Richard Leibner, Agent Who Made News Anchors Into Stars, Dies at 85
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Richard Leibner, a celebrated talent agent who represented some of the best-known anchors in TV news, first at a firm he helped build and then for UTA, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer.
He was 85 years old. In his time, Leibner served as an agent and adviser to Dan Rather, Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, Morley Safer, Bob Simon, Steve Kroft, Bill Whitaker, Diane Sawyer, Chuck Scarborough, Paula Zahn, Brian Stelter and Fareed Zakaria, among others.
He was a passionate advocate for clients, and was never been shy about delivering his opinion of the latest goings-on in the ever-churning news sector.
Leibner firmly believed that top news anchors should be treated akin to Hollywood royalty. “Decades ago, he made it his personal mission to see that big name news stars should be treated and compensated like traditional movie and television stars,” said Jay Sures, UTA’s vice-chairman, in a memo to staffers Tuesday.
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