Sam Rubin Receiving Posthumous Los Angeles Area Governors Award From Television Academy

Sam Rubin, the late KTLA5 entertainment reporter, has been named as a posthumous recipient of the 76th Los Angeles Area Emmy Governors Award, the Television Academy announced today.

After joining KTLA in 1991, Rubin was a Los Angeles TV news mainstay as the outlet’s longtime entertainment reporter and regular interviewer on red carpets. He died unexpectedly on May 10 at age 64 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Brentwood.

The award, which is presented to an individual, company or organization that has made an outstanding, innovative and visionary achievement in the arts, sciences or management of television as well as a substantial contribution to the greater Los Angeles area, recognizes Rubin’s legacy of more than three decades of entertainment news reporting for the station.

Cris Abrego, the Chair of the Television Academy, made the announcement on KTLA this morning, saying the vote in favor of Rubin was unanimous.

“Sam was a trailblazer, a pioneer in the modern age of television news. His contributions to entertainment journalism in Los Angeles and around the world are unmatched,” said Abrego. “We are honored to recognize him for his influence and impact to our television community.”

Rubin is also up for a competitive Emmy at this year’s awards ceremony in the Best Entertainment News Story category for his coverage of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Rubin was a founding member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the largest organization of film and television critics in the United States, with more than 200 members. Additionally, he owned SRE Inc., a television production company that produced more than 200 hours of broadcast and cable programming, including several Live From red carpet shows and 120 episodes of the talk show Hollywood Uncensored.

Rubin garnered numerous Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards during his career and also received a Golden Mike Award from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California. He was named Best Entertainment Reporter by the Los Angeles Press Club. In 2013, he was honored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition with its Impact Award for Outstanding Integrity in Broadcast Journalism.

The Los Angeles Area Governors Award will be presented during the 76th Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards on July 27 at the Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire.

City News Service contributed to this report.