Popular Stockton radio personality Rick Chase dies
Tuesday December 17, 2002STOCKTON, Calif. (AP) Rick Chase, a boisterous and well-known morning radio personality who worked for years in Northern California, has died. He was 45.
Chase, a disc jockey for KWIN-FM of Stockton, was found dead in his Stockton apartment on Monday, San Joaquin County sheriff's officials said.
The cause of death has not yet been determined, said sheriff's spokeswoman Nelida Stone. An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday.
His station tried unsuccessfully to contact him during the weekend and he did not show up to do the morning show Monday, according to Roy Williams, president and general manager of Silverado Broadcasting.
A former roommate went to his home and found Chase, whose real name was George Fryer.
Chase, a 20-year radio veteran known to his listeners for his loud and borderline obnoxious on-air personality, had worked at KWIN for two years. He hosted ``The Morning Chase'' show with fellow disc jockey Amanda King. The show featured ``Hollywood Trash,'' a segment with news, entertainer gossip and a trivia game called ``Just the Fax.''
``Everyone at the station is devastated and in shock,'' said John Christian, Silverado Broadcasting programming director. ``The community is at a loss, too, because Rick had the ability to make you mad on Monday, cry on Tuesday and laugh on Wednesday. There's very few DJs who can do that.''
Chase was best known for his work at KMEL-FM in San Francisco from 1986 to 1998. He also worked at KFRC-FM and KITS-FM in the Bay Area, KNVQ-FM in Reno and KZZO-FM in Sacramento.
He is survived by a sister, a brother and his mother, Mary Rothschild, all of Monterey.
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