The cherished California news anchor, Dick Cable, has died at the age of 89 due to an illness on Wednesday.
For three decades, Dick Cable was a familiar face on the Sacramento news scene, serving as the former anchor for KXTV.
Born Richard Arnold Cable on June 23, 1936, in New York, he followed in the journalistic footsteps of his father, Homer Cable, who was part of the military news outlet Stars and Stripes during and after World War II.
Cable’s journey with the Sacramento news began in January 1969 when he joined the CBS affiliate News10, later known as KXTV. It was there that he met Berta Gonzales Cable, his wife of 48 years, who joined the station as an intern in 1973.
The couple married in 1977, and together, they raised the five children from Cable’s previous marriage.
Throughout his career, Cable faced a few challenges. In the late 1970s, he was temporarily removed from the airwaves as part of a shift towards younger talent, but he triumphantly returned in 1981.
Speaking to the Bee at the time, Cable said “I’m not a wilting flower. I have a healthy ego — sometimes maybe an unhealthy one, I don’t know, but the one thing the station has to know is that I toil here.”
His longtime co-anchor, Jennifer Smith, who he shared the news desk with, who now lives in New Orleans, told the Bee that Dick’s personality immediately appealed to her.
“He was so warm and real and no-nonsense and certainly not any kind of how some people view TV anchors as kind of pompous and slick,” Smith said. “He was the opposite of that.”
A Facebook post for News10KXTV Reunion posted about the anchor’s death from Jodie Mitchell Moreno.
“Hello friends…I have some very sad news to share. Dick Cable passed away today. I am in contact with his wife Berta and can share as I hear more, but please keep her in your thoughts and send virtual love,” the post read.
The post added, “Dick was such an amazing man, friend and colleague. Over the years we’ve stayed in touch, him sending me blonde jokes mostly. We went and visited with him and Berta this past year and it was so great to see him before his passing. Tell those you love how much they mean to you.”
Reading through the comments from people who said they worked with him, the thoughts were similar, that Cable was a great man and he would be missed.
“My heart is full of so many memories of our dear friend and colleague. So grateful to have spent nearly 20 years anchoring together with Dick Cable…a true broadcast legend. Rest in Peace dear friend,” one person wrote.
Another added, “I’m saddened by this news. I have so many memories of Dick. Not just as a coworker but as a friend. I remember those Halloween events, playing ball with my son, dinners at my house. Will miss you my friend.”
Another giant in the Sacramento broadcasting days when Cable was on the air, Stan Atkinson, who died in 2025, once described Dick and him as from another time in the news world.
“Being a good guy may not carry the weight it once did, but Dick and I came from that old school where credibility was what it’s about,” Atkinson said in a 1988 Bee interview. “He is a good guy and it shows.”
ABC10 President and General Manager Risa Omega said “Dick leaves a legacy in this building and in this town.”
Cable is survived by his wife, his five kids and 10 grandchildren.
