Longtime D.C. radio host Peter Deibler, better known to listeners as Kane, died Friday after “a long illness,” lawyers for his family said Monday. He was 43.
Deibler was host of “The Kane Show” on HOT 99.5 for 14 years and once contributed to NBC4. His program aired in the D.C. area and beyond.
“Although co-hosts came and went, Kane remained a constant, comforting voice for thousands of people driving to work, dropping the kids off at school and running errands,” lawyers for Deibler’s family said in a statement.
Deibler died of acute respiratory distress syndrome, attorney David Bulitt told News4. His death was not related to COVID-19, and drug use was not involved, he said. Deibler was taken to Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, Maryland by ambulance about and spent several days in intensive care before his death.
His father, a minister in Connecticut, was with him in his final days.
Deibler was an innovator and a professional, said News4’s Tommy McFly, who once was a competitor.
“Kane changed the sound of D.C. radio. When he and Samy and Sarah got started in 2006, morning shows didn’t sound like that,” McFly said.
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Deibler was a father to two daughters, who he often spoke about on the air.
“He made sure they had the supports that they needed and the school that they needed, and he just doted on them regularly. He wasn’t really a dog fan but the girls wanted a dog, so he got a dog,” Bulitt said.
Deibler and his wife went through an ugly and public divorce in 2017.
“The Kane Show” went off the air in April 2020, in what the radio network iHeartRadio described as a cost-cutting move.
iHeartRadio expressed condolences on Monday.
“We are deeply saddened to share the news that Kane has passed away. Kane has been an important part of our iHeart family for many years, from his early days at WFLZ in Tampa, to his network of stations and success at HOT995 in DC and Club Kane. Please keep Kane's family and his girls in your thoughts and prayers,” the company said in a statement.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
