LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Charlie Tuna, famed K-EARTH 101 personality and one of the most recognizable voices from the Los Angeles radio scene, died earlier this month at age 71.

Born in Nebraska as Art Ferguson, the famed DJ “passed away peacefully in his sleep February 19th, 2016,” according to a statement posted on his website.

Ferguson, who began using the moniker Charlie Tuna while working in Oklahoma City in 1966, was one of the original DJs at KROQ in the early 1970s and worked a series of other stations, including KRLA, KODJ and KLAC, then hosted the “Charlie Tuna in the Morning” program on KBIG until 2007.

After that station changed format, he moved to K-EARTH, where he stayed until 2015, when he focused on a syndication business.

“Charlie was a beloved member of the KEARTH family for nearly 7 years,” said Chris Ebbott, Program Director of K-EARTH 101. “He will always be a part of this radio station and his memory will live on in the hearts of all who had the pleasure and honor of working with him. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this tough time.”

He appeared for more than two decades on Armed Forces Radio, and served as an announcer on television shows, including “Scrabble,” “The Mike Douglas Show” and “America’s Top 10” with Casey Kasem.

Thanks to his annual “Tunathon” fundraiser, he is also credited with raising millions of dollars for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where his family asked that donations be made in his name.

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