Departures of note

David Jove, born David Sniderman in Toronto in 1942, was a Canadian filmmaker and producer best known for creating the early-1980s cable music program New Wave Theatre. Before that, however, he was involved in a notorious episode in rock history: while living in London in the mid-1960s and calling himself 'Acid King David,' he participated in a government drug set-up of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that led to the famous 'Redlands' bust. Jove had been caught carrying drugs at Heathrow Airport and, according to later accounts, was offered a deal by authorities to avoid jail and deportation if he helped entrap the Rolling Stones. Immediately after the bust, he was allowed to leave the UK and avoided prosecution.

Jove moved to Los Angeles, where he spent the rest of his life. In the early 1980s, he created New Wave Theatre, a music program hosted by Peter Ivers that aired on USA Network's late-night weekend show Night Flight. The show gained notoriety in the early days of cable television. Jove also collaborated with former Billboard editor Ed Ochs, co-writing songs and the script for his only feature film, Stranger Than Love (originally titled I Married My Mom!). Together they formed the studio band Oxygen, which recorded an EP of six original songs, 'The Bones of Hollywood,' in 1979.

After Peter Ivers was murdered in 1983, Jove, with producer Paul Flattery and help from Harold Ramis, created and produced the TV show The Top for KTLA. The show mixed live music, videos, and humor, featuring performances by Cyndi Lauper, The Hollies, and The Romantics, and guest appearances by Rodney Dangerfield, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd. Chevy Chase hosted the first taping but left after a physical altercation with an audience member; Andy Kaufman filled in for the host segments, marking his last professional appearance before his death. The Top aired on January 27, 1984, and outperformed KTLA's regular programming in ratings.

Jove was married to actress and comedian Lotus Weinstock; their daughter is actress and musician Lili Haydn. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer shortly before his death in Los Angeles in 2004, at age 61. In 2012, Ed Ochs published a memoir about Jove, Freedom Spy: David Jove and The Meaning of Existence, detailing their experiences together.