Warren Wilson Dies: Trailblazing Los Angeles Journalist Was 90

Warren Wilson, one of the first Black journalists to work at a televisipn station in Los Angeles, has died. He was 90.

Wilson passed away on Friday, Sept. 27, in Oxnard, California, his son, Stanley Wilson, told KTLA-TV.

“His demeanor on the air as an iconic television journalist was just as authentic as he was a father, unsensational, sincere, a voice calming and eloquent,” Stanley said in a statement to the news station.

Warren Wilson began working at KTLA in 1984, where he spent 21 years building a reputation for his connection with the community.

Fifteen years before that, he worked as a journalist with KNBC and NBC Television News, according to his IMDb bio.

KTLA, his last broadcasting home before retiring in 2005, said Wilson was trusted by those accused of crimes, who often felt safe approaching him before surrending to authorities.

“Members of minority communities who were afraid to turn themselves in to police would often contact Warren and arrange to meet with him and he would safely help them turn themselves in,” KTLA reporter Eric Spillman said about the former journalist.

Starting his career in the Los Angeles market in the 1960s, Wilson covered several historic events, including the 1968 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and the 1997 O.J. Simpson trial.

“He was brave. During the riots, Warren went down to the South L.A. area and interviewed a shop owner who was trying to put out flames while standing on the roof of a burning building. I will never forget that,” Spillman continued.

Wilson earned multiple honors during his more than 40 years in broadcast journalism, including an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for his coverage of the Rodney King trial.

He is survived by his six children.