FIRST OFF . . .

TV producer Roger Monroe King was arrested on robbery and drug charges last month in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., according to police reports made public on Friday. King, 43, the chairman of King World Productions, Inc. of New York--syndicator of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Wheel of Fortune,” and “Jeopardy!”--was jailed briefly on Feb. 21 after he allegedly attacked a cab driver and took his taxi. King “ended up punching the driver, ripping his shirt” before taking the cab, said Fort Lauderdale police spokesman Ott Cefkin. During a search after the arrest, police found three small bags containing a white powder later identified as cocaine, said Cefkin. King was booked at the Broward County jail on charges of auto theft, strong-arm robbery and possession of cocaine and released on a $7,000 bond the same day, said Cefkin. King’s company referred all calls on the case to its Los Angeles publicist Lee Helper, who told the Associated Press: “It is a private matter that is being handled by his personal attorney.” Helper said the incident “in no way affects the company or its business.”