King Harris, longtime Central Coast TV and radio broadcaster, dies at 75
Central Coast broadcast journalist King Harris showed up to work every day with a sense of humor and his typical uniform: a pink button-down shirt, jeans and bare feet.
“He took the news seriously, but he never took himself seriously,” KVEC radio host Dave Congalton told the Tribune. “He had this wonderful sense of humor.”
Harris, 75, died Tuesday night after collapsing in his Arroyo Grande home. Paramedics couldn’t revive him, said Congalton, who had just met Harris for lunch earlier that day.
“King had health issues, but he was in good spirits the whole time,” Congalton said in a news release. “We’re all in shock at the news. Total shock.”
After working with Harris for nearly 25 years, Congalton said he considers the journalist both a mentor and friend.
“He was a first-class journalist,” Congalton said. “Rarely have I felt such a deep sense of loss.”
The twists and turns of King Harris’ career
After a stint at a Monterey TV station, Harris moved to Santa Barbara in 1980 to work as a news anchor for KEYT Channel 3, where he rose to popularity.
Christine Craft co-anchored with Harris at KEYT, and he was a natural, she said.
“He was born to do that,” Craft said on Congalton’s show Tuesday night. “He was very, very comfortable on air.”
Craft said Harris worked hard on set, but also knew how to make people laugh.
“He could be very serious when he had to be, but he also had a great sense of fun,” Craft said. “You had to like him, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t.”
Harris was a supportive colleague and well-liked by anyone who met him. This was rare, Craft said, as the news business is competitive.
“He just rolled with the punches and managed to stay above it all, which is quite an art,” Craft said.
Harris started at KEYT about when Ronald Reagan was elected president. Reagan kept a summer home in Santa Barbara, and Harris interviewed him a number of times. Harris also spent time with other celebrities during his time at KEYT, Congalton said.
“He would go out drinking with Robert Mitchum, Julia Child would cook for him,” Congalton told The Tribune. “He had this fascinating life, and I got to work with the guy.”
In 1997, after 17 years as a news anchor, Harris started teaching at Cal Poly as a journalism professor. Congalton, who had been watching Harris on TV for 10 years, invited the journalism legend onto his show to discuss the industry.
“In those days, news anchors were a really big deal,” Congalton said. “It was an honor for him to be on my show. I’d been a fan for years.”
After hearing the show, the station general manager invited Harris to work as KVEC’s news director on the spot. Harris accepted, and “whipped the place into shape,” Congalton said.
Soon after Harris started as news director, he hired eight or nine Cal Poly students to work at KVEC.
“I remember them coming to the station,” Congalton said. “We were in an old house on Chorro Street, and there was King, sitting on the floor with all these students. That was his news team.”
During the early 2000’s, Harris worked briefly at KCOY Channel 12, New Times and the Tolosa Press. In 2007, he returned to KVEC as the morning news anchor until he retired in 2015.
Congalton said Harris was collaborative and supportive when they worked together.
“He was always finding humor in the news,” Congalton said. “I knew him 25 years, and we never once had an argument. We’ve never ever fought. He was totally supportive of me.”
Harris defeated ‘personal demons’
King Harris’ childhood wasn’t easy, his younger brother Jim Harris said on Congalton’s show Tuesday night.
The Harris’ parents got a divorce, and he also suffered from polio.
“I could remember him on the kitchen table being massaged,” Jim said. “That was pretty scary when your big brother is going through that.”
King — known as Nick by his family — overcame these challenges, Jim said.
“Nick realized all of this great career despite a rough childhood,” Jim said. “It makes what he accomplished later all the greater.”
Harris also served in Saigon during the Vietnam War, Congalton said.
Some of his later work referenced his experience as a veteran. In 1988, he traveled with UC Santa Barbara professor and eventual congressman Walter Capps and a handful of fellow Vietnam War Veterans to the Soviet Union and made a documentary called “Brothers in Arms,” Congalton said.
Harris later battled alcoholism and checked himself into a Los Angeles rehabilitation facility in about 2018. Two months later, he was released.
“In the end, he won,” Congalton said. “I saw him yesterday, and he was in good spirits.”
Congalton called Harris his “personal hero” because he succeeded in the face of hardship.
“I want people to remember King Harris as a guy who finished first in the long run,” Congalton said. “He overcame personal demons.”
A love for ‘50s and ‘60s music
Harris started collecting records when he was 10-years-old, his brother Jim Harris said on the Congalton show.
“He could tell you what was on the flip side, and what label any singer was on. It was incredible,” Jim said. “You didn’t mess with his records.”
Harris kept collecting records throughout his life, Congalton said, and had thousands of 45’s in his garage.
“He wasn’t on Facebook. He wasn’t on LinkedIn, Instagram. He didn’t livestream — he didn’t do any of that stuff. He played records,” Congalton said.
Congalton said Harris had an “encyclopedic knowledge” of music and channeled that into his most recent project — a radio show.
For more than a year, Harris and Congalton hosted a show about 1950s and ‘60s music on KVEC from 4 to 5 p.m. each Friday.
“We’d play songs, and he would tell stories behind the songs,” Congalton said. “This segment exploded in popularity.”
Last Friday, Harris shared his favorite Motown songs, from the Supremes to Marvin Gaye.
“He ended his career with me as a music historian, and he was so grateful to have that opportunity to remain active in media,” Congalton said. “He was one of the most knowledgeable music historians I’ve ever known.”
Jim would listen to a recording of the music segment every Wednesday night over dinner, he said. Afterward, he would call King and they’d discuss it. Jim lives in Massachusetts, so it was a great way for the brothers to connect even though they lived in different states, Jim said.
“It was the highlight of our week,” Jim said. “I miss him very much already.”
With the new Elvis movie coming out, Harris and Congalton planned to showcase Presley’s songs with a two-part series — the first half would air during their show this Friday, and the second half the following Friday. Harris had already written his script for Part 1.
“It was wonderful. He nailed it,” Congalton said on his show. “That’s what King does. He nails it.”
To honor Harris, Congalton will continue with the Elvis show this Friday — reading Harris’ words.
“That is going to be our farewell to King,” Congalton told The Tribune. “We’re going to make sure that all the stuff that he put together is heard.”
From 3:05 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Congalton devoted his entire show to Harris, inviting colleagues, friends and family on air to talk about him. You can listen to a recording of the broadcast on KVEC’s website.
“There’s a lot going on in the world. I know there’s a lot going on in the state, but all that can wait, because he’s the king,” Congalton said.
King Harris is remembered by his wife Sara Harris, family and the Central Coast media community.
This story was originally published June 16, 2022 at 12:18 PM.
