Longtime KTLA reporter Stan Chambers dies at age 91
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Longtime news reporter Stan Chambers, who worked for KTLA for more than six decades, died Friday at the age of 91 following a long illness.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Chambers family," KTLA President and General Manager Don Corsini said on the station's website. "Stan was a brilliant journalist and one of the best in the business."
There were only about 300 television sets in the Los Angeles area when Chambers joined KTLA in 1947. The Navy veteran first started working behind the scenes, but a few months later, he made his way in front of the camera.
Chambers filed more than 22,000 stories over the next 63 years, covering major events like the Bel-Air fire, the Northridge earthquake and the Manson family murders.
He helped anchor 27 hours of coverage of little Kathy Fiscus, a 3-year-old who became trapped in an abandoned well in San Marino. That event was a defining moment in broadcast journalism.
According to KTLA, Chambers also broke the Rodney King beating story when an amateur photographer who filmed the beating handed over his tape to him.
"Stan Chambers was a newsman in the truest sense," said L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti in a statement. "His dedication to producing the best story possible led to innovations that define the newscasts we watch today. Stan was a gentleman, a gifted storyteller, and one of those rare L.A. icons whose impact was felt by generations of Angelenos. He will be truly missed."
Chambers retired on his 87th birthday in 2010. He is survived by his wife Gigi, 11 children, 38 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
City News Service contributed to this report.
