Longtime KTLA entertainment reporter Sam Rubin, a larger-than-life figure in Los Angeles television, has died suddenly at the age of 64.
Rubin’s colleague Frank Buckley announced the news on-air Friday.
“We have some news from the KTLA family, which is shocking and hard to comprehend at the moment. We have the profoundly sad duty to report that our friend and colleague Sam Rubin has died,” Buckley said. “Our hearts, as you can imagine, are broken. Quite simply, Sam was KTLA.”
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Buckley broke down as he recalled Rubin’s “laugh, his charm, his caring personality.”
An unnamed source cited by Variety said Rubin had suffered a heart attack at home just after doing his regular news segments early Friday morning. The longtime anchor leaves behind a wife and four children.
Tributes to Rubin came pouring out on social media, where celebrities who’d crossed paths with him recalled his overwhelming kindness.
Actor Henry Winkler told KTLA that Rubin “made every human being feel so special and got them to open up like a flower.”
“It is a very emotional, sad day. Not only for the KTLA family, but for the entertainment industry as a whole. The man was a legend,” actor Jerry O’Connell told the news station.
“Your professionalism was unmatched by your kindness and humanity. I will miss your presence on The Red Carpet,” Viola Davis wrote on Instagram.
