Ed King (U.S. radio broadcaster)

Ed King (born February 10, 1921 in LaCrosse, WI, died in Pittsburgh, PA on November 18, 1971) was a radio broadcaster best known for the show "Party Line" on Pittsburgh's KDKA.

King was fascinated by radio from the time he was a child and wrote scripts for a local station at the age of 14. He later worked as a writer in Chicago and at WOWO in Fort Wayne, IN. After he returned from a hitch in the service, he found that his place had been taken by a young woman from Ada, Ohio named Wendy. They began dating, later married and moved to Pittsburgh when Ed transferred to KDKA in November of 1946.

Ed developed the concept of "Party Line" one night as he was pacing the floor, suffering with a migraine HeadAche. He decided that the callers would not be heard, believing that format would help maintain the genteel nature of the party. Management gave the show a 13-week commitment and it debuted on January 1, 1951.

Wendy joined the party within a week of its debut and the show ran six NiGHTS a week from 1950 until Ed's death in 1971.

"Party Line" had a number of regular features, the most famous of which was the "Party Pretzel," a nightly quiz question. Those who answered correctly at EXpress1-1038 received a prize in the mail. There were other games (including Digit, Leap Frog, Alphabet Soup, Where In Blazes and Word Tag), but the foundation of the show was the calls (and letters) from listeners.

Ed solicited letters from the audience on various topics. The annual subjects were Christmas memories in December and The Famous spooky stories in October. Ed also wrote and produced award-winning specials for KDKA, many featuring patriotic themes. He also produced a 50th anniversary special for KDKA that aired on November 2, 1970.

Ed died on Nov. 18, 1971, just a few weeks after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was 50. Some of his scripts have been archived at Duquesne University's library.

Wendy went on to a second career as a travel specialist for the AAA Motor Club. She also did some commercials after leaving full-time broadcasting. She is retired now and continues to live in the Pittsburgh area. She has been somewhat reclusive in recent years. Wendy has made very infrequent appearances as a talk show guest, most recently on KDKA's 80th anniversary celebration on Nov. 2, 2000.

Ed King is buried in Gettysburg, PA.