Radio talk-show host Alice Porter dies at 44
But it quickly became clear that Ms. Porter could chat about much beyond morning commutes. So what had been the "Murdock and Hunter Show" within weeks became the "Murdock, Hunter and Alice Show."
"She had so much to say that ... we added her name to the show," Murdock recalled. "She was a force of nature."
That was in 1989, the start of the trio's 15-year reign over KLSY's 5 to 10 a.m. slot that lasted until last December.
Ms. Porter added female views to the show, which focused on current affairs and pop culture and for which women made up the primary audience.
Ms. Porter, of Maple Valley, died Friday (July 30) at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue after a sudden illness. She was 44.
Ms. Porter was a freewheeling host given to riffing about her beloved dogs, domestic dramas and whatever else popped into her head.
One of Ms. Porter's memorable stunts on the air was to call a singing psychic in Texas to locate a rug-shampooing machine, for which a local grocery store was hounding her for $600 for failing to return it. The psychic said the machine was lost in the back of the store, and indeed it was.
"She was just out there. You never knew what she was going to say," said Bryon Mengle, the trio's on-air producer.
Hunter, who had been Ms. Porter's on-air partner since 1986, said she was outspoken with a voice to match.
"She was loud. I don't think anyone can deny that," Hunter said, laughing.
Off the air, Ms. Porter was an avid runner and a marathoner who logged about 20 miles a week. She helped to enlist her station as a corporate sponsor for the Komen Race for the Cure to raise money for breast-cancer research. Some of Ms. Porter's track records at Seaside High School in Oregon still stand.
Ms. Porter volunteered for children's causes, loved to swap flower cuttings and bulbs from her garden, and was "never happier than when there was a clam tide," said Murdock, a fellow Oregon native.
Ms. Porter left KLSY after Murdock decided not to renew his contract with Sandusky Radio, which operates KLSY. The station invited Ms. Porter and Hunter, whose contracts also had expired, to apply to continue hosting the show. In the end, Mitch Elliott and Lisa Foster replaced the trio.
Ms. Porter, who had been in good health, fell ill during the Fourth of July holiday while with her husband, Shawn, at the couple's second home on Hood Canal. She was admitted to the hospital after returning to the Seattle area, and she never returned home.
A private woman, Ms. Porter kept her illness hidden from even her closest friends. She and Hunter had planned to meet for lunch about a week before her death. She e-mailed Hunter — from her hospital bed, unbeknownst to him — about rescheduling it to mid-August.
"I didn't even know she was sick," said Hunter, who eventually learned of Ms. Porter's condition the day before she died.
In their nearly two decades as partners, Hunter said, he and Ms. Porter spent more time in each other's company than they did with their spouses. Hunter said he will miss his friend tremendously.
"We had some incredible adventures together," he said.
In addition to her husband, Ms. Porter is survived by her parents, Elmer and Alvis Porter of Seaside, Ore., and a sister in Silver Springs, Md. A service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 220 Mountain Park Blvd. S.W., Issaquah.
Memorials may be sent to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, 1900 N. Northlake Way, Seattle, WA 98103.
Kyung Song: 206-464-2423 or ksong@seattletimes.com