Trailblazing Los Angeles TV executive, best known for his tenure as General Manager of KABC TV, Tom Van Amburg has passed away on Monday after a short illness at the age of 83, according to Deadline.
What’s Happening:
- Tom Van Amburg, best known for his role as the General Manager of ABC’s flagship owned & operated station, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, has passed away at the age of 83 after a short illness.
- He accepted the aforementioned position back in 1981, leading the station to the no. 1 broadcast news station and a most trusted news source in Southern California.
- While there, he ushered in an era of programming across all timeslots, which also included A.M. Los Angeles with Regis Philbin, launching Philbin as a morning talk show fixture.
- Van Amburg’s career spanned other ABC owned & operated stations in San Francisco, Chicago, and New York before finding his way to Los Angeles.
- Aside from running the station as a General Manager, Van Amburg also appeared in front of the camera with weekly editorials. He brought the 1984 Olympics to Los Angeles on KABC and hosted specials including Coliseum Coliseum, which traced the historic Los Angeles venue to its roots in Rome. Another innovation was turning the station into a crime-stopping resource. He hosted Eyewitness Anonymous, a show that profiled local criminals on the loose, and he would end each profile with a signature catchphrase, “Turn ‘em in!”
- He also is the father of Apple TV+ head of worldwide video Zack Van Amburg and marketing executive Chris Van Amburg.
- Tom Van Amburg is survived by his wife, Mary; children Zack, Chris and Arden; and six grandchildren.
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