Houston radio veteran Ryan Chase is suddenly off the air. After nearly 20 years at 104.2 KRBE, Chase is no longer part of the station’s morning show, ending a 23-year partnership with co-host Roula Christie.
Local media blogger Mike McGuff first reported the news on Friday.
Chase’s KRBE bio and Instagram account have both been deleted. Earlier this year, The Roula & Ryan Show was renamed The Roula & Ryan Show with Eric, and the show received a five-year contract extension. KRBE now lists the morning program as The Roula Show with Eric ft. Special K & Sam. Chase has not publicly commented on his departure.
KRBE’s ‘Roula & Ryan Show’ is a morning staple in Houston. (Courtesy)
On Monday, Christie and co-host Eric Rowe addressed Chase’s departure on-air. “We’re gonna miss a lot of things. Nobody plans for this. We just signed a five-year deal. I know you want us to tell you things, but we cannot,” Christie said, according to Radio Insight. Rowe added, “I’m in shock. I’m bummed.”
Chase began his career at K-FOX 95.5. in Lufkin while attending Stephen F. Austin State University. He later worked at KHMX (Mix 96.5) and KRBE in Houston, then moved to WXRK (92.3 K-Rock) in New York during Howard Stern’s tenure. In 1998, he left New York for 94.5 The Edge in Dallas-Fort Worth, co-hosting Jagger, Ryan and Michelle.
Roula Christie, right, and Ryan Chase conduct their first show Monday morning July 24, 2006 at KRBE in Houston. (Sharon Steinmann/Houston Chronicle)
He returned to Mix 96.5 in 2003, reuniting with Christie and producer Rowe on The Roula & Ryan Show. The trio moved to KRBE in 2006, taking over mornings from Atom Smasher and Maria Todd. Over two decades, the show became one of Houston’s most recognized morning franchises. Christie was inducted into the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in 2022, and in 2016, Chase revealed he had battled prostate cancer.
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This article originally published at Longtime Houston radio host suddenly leaves show after 19 years.