Sam Rubin, KTLA’s longtime entertainment reporter and weekday anchor, died on May 10, 2024, at age 64. He spent more than three decades bringing Hollywood interviews and entertainment news to Los Angeles morning television. The cause was not announced when KTLA first reported his death; the Los Angeles County medical examiner later determined that he died of ischemic heart disease and coronary artery disease, with the manner of death classified as natural.
Who was Sam Rubin?
Rubin was a Los Angeles television journalist best known as KTLA’s weekday entertainment anchor. The Television Academy dates his arrival at the station to 1991 and says he held the role until his death. It described his style as breezy but grounded in deep knowledge of film and television, with a willingness to explore the broader significance of entertainment-industry stories.
Rubin was born in San Diego and graduated from Occidental College in Los Angeles, according to the Associated Press. His work extended beyond daily television: his production company, SRE Inc., produced more than 200 hours of broadcast and cable programming, including 120 episodes of Hollywood Uncensored, according to the Television Academy.
How long did Sam Rubin work at KTLA?
Rubin worked at KTLA for more than three decades. KTLA Morning News premiered on July 8, 1991, and the Los Angeles Times reported that Rubin joined about three months later. The program arrived when local stations generally focused on evening news and viewers were expected to turn to national broadcasts in the morning. Its informal conversation and attention to Los Angeles helped make it influential; rival KTTV soon introduced a competing morning show.
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Rubin became a familiar part of that local format: a bridge between Hollywood and viewers starting their day. Former KTLA co-anchor Carlos Amezcua told the Los Angeles Times that Rubin helped the program connect with the city as a native Angeleno who loved and knew Los Angeles.
What was Rubin known for as an interviewer?
Rubin’s entertainment coverage was often upbeat and accommodating to the people he interviewed, but his work also included pointed questions. The Los Angeles Press Club documented a 2010 exchange in which he challenged Mel Gibson. The Los Angeles Times has also discussed on-air controversies during Rubin’s long career, including a 2014 moment when he confused Samuel L. Jackson with Laurence Fishburne. Those incidents are part of the record, but they do not encompass the breadth of his work across decades of daily broadcasting.
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The Television Academy said Rubin received multiple Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards, a Golden Mike from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California, a Los Angeles Press Club award for best entertainment reporter, and the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s 2013 Impact Award for Outstanding Integrity in Broadcast Journalism. On June 11, 2024, the Academy announced that he had been posthumously selected for its 76th Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award, recognizing his more than three decades of KTLA entertainment reporting.
How did Sam Rubin die?
Rubin died on May 10, 2024, at 64. In its announcement that day, KTLA said he had died unexpectedly; the Associated Press obituary noted that no cause had been released at the time. The AP reported that Rubin’s final interview was with actor Jane Seymour on May 9, the day before his death.
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On July 9, 2024, the Los Angeles Times reported the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s finding: the cause was ischemic heart disease and coronary artery disease, and the manner of death was natural. Ischemic heart disease involves narrowed arteries. This later determination clarified the cause; it was not information publicly given in the initial announcement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How colleagues remembered him
Tributes emphasized Rubin’s warmth and enthusiasm for his work. The Associated Press reported that actor Ryan Reynolds recalled Rubin’s kindness, curiosity and unconventional questions, even after a long day of interviews. Jamie Lee Curtis remembered his energy during early-morning broadcasts. The Television Academy’s Los Angeles Area Peer Group governor Stephanie Hampton called him a guiding light who gave viewers a window into Hollywood.
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Rubin is survived by his wife, Leslie, and four children, the Associated Press reported.
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