, he was DJ’ing local parties and dances.  Before long, Pegue was spinning records at radio stations throughout Chicago and Indiana.  During the late ’80s he helped develop the popular “urban oldies” format.  He continued working in radio into the 2000s.  Richard Pegue was 66 when he passed away on March 2, 2009.



Died On This Date (January 22, 2009) Charlie Cooper / Telefon Tel Aviv

Charlie Cooper
April 12, 1977  – January 22, 2009

Photo by Mike Greenberg
Photo by Mike Greenberg

Charlie Cooper and Joshua Eustis made up Chicago electronic duo, Telofon Tel Aviv.  Formed in 1999, the group released three albums, the last of which, Immolate Yourself, reached #17 on the Billboard Electronic Music chart.  On January 22, 2009, Charlie Cooper, age 31, died of what is believed to have been an accidental overdose of sleeping pills and alcohol.