The Hollywood Reporter Staff




Robin Leach, the veteran journalist best known for his work on TV's Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, died Thursday night. He had been hospitalized since Nov. 21 after suffering a stroke in Cabo San Lucas, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where Leach worked as a celebrity columnist.

"Sad to report the death of famed celeb reporter, friend and colleague #RobinLeach @ 1:50 a.m. in #LasVegas. He would have been 77 Wednesday. He suffered a second stroke Monday. He in hospice care. He'd been hospitalized since Nov. 21, after suffering a stroke in Cabo San Lucas," announced columnist John Katsilometes on Twitter.

"Despite the past 10 months, what a beautiful life he had. Our Dad, Grandpa, Brother, Uncle and friend Robin Leach passed away peacefully last night at 1:50 a.m.," said the family in a statement. "Everyone’s support and love over the past, almost one year, has been incredible and we are so grateful. Memorial arrangements to follow."

Leach joined the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2016 as an entertainment columnist to beef up the newspaper's celebrity and lifestyle coverage across all platforms. "I look at it as a challenge. It's another [opportunity] to make something out of thin air. I'll work as many hours as necessary. I've never shied away from hard work," Leach told The Hollywood Reporter at the time of his hopes about making an impact on new media. "When there is opportunity to do better at what you've been doing with new tools at your disposal, that becomes really exciting."

Leach was born in London on Aug. 29 1941. The first paper to publish his stories was The Harrow Observer, the local paper when he was a student at Harrow County School for Boys. The paper hired him when he graduated at age 15. He went on to become the youngest editor at the Daily Mail, at 18, later writing for the New York Daily News, Ladies Home Journal and People magazine and editing for The Star after he moved to the states in November of 1963.

After helping to launch the syndicated Entertainment Tonight celebrity news show, his break came in 1984 when he co-created Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with the television producer Al Masini. The syndicated show, which highligted celebrity homes and gave birth to his signature catchphrase “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams,” ran from 1984 to 1995, and helped to usher in the era of celebrity-focused reality series and culture.