Andrew Howard; Part of the First Openly Gay Radio Talk Show Duo

Andrew Howard, who with life partner Karel Bouley broke ground as the first openly gay couple to host a radio talk show, died unexpectedly Monday morning from a pulmonary embolism. He was 34.

The duo had been with KFI-AM (640) for two years.

“I’m sure there are a million gay [radio] hosts, but not many of them are open, and no one had ever appeared on the air as a gay couple,” said Ron Rodrigues, editor-in-chief of Radio & Records magazine.

Their show, “Karel & Andrew,” ran weeknights on the top-rated KFI, which also broadcasts programs hosted by conservatives Laura Schlessinger and Rush Limbaugh.

“They were just so different--like nothing else on the radio in Los Angeles, ever,” said David G. Hall, KFI programming director. “Andrew was extremely insightful. He had a way of bottom-lining everything. He also had this orange hair--orange like Howard Roark from ‘The Fountainhead.’ ”

Last month, “Karel & Andrew” was bumped off the air to make room for a higher-rated personality, but both men remained under contract as full-time employees, and Hall said they were in the process of finding a new time slot for the duo, which was scheduled to be announced in two weeks.

Their show defied labels. It covered everything from a prank at a McDonald’s drive-through to a gripping cell-phone conversation with a student crouched under her desk during the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado.

The backbone of their on-air banter was their contrasting world views. Bouley, who dominated the conversation, could be stopped in his tracks with one, well-placed word from Howard.

“Karel was obviously the primary spokesman. Andrew was shyer and more cerebral, but he was also very funny. He took things lightly,” said Al Peterson, an editor at Radio & Records magazine.

“They didn’t feel like it was their job to be the poster boys for the gay community or to effect social change, just because they were the first openly gay hosts who were partners off the air.”

Born and raised in Big Bear, Calif., Howard met Bouley at a Garden Grove club in 1989. At the time, Bouley was writing copy and shooting pictures for music publications. Howard waited tables at Reuben’s Steak House.

“I went from waiter to housewife to radio personality,” Howard told The Times last summer. But it wasn’t smooth sailing. Both men said they felt ostracized by co-workers at KFI for the first few months.

“No one would talk to us,” Howard said.

“They would avoid us in the hallways. It made it very hard when we started. I think they thought we were too gay and people’s jobs were in jeopardy.”

With time came acceptance. On their 10th anniversary as a couple, the station threw a party, complete with a cake and a gift of a Baccarat crystal heart. After the party, Howard and Bouley returned to their home in Long Beach, which they shared with a cat and two dogs.

At the time of his death, Howard had completed two children’s novels he hoped to get published and a gay-themed play he wrote for Bouley to star in.

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Freelance writer William Keck contributed to this story.