Chuck Niles
King of jazz radio
Niles had suffered the stroke Feb. 26.
His afternoon programs on KKJZ, which went by the call letters KLON until last year, were often peppered with remembrances and anecdotes about the many jazz musicians he befriended from the 1960s through the '90s. Interviews with musicians often turned into jazz history lessons about who played with whom, where Niles saw them perform and their comments on the music and its history.
A number of his musician friends even penned tunes in honor of Niles: Louie Bellson did "Niles Blues," Horace Silver wrote "The Hippest Cat in Hollywood," and Bob Florence composed "Bebop Charlie."
Born Charles Neidel in Springfield, Mass., Niles moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He played a Frankenstein-like character in the movie "Teenage Zombies" and had small roles in the films "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Slaughter's Big Rip-Off."
Starting in about 1955, Niles worked two jobs -- as the afternoon movie host on KHJ channel 9 and as a DJ on KNOB. In 1965, Niles went to KBCA, which later became KKGO, and stayed there until the station's format changed from jazz and blues to classical. He then went to KLON.
Niles is survived by his wife, Nancy, and daughter.
