A year after KROQ veteran Ted Stryker and radio partner Kevin Klein moved to the station’s A.M. slot — in a hasty shift after the station fired morning hosts Kevin Ryder, Allie Mac Kay and Jensen Karp — Stryker is departing the show.
Stryker announced the news on his Twitter account: “After more than 22 years at KROQ, I can proudly say with infinite gratitude that I will be leaving my full time position and stepping away from Stryker and Klein,” he wrote. “What’s next for me? I’ve got a lot of things planned on the horizon (stay tuned). In the meantime, my Out of Order show will continue to air on weekends on KROQ and around the country. I’ll also be filling in on the station when needed. The love and support that I’ve gotten from this community over so many years have meant and continue to mean the world to me. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your world.”
According to KROQ owner Audacy, a search is underway for his replacement and Stryker will remain in his current role until a replacement is found.
“For years, Ted Stryker has delivered passionate and interactive on-air programming for our listeners, and his longtime connection to the SoCal community is a major reason for the success of ‘Stryker and Klein,’” said KROQ brand manager Mike Kaplan. “While he will remain with the company in various capacities, we thank him for his invaluable contributions to KROQ over the years. We look forward to detailing the next chapter of his career in the near future.”
Stryker’s credits also include co-hosting “Loveline” with Dr. Drew Pinsky, serving as the on-air DJ for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” during the 2007-2008 TV season, and shows for MTV, Fuse, DirecTV and Fox Sports. He’s been a part of shows including “Charm School” and “The Ultimate Gamer,” and has hosted red carpet shows for the American Music Awards, Grammys, Billboard Music Awards and more.
While at CBS Radio, which was later purchased by Entercom (now Audacy) in Los Angeles, he hosted afternoons solo at KROQ for years, although he briefly moved over to sister top 40 station KAMP-FM. Later, he was paired with Klein to revamp the afternoon drive show.
“Stryker & Klein” has also been syndicated to Audacy’s “Alt 96.5” KRBZ Kansas City, “Alt 103.7” KVIL Dallas, and “Alt 105.3” KITS San Francisco. Klein, Ally Johnson and DJ Omar Khan will continue the show without Stryker.
“Kevin & Bean” ended its run at the end of 2019, when Gene “Bean” Baxter left for London. The show continued, however, a rebranded “Kevin the Morning With Allie & Jensen.” But in a very controversial move, KROQ decided to pull the show just two and a half months in, on March 18 at the very start of the COVID-19 pandemic — ending Kevin Ryder’s time at the station after more than 30 years.
