Michael James Horn

Michael James Horn, known to most as Mike, lived a life filled with radio, wine, baseball, laughter, and the people he cared about. He was a talented broadcaster, an enthusiastic wine connoisseur, a devoted Dodgers fan, and a man with a wonderfully wicked sense of humor. But perhaps the best way to remember Mike is much simpler: he was a genuinely good friend, a kind and generous man who made an impression on the people fortunate enough to know him. Mike found his calling in radio, an industry that suited his quick wit, creativity, and love of entertaining people. His career took him through some of Los Angeles's most memorable radio stations. At KBBQ and KROQ, Mike began as News Director before joining the airwaves alongside KROQ’s original personalities. He later became Production Director at KLAC and joined KFOX in Long Beach, where listeners knew him as Country Mike. At KFI-AM, Mike teamed up with Dick Whittington on Goodtime Radio KFI, sharing the comedy spotlight with Lohman and Barkley and Hudson and Landry. In 1983, Mike took his knowledge of broadcasting in a new direction, founding Cable Radio Network, which supplied commercial radio programming to local cable television systems. It was another chapter in a career marked by creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to embrace new ideas. Mike had a genuine passion for wine. As a sommelier, he loved tasting, learning, and discovering wines he had never tried before. For Mike, wine was about more than what was in the glass. It was about discovery, conversation, and the pleasure of sharing something wonderful with others. His enthusiasm and expertise made wine another way to bring people together. And then there were the Dodgers. Mike loved his team, and baseball held a special place in his heart. Mike had a wonderfully wicked sense of humor, a quick wit, and an appreciation for life's absurdities. He knew how to deliver a perfectly timed wisecrack, find humor in the ordinary, and make people laugh when they least expected it. His humor was unmistakably his own. But behind that humor was a genuinely kind and generous man. Mike was a truly good friend. He treated people with warmth, gave generously of himself, and made connections that mattered. He was someone people could enjoy, learn from, laugh with, and count on. He brought his own special combination of intelligence, humor, and generosity to his friendships, and the people in his life were better for having known him. Mike was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Horn and Adeline Kadlec Horn. He is survived by his beloved daughter, Jennifer Kathleen Horn, who has followed in her father’s footsteps into radio, continuing a special connection between two generations; his brother, Chuck Horn; his nieces, Stephanie Pitassi and Caitlin Sweeney; his nephew, Eric Horn; his cousin, Sharon Denner; his former wife, Diana Sweeney; and his partner, Cynthia Peck. Each of them holds a unique place in Mike’s story and will carry forward their own memories of the man he was, the moments they shared, and the ways he touched their lives.