Wendy Burch Instagram – Talent. I have been using that word a lot lately when talking about my friend Sam Rubin. I live in a town full of talented people. I work at a TV station with talented journalists. But there was one man who had talent that was brighter and, quite frankly, just better than the rest of us.
I knew Sam for 25 years. Worked with him for nearly 20. In that time, I watched him produce more hours of television than any other person in Hollywood. 5 hours a morning. 5 days a week (and that was all before 10:30am). In the afternoons, he would be a correspondent for news outlets around the world, run his own production company and make countless public appearances. He would travel the globe for movie junkets, concerts, and premiers. In between it all, he’d somehow find the time to write columns, essays, and social post that would remind us that this “tv guy” was one of the best print journalists in the business.
It has often been said that nothing in production works faster than television news—and while we may be quick—Sam was lightning. His two-finger typing was a super-sonic symphony of words, wit, and Hollywood wisdom. On the occasion when he was caught without a carefully worded script… well that’s when he really shined. You knew when the prompter said (((SAM AD LIB))) some sharp turn of a phrase would magically appear out of thin air in the nick-of-time for on-air.
The guy also really knew how to tease. I’m referring to the quick couple of lines we come up with to keep you watching past the commercial break. It’s the “stay tuned” part of our business. Often (and Sam would admit this) his teases were more interesting than the actual story. Just another example of how he was constantly tuned in to what made our morning show work. In fact, I think Sam understood the KTLA Morning News better than anyone. He knew how to stay in the moment, commit to the bit and could have conducted a master class on how to make something out of nothing.
……. MORE in next post | Posted on 14/May/2024 00:21:23
