R.I.P.: Longtime L-A Radio Personality Joe Reiling

Joe Reiling

Joe Reiling, a longtime on-air personality for KLOS and several other L.A. radio stations, died Friday in Los Angeles after a long illness, a publicist announced.

He was 65, according to moviebreakingnews.com.

Reiling joined KLOS in 1977 and introduced The KLOS Local Music Show. He was employed by the rock station from 1977-81, then returned for another stint, in 2003-09. In between, he broadcast for other prominent local stations, including KMET, KNX and KLSX.

In 1984, Reiling joined Armed Forces Radio and hosted an alternative rock show for an estimated daily audience of 400 million listeners. He later worked in the airline industry, interviewing musicians and hosting music channels for various airlines, and served as a vice president for Inflight Productions.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Reiling studied communication arts at the University of Dayton and started out in radio as a midday jock and Sunday morning talk show host for the college station.

Reiling moved to Fresno, Calif., in 1974 and began his professional career as a jock, news anchor, director and program director for KFIG. He came to L.A. three years later.

In 2012, Reiling was among the first group to be featured in the new archival library annex for “The Radio Personalities Who Delivered the Music” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.