Sam Rubin, a preferred leisure reporter on KTLA since 1991, died Friday. He was 64.
Rubin died at his residence of a coronary heart assault. His final look on KTLA was on Might 9. He didn’t seem Friday on KTLA’s 7-9 a.m. “Morning Information” as common. KTLA reported that Rubin’s colleagues stated he “confirmed no outward indicators of sickness” the day earlier than.
Rubin was a fixture in Hollywood who loved uncommon longevity with a single station all through his profession. On digital camera, Rubin was unfailingly jocular and heat, usually speaking about his off-air actions along with his spouse and 4 youngsters. Chatting with Rubin reside on KTLA has lengthy been a staple of any publicity tour for stars of films, TV reveals, live performance excursions and the rest involving leisure.
Perry Sook, chairman and CEO of Nexstar, known as the anchor “an icon” for the area and the trade.
“Sam was an icon in Los Angeles and the leisure trade and he was a beloved member of our Nexstar Nation. My prayers are along with his household and the KTLA household as we mourn his passing. He shall be missed,” Sook stated in an announcement.
KTLA, one of many nation’s pioneering TV stations and the primary business outlet to hit the airwaves on the West Coast in 1948, praised the journalist who turned synonymous with the station. KTLA information anchor Frank Buckley was visibly choked up as he reported Rubin’s loss of life on-air Friday afternoon.
“Sam was a large within the native information trade and the leisure world, and a fixture of Los Angeles morning tv for many years,” KTLA stated in an X put up. “His chortle, attraction and caring persona touched all who knew him. Sam was a loving husband and father: the roles he cherished essentially the most. Our ideas are with Sam’s household throughout this troublesome time.”
As an anchor and reporter in Hollywood’s yard, Rubin additionally lined the internal workings of Hollywood, normally providing a fan’s perspective on the machinations of studios and networks and the excesses of the wealthy and well-known. Later in his profession he branched out into TV manufacturing, and he went worldwide. Rubin was an on-air leisure reporter for ITV U.Okay., and he was a preferred leisure information persona in Australia by his function as a Hollywood correspondent for 9 Community’s “In the present day” and “In the present day Additional” applications.
“Everybody goes to really feel like they misplaced a household buddy,” publicist Jamie Gruttemeyer Symonds advised Selection in response to the information of Rubin’s loss of life.
Actor Yvette Nicole Brown echoed that sentiment in an X put up, calling Rubin “a buddy” and noting “I loved all of the occasions I acquired to go to him at KTLA.”
The information of Rubin’s loss of life hit Hollywood arduous with an outpouring of unhappiness and tributes from actors on each coasts. Dave Foley, Kiefer Sutherland, Marlee Matlin, Jerry O’Connell, Paul Feig, Ben Stiller, Greg Grunberg and extra shared their recollections and continued to reward Rubin’s kindness within the enterprise.
Along with his work as an anchor, Rubin’s tv manufacturing firm SRE, Inc. has produced greater than 200 hours of broadcast and cable programming together with “Stay From” purple carpet reveals and 120 episodes of speak present “Hollywood Uncensored.”
Rubin was a co-founder of the Critics Alternative Affiliation. The group paid tribute to him, calling him a “guiding drive” for the group that bestows awards for films and TV reveals.
“Sam’s beneficiant spirit, unfailing good humor and deep data of “Hollywood” made him a legend within the leisure enterprise and a trusted buddy to thousands and thousands of viewers – and to a whole bunch of stars who relaxed in straightforward dialog with him on his set at KTLA and on numerous purple carpets,” Critics Alternative stated.
In 1996, Rubin teamed along with his crosstown rival, KTTV leisure reporter Dorothy Lucey, as hosts of the daytime syndicated speak present “Scoop with Sam & Dorothy,” which ran for a number of months.
Rubin was the recipient of a Golden Mic award, a lifetime achievement award from Southern California Broadcasters Affiliation and winner of greatest leisure reporter from the Los Angeles Press Membership. He penned two celeb biographies over his lengthy profession, one about Jacqueline Kennedy Onnassis and a 1990 guide about Mia Farrow co-authored with Richard Taylor.
Early in his profession, Rubin lined leisure information for Group W Tv and he was a correspondent for the Nineteen Eighties New York-area cable channel Movietime.
Based on his KTLA bio, he supported a number of organizations together with the MS 150 Bay to Bike Tour and helps L.A. colleges and literacy applications.
A 1982 graduate of Occidental School, he’s survived by his spouse, Leslie, and 4 youngsters.
CORRECTION: An earlier model of this story incorrectly acknowledged that Rubin had been on the air Friday on “KTLA Morning Information.”