R.I.P.: Dave Roberts, Radio Air Personality, Programmer

Dave Roberts Nov 1, 1948 - Nov. 24, 2018

Dave Roberts was a smooth, straight-ahead Bay Area disc jockey hosting the afternoon drive for KYA and K101. Off the air he was “Dr. Dave,” armed with a doctorate in communications research and a knack for launching and driving radio formats.

Born David Bob Kelliher Nov. 1, 1948, in Los Angeles, Roberts died Saturday at his home in Rochester, Mich., from complications of prostate cancer, said his wife, Marsha Kelliher. He was 70, according to the San Fran Chronicle.

“Dave was energetic, but not in a hyped-up, Top-40 style,” said Ben Fong-Torres, longtime radio columnist for The Chronicle. “He did the right thing for any format he was working. A real pro.”

His voice was heard nationwide on “The Hot Ones With Dave Roberts,” an interview show syndicated to 200 stations, and “American Top 40,” where he filled in for legendary radio host Casey Kasem.

As a program director, Roberts’ boldest move was to switch KCBS-FM from classic hits to album-oriented rock. He came up with the call letters KRQR and the handle “the Rocker.” When KRQR went live in 1982, it became one of the last hit stations in the golden age of album-oriented rock.

“KCBS was a stodgy oldies format, and New York management did not think it would be CBS to play hard rock,” said Peter B. Collins, morning host on KRQR. “Dave did the research and proved them wrong. KRQR lasted for 10 years and bested KMEL and KKCY (“The City”). We even beat KFOG in some years.”

That success got him a promotion to director of programming for CBS FM stations nationwide.

“Dave gave me my big break, and the big breaks for many other people,” Collins said. “He was a good guy in an industry with a lot of creeps.”

In the late 1980s, Roberts formed a consulting firm with Dave Cooke, a former news director. Roberts/Cooke Media Research & Resources operated out of Roberts’ house in Mill Valley. This was when drivers were still punching buttons on the car radio during the commute, and the major news/talk stations on the AM dial went to Roberts/Cooke to figure out how to get listeners to stop punching.

“Dave had a Ph.D. and a lot of experience both on the air and in program management,” Cooke said by phone from Texas. “He was able to combine these talents and skills to effectively interpret what stations needed to do to improve their ratings.”