Some good news from South Florida — the King has re-entered the building. Rich King, a Cincinnati afternoon radio humorist for almost 25 years, returned to WNOG-AM in Naples, Fla., last week after his third bout with cancer in nine years.

        Radiation and chemotherapy for abdominal cancer, diagnosed in March, had made him too weak to work since late May. But he sounded great on the phone late last week.

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To contact King    Rich King fans and friends can contact him through the Ricky King Fund, 5051 Castello Drive, Suite 21, Naples, FL 34103; or (239) 262-1808; or www.therickykingfund.org.

        “The worst thing for me was to lie around here and do nothing,” says Mr. King, who left WKRC-AM (550) in 1990 when management canceled his contract after 19 years because of a budget cut. He had previously worked at WLW-AM, where one of his biggest fans was young David Letterman listening in Indianapolis, and at WCKY-AM.

        “I've lost a bunch of weight,” he says. “The hardest part was just getting to the car. We're just doing a lot of praying.”

        Mr. King has beaten the odds on cancer twice. He was diagnosed with esophagus cancer in 1992, shortly after he and his wife, Joan, and their five children moved to Naples.

        Doctors told him that he had “a one to two percent chance of survival,” Mr. King says. “I was supposed to die. But it never came back.”

        Mr. King is one of “the longest living survivors of esophagus cancer,” says Mrs. King, an Amberley Village native who met her future husband by winning a date with the radio personality on Channel 5's old Bob Braun Show.

        Two years ago, he beat prostate cancer. Then last year, he began having severe stomach pains. He stayed on the air this spring, through chemo and radiation. He has recently changed shifts, giving up his four-hour afternoon drive slot for a 9 a.m.-noon show.

        “Four hours was just too much,” he says.

        Says his wife: “His voice is still good. I don't know how he does it.”

        His cancer battle became public in late April when he reluctantly agreed to do an interview with a friend at the Naples Daily News.

        “I thought maybe it's going to help some people, and give them some inspiration to get through this crap,” he says. Many of his shows since then have been devoted to cancer survivors and experts.

        In recent years, he also revived his Ricky King Fund in South Florida. It was started in Cincinnati after the 1978 death of his son, 4, from Reyes Syndrome. More than $1 million was raised in the Tristate for Reyes Syndrome research, which helped find the link between aspirin and chicken pox.

        The Ricky King Fund now provides wheelchair lifts, bathtub lifts and other medical equipment for South Florida children. More than 35 families have been helped through the fund, says director Dawn Montecalvo in Naples.

        His first cancer fight was kept secret. Only his closest friends — including former WKRC-AM co-worker Bob “The Producer” Berry (now at WEBN-FM) and auto dealer Bob Williams — knew that Mr. and Mrs. King had secretly flown to Cincinnati for treatment.

        Only a few back then knew that local radio executive Randy Michaels paid for the Kings' two-week stay at the Vernon Manor while they consulted with doctors here. “Randy is a very generous person. He paid for the whole deal, meals and everything,” Mr. King says.

        His new cancer battle is so serious that Mrs. King wanted all of his longtime Cincinnati fans to know about her husband's failing health. He loves to hear from old Cincinnati listeners when they're in South Florida.

        “I must hear from a Cincinnati listener every day on the air. It's amazing that there are so many people down here,” Mr. King says.

        Those who have been to Naples or Fort Myers where his show is simulcast have heard a more serious talk show in recent years.

        It's not the crazy fun and games from his Cincinnati days. No talk about bullfights at the Erlanger Astrodome, nude beaches in New Richmond or shooting down a rival station's traffic 'copter.

        Such silliness on powerful WLW-AM from 1965 to 1970 had a huge impact on Mr. Letterman. In the 1987 The David Letterman Story, An Unauthorized Biography, author Caroline Latham wrote:

        “Another influence from the early days was radio personality Rich King. He used to devote large portions of his program to broadcasting imaginary events, such as paddleboat races on the Ohio River or baseball games between nonexistent teams. Listening to him taught Dave the humorous potential of misinformation.”

        Although he's changed his act, Mr. King's listeners love him just the same these days.

        “He's got quite an audience down here. And they're not ready to give him up,” Mrs. King says. “He's been a true survivor, and has helped so many people.”

        Says her husband: “I'm hanging in there. I'm not ready to check out yet.”

        Long live the King.

       Contact John Kiesewetter by phone: 768-8419; or e-mail: jkiesewetter@enquirer.com.

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