Ray Briem

Ray Briem , the longtime KABC-AM talk show host who ruled all-night radio for nearly three decades with his phone calls to the famous and the quirky and his opinionated banter slamming liberals, championing conservative causes and extolling the big-band music he loved, died Wednesday at his Malibu home. He was 82. The cause was cancer, said his son Bryan. Briem spent most of his life on the radio, reaching his largest audience as the host of a popular midnight-to-5 a.m. talk show on KABC from 1967 to 1994.

Ray Briem , the longtime KABC-AM talk show host who ruled all-night radio for nearly three decades with his phone calls to the famous and the quirky and his opinionated banter slamming liberals, championing conservative causes and extolling the big-band music he loved, died Wednesday at his Malibu home. He was 82. The cause was cancer, said his son Bryan. Briem spent most of his life on the radio, reaching his largest audience as the host of a popular midnight-to-5 a.m. talk show on KABC from 1967 to 1994.

The croaking voice of the permanently cranky leftist rises slowly to its bursting point: "You make me sick to my stomach. You must be monitored, for the sake of civilized people everywhere!" It's the type of comment that used to be red meat for veteran right-wing radio talk show host Ray Briem, who, during his first few decades at KABC-AM (790), regularly chewed up such arch-nemeses as the cantankerous Lefty Louise.

The croaking voice of the permanently cranky leftist rises slowly to its bursting point: "You make me sick to my stomach. You must be monitored, for the sake of civilized people everywhere!" It's the type of comment that used to be red meat for veteran right-wing radio talk show host Ray Briem, who, during his first few decades at KABC-AM (790), regularly chewed up such arch-nemeses as the cantankerous Lefty Louise.

After 27 years on the graveyard shift, KABC-AM's Ray Briem says he'll miss the political patter and the crusades he conducted on the air, but he's ready to give it all up for a good night's sleep. "I'm 65 and my body says staying up all night ain't the right thing to do," said Briem, whose midnight-to-5 a.m. talk show on KABC (790) is one of the longest-running in the market. "You never get used to it. Your biological clock, your circadian rhythms are always upset.

Boo! Who?: KABC Talkradio's Ken Minyard and Roger Barkley will be real-life ghostbusters tonight when they stake out a haunted house where the owners reportedly have experienced repeated attacks from "unseen forces." The brave duo will start describing their experiences at midnight on KABC's Ray Briem show, and continue broadcasting from the haunted house on their own show Friday morning (5-9 a.m.)

In an effort to boost ratings, talk radio station KIEV-AM (870) has revamped its weekday lineup, dropping Michael Reagan from 8 p.m. to midnight and adding KTLA-TV Rose Parade anchor Stephanie Edwards to its 9 a.m.-noon slot. Advice host Roy Masters, who had been on weekday mornings, now moves to 10 p.m.-2 a.m. The first two hours of what had been Reagan's time slot is now paid programming. "It just wasn't working out" in terms of Reagan's ratings, said Jason Jeffries, KIEV's program director.

Entertainment industry notables, from producer Samuel Z. Arkoff to singer Luther Vandross, have been chosen to be added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a spokeswoman for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said. Selected honorees, by category, are: Movies--Arkoff; actors Chevy Chase, Richard Farnsworth, Anna Lee, Pat Morita, Jason Robards and Meryl Streep; directors Arthur Cohn and Oliver Stone, and Bugs Bunny animator Friz Freleng.

CITY COUNCIL WALK OF FAME: Approved adding the names of actor Rip Taylor and radio talk host Ray Briem to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. A ceremony for Taylor is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Oct. 15 at 6626 Hollywood Blvd. A ceremony for Briem is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Oct. 22 at 6125 Hollywood Blvd.

After 27 years on the graveyard shift, KABC-AM's Ray Briem says he'll miss the political patter and the crusades he conducted on the air, but he's ready to give it all up for a good night's sleep. "I'm 65 and my body says staying up all night ain't the right thing to do," said Briem, whose midnight-to-5 a.m. talk show on KABC (790) is one of the longest-running in the market. "You never get used to it. Your biological clock, your circadian rhythms are always upset.