Jay Thomas, actor and renowned LA radio host, dies at 69
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Jay Thomas, a renowned Los Angeles radio host and Emmy Award-winning actor, has died. He was 69 years old.
Thomas' agent, Don Buchwald, confirmed the actor's death from cancer in a statement.
"Jay was one of a kind, never at a loss for words and filled with so much fun and wonderfully whacky thoughts and behavior," the statement read.
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A Texas native, Thomas broke into television playing Remo DaVinci on "Mork & Mindy." He later landed a recurring role as Eddie LeBec, the former-hockey-player husband of barmaid Carla on "Cheers."
He won the best guest actor Emmy in 1990 and 1991 for his portrayal of the character Jerry Gold, a tabloid TV show host, on "Murphy Brown."
More recently, Thomas had a recurring role on "Ray Donovan" as a tabloid journalist, and he made a 2015 guest appearance on "Bones."
He also appeared in a series of films over the years, including "Mr. Holland's Opus," "The Santa Clause 2" and "The Santa Clause 3."
He was a regular guest on "The Late Show with David Letterman."
Thomas worked briefly at KISS in Boston before being hired by then new Rhythmic Top 40 KPWR/Los Angeles as their new morning host. He hosted the Power 106-FM "Morning Zoo" radio program for 10 years, according to a bio on Thomas' website.
While in Hollywood, Thomas' campaign "We apologize for Jay Thomas on Power 106-fm" was seen all around town.
Thomas started out as a DJ in college and in recent years hosted a talk show on SiriusXM Radio.
He is survived by wife, Sally, and his three sons.
The Associated Press, ABC News and City News Service contributed to this report.
