Mark Ward, Santa Barbara’s onetime counter-culture comedian and former KTYD funnyman turned Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputy, died November 15 at age 76 after a second battle with cancer.
For those whose memories go back far enough, Ward was famous for delivering The Nude News on KTYD, back in the station’s golden age of “alternative” radio. He and his comedic co-conspirator Richard Procter also delivered play-by-play radio commentary of Santa Barbara’s annual Fiesta Parade, making up much of what they recounted in the spirit of magical surrealism mixed with the rambunctiously stoner edge of The Firesign Theatre.
Ward, who worked as a cop in Needles and Lompoc, joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1994. Although he would spend five years as a detective and another few years in training new recruits, Ward’s real love — and true contribution—was the Isla Vista Foot Patrol. In Isla Vista, his say-anything, good-spirited, take-no-prisoners sense of humor fit right in. During a period when relations between law enforcement and I.V. residents was at times fraught, Ward’s easygoing affability — if he ever deployed the command-and-control voice many recruits are taught, no one ever heard it — was especially disarming.
In person, Ward grew long of tooth on the job — 27 years in uniform — and as a tall glass of water, he cut an unmistakable figure on the streets. He seemed to know everyone and was always armed with a sardonic wisecrack. He also had, according to Sheriff Bill Brown, a big heart for those in serious distress and was an excellent law enforcement officer.
Ward may have joked a lot, but he took himself and the job seriously. He also evolved into a crackerjack forensic audio technician, highlighting segments of tape recordings that might cast an evidentiary light on a crime that occurred.
After retiring in 2015, Ward landed a gig with Cottage Hospital, where he worked as both greeter and security officer. No matter what he did, Ward always was much more than his job description might suggest.
