Tony Valdez, a pioneering Emmy-winning news reporter who spent 35 years at KTTV’s Fox 11 station, passed away today at the age of 78, the station stated. In 1981, Valdez began working at KTTV. He left the company in 2016.
Tony Valdez; image credit- The Hollywood Reporter
Tony Valdez’s Cause Of Death
The son of Valdez reported to the station that his father passed away at home after battling end-stage kidney failure.
Tony Valdez’s Career
Tony Valdez was a trailblazing reporter, supporter, and mentor, according to a statement from Fox 11 Acting News Director Pete Wilgoren. One of the initial Latino journalists in Los Angeles to breach the color barrier was him. Tony also boasted that he covered the news of this city for KTTV for 35 years, 5 months, and 4 days. In the 1990s, Valdez and Christine Devine co-anchored weekends on KTTV’s “Midday Sunday,” according to the station. Furthermore, Valdez hosted the homicide program “LA’s Most Wanted.”
He published news articles for KTLA and KCET before joining KTTV. He also had jobs at The Los Angeles Herald-Express and La Opinion. Over the years, Valdez covered important events in Southern California, including the O.J. Simpson trial, the Hillside Strangler, the Watts riots, and the Night Stalker. Valdez lived in Hollywood, had grown up in Downtown Los Angeles, and knew everything there was to know about the city.
Tony Valdez’s Photography
According to the station, he was also a passionate photographer who loved to capture Los Angeles in black and white. Playing the saxophone was his second love. When he declared his retirement, Valdez stated that social issues had always been his area of expertise as a journalist and that he was appreciative of Fox’s generations of encouragement and support. He was reflecting on the honor it had been to conduct interviews with people who had significant stories to share after he left Fox 11. Steve Valdez, his son, and three grandchildren survive Valdez.
