Dick Cable, a veteran California news anchor watched by generations, has died.
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The beloved broadcaster passed away on Wednesday after “an illness,” according to The New York Post. Cable was 89.
Cable anchored the Sacramento news on KXTV for three decades, becoming a fixture of local broadcasting.
Born Richard Arnold Cable in New York on June 23, 1936, Dick was inspired by his father, Homer Cable, who worked for the military news outlet Stars and Stripes during and after World War II.
In January 1969, Cable was hired by Sacramento’s CBS affiliate, News10 (now KXTV). Per The Post, years later, in 1973, he met his future wife of 48 years, Berta Gonzales, when she was an intern at the station.
In 1977, they married and went on to raise his five children from a previous marriage.
Of course, his career wasn’t without a few detours. In the late 1970s, he was taken off the air in pursuit of a “youth movement,” only to be brought back by 1981 when the station realized experience has no expiration date.
Fans and Colleagues Pay Tribute to Dick Cable
Fans and colleagues took to social media to pay tribute to Cable in the wake of his passing.
“It is with great sadness that I learned tonight, former KXTV anchor Dick Cable died today,” former News10 Reporter Dan Adams shared on social media. “I worked with Dick for 28 years. He was so kind, professional, dedicated, observant, and had a quick wit.”
Cable’s former co-anchor, Jennifer Smith, also weighed in on his passing.
“We all knew that he had been ill for quite some time and under hospice care, but it’s still a shock, and when you realize that a whole era has passed, and then you just feel so grateful for the time that you had together,” Smith said.
Jodie Mitchell Moreno also announced the anchor’s death in a Facebook post to the News10KXTV Reunion group.
“Hello friends…I have some very sad news to share,” she wrote. “Dick Cable passed away today. I am in contact with his wife, Berta, and can share as I hear more, but please keep her in your thoughts and send virtual love.”
Cable is survived by his wife, five children, and 10 grandchildren.