Stan Chambers, a veteran TV reporter for Los Angeles news station KTLA, died Friday. He was 91.
The journalist was surrounded by family at his Holmby Hills, California, home when he died at around 10.30 a.m., according to KTLA’s official website.
Chambers, who worked at the station for 63 years, is said to have covered over 22,000 stories during his time there, reporting on nearly ever major Los Angeles news story that transpired during that time period, including the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, the Watts riots and the Rodney King Riots.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Chambers family,” KTLA President and General Manager Don Corsini said. “Stan was a brilliant journalist and one of the best in the business.”
“He will be remembered as a pioneer in the industry, and a pillar of the KTLA family,” KTLA News Director Jason Ball added.
Before working with KTLA, Chambers served in the U.S. Navy and attended classes at USC, working on the campus magazine. He recounted how he first heard about KTLA while speaking at a retrospective of his career in 2010, according to the news station.
“I heard a program one night saying that one of the local television stations had expanded its broadcasting schedule,” Chambers said. “I didn’t even know that television was on the air. And I said, ‘How about doing a program on a campus magazine?’ That was my debut and after it was over, I thought, ‘Oh, this is a wonderful job.’”
Chambers reported for KTLA from Dec. 1, 1947, until he retired on his 87th birthday in 2010. He has since had a star named after him on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
He is survived by his wife, Gigi, 11 children, 38 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Stan Chambers was 91.