Prolific producer known for 'Action News'
Rick Friedman, 64, a former Philadelphian who produced news for Channels 3, 6, and 10, died of lung cancer Sunday, March 13, at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Rick Friedman, 64, a former Philadelphian who produced news for Channels 3, 6, and 10, died of lung cancer Sunday, March 13, at his home in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Mr. Friedman graduated from Central High School. While attending Temple University, he was a disc jockey at WHAT-FM. Another DJ at the station introduced him to Sheila Gillyard, and they married in 1968.
In 1969, Mr. Friedman joined Channel 6 as an assignment editor. He recalled in an interview with the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia how he had become a news producer.
"I'd been in TV about six weeks when the weekend producer got sick on a summer Saturday, and only I, the weekend assignment editor, was findable. I put together a 45-minute show for our 30-minute time slot and killed two packages for every one that actually ran while we were on the air. But what a rush!"
In 1970, Mr. Friedman was the original producer of the Action News format created by Mel Kampmann, news director of what is now WPVI-TV. The anchor was Larry Kane, and ads declared that there was so much film in the 30-minute news broadcasts, there was "no room for Larry."
"Rick would come home excited about how many more stories and visuals they had packed in the show over the competition," his former wife said.
In the late 1970s, Mr. Friedman became assistant news director at KYW-TV, Channel 3.
In 1983, Mr. Friedman moved to WCAU-TV, Channel 10, where he managed the station's daily news coverage and was executive producer of special projects.
"Rick was sensitive and hard-hitting at the same time. He knew how to attack the bad guys," said Steve Cohen, former general manager at WCAU. "He believed in our hometown, its people, and always fought for the folks in the rowhouses."
At WCAU, Mr. Friedman again worked with Kane, who had moved to the station in 1978.
"Rick was an extremely talented and creative man who loved his family, popular music, and the energy of getting, producing, and ethically delivering the news to people," Kane said.
CBS owned WCAU, and in 1988 Mr. Friedman was the pool producer for CBS-owned stations for the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
After leaving WCAU in 1990, he was involved with several television-related projects. In 1992, he produced and cowrote the Emmy-winning "Anatomy of a Riot," a series on KCBS-TV in Los Angeles that exposed the leadership breakdown during the riots after the Rodney King verdict.
From 1995 to 2000, Mr. Friedman was executive producer at KCOP-TV in Los Angeles, where he oversaw award-winning news investigations. He then was vice president to GoTV Networks. At the time of his death, he was director of Diverse Media Group.
In addition to his former wife, he is survived by sons Adam and Jay; a daughter, Allison Dunning; his mother, Jane; and four grandchildren.
A wake for Mr. Friedman was held Thursday, March 17, at the Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood, Calif.
Memorial donations may be made to the Radio Television Digital News Association, 529 14th St. N.W., Suite 425, Washington, D.C. 20045.
