R.I.P.: Reno, CA Radio Personality David Roble

David Roble, a personality at several Reno radio stations in the '80s, has died, according to KOLO-TV.

He was most recently Program Director at Mad River Radio KMDR/KJNY in McKinleyvillem, CA.

As The Ninja, Roble got enormous ratings behind the mike on KHTZ-FM (K-Hits 104) and KWNZ-97.3 FM, where his nightly show commanded up to three quarters of the Reno-area listening audience, according to Arbitron (now-Nielsen) ratings at the time. His nightly features including Ninja Nightline and the 9 at 9 were request line staples.

Roble also worked at KCBN 1230 AM at the end of its top 40 era, as well as for its sister KRNO-FM ("FM 107 K-Reno" at the time).

He was born May 23, 1954 in Oakland and got his radio start in Stockton and surrounding cities before moving to Reno. After leaving Reno, he continued radio in California, where he was still programming radio in Eureka until shortly before he died.

Roble died at a hospital in San Francisco early the morning of September 1, 2017. His family says he had slipped into a coma from a brain bleed that may have been connected to a fall weeks before.