Harold Greene

Harold Greene died in early November 2026 at the age of 82. TheDesk.net reported that he died earlier in the week and that his family confirmed the death in a statement on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. His daughter, Courtney Greene, announced it on social media, and KABC-TV confirmed it. The exact date and place of death and the cause have not been made public.

The family wrote: "We have a feeling he's already settling into the great newsroom in the sky, no doubt with a few suggestions on how things should be run." KABC said its newsroom was mourning a colleague whose impact was felt throughout the station. The family said a memorial service would be held after the holidays and invited friends, former colleagues and viewers to share photographs and memories of his life and career.

Harold Greene grew up in San Diego, California, according to the Los Angeles Times. His CBS 2 station biography listed San Francisco as his hometown and said he was one of four children, with three siblings. The Los Angeles Times gives his birth year as 1944; Wikipedia gives December 1, 1943. His exact date and place of birth were not confirmed in obituary coverage, and the names of his parents have not been made public.

Greene's CBS 2 biography named San Diego State University as his alma mater. Wikipedia also lists him among the alumni of Kearny High School in San Diego. He learned the news business from the ground up, working as a news writer, cameraman and producer before he ever anchored a newscast.

Greene's first television appearance came in 1969, and his first story, he later recalled, was a fatal car accident. He began at KABC-TV in Los Angeles in 1970 as a producer and reporter, and also worked behind the camera in Santa Barbara and San Diego.

In 1973 he was hired as anchor and news director to help launch Eyewitness News at KCST-TV, Channel 39, in San Diego (now KNSD). After about a year he moved to rival KGTV, Channel 10, where he co-anchored The News with Jack White. In the 1970s he covered the feminist movement, anti-war protests and the Chicano rights movement, and he produced and hosted the weekly news magazine Harold Express and the annual musical variety special Homegrown and Greene.

In 1977 he left San Diego for KPIX-TV in San Francisco, co-anchoring with Dave McElhatton. About a year later he joined KABC-TV in Los Angeles to co-anchor the 5 p.m. Eyewitness News with Jerry Dunphy. After two years he was let go and returned to his old evening slot at KGTV.

KABC rehired him in 1982 as a reporter and weekend anchor alongside Joanne Ishimine. This third stint lasted 18 years. He hosted A.M. Los Angeles and created and produced Hollywood Close-Up, a weekend entertainment show carried on the ABC owned stations. In 1989 he replaced Dunphy on the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. weeknight newscasts, and in 1992 he replaced Paul Moyer on the 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts. His weeknight co-anchors included Ann Martin (1992 to 1994), Lisa McRee (1994 to 1997) and Laura Diaz (1997 to 2000). He covered stories including gun control, gang violence, homelessness and immigration, and his station said he interviewed every U.S. president since Richard Nixon.

Greene left KABC in August 2000 and joined KCBS-TV in January 2001, where he reunited with Ann Martin and sportscaster Jim Hill. Laura Diaz followed in 2002 and weatherman Johnny Mountain in 2005. Greene and Martin co-anchored KCAL 9 News at 4 p.m. and CBS 2 News at 6 p.m. In April 2008 CBS budget cuts meant their contracts would not be renewed, and both retired effective June 1, 2008.

According to his CBS 2 biography, Greene was married to his high school sweetheart and had two grown children. His wife's name has not been made public in obituary coverage. His daughter, Courtney Greene, announced his death in November 2026.

He enjoyed longboard surfing, golf, reading and cooking on the barbecue, and listed Del Mar, California, as his favourite vacation spot and the San Diego Chargers as his team. He once joked that his dream job was Broadway dancer. He sponsored his own golf tournament to benefit the Pacific Lodge, a home for troubled boys in the San Fernando Valley, emceed charity events and spoke regularly to civic groups and schools.

Asked why he became a journalist, Greene answered: "To learn the truth and make a difference." He named teachers as his role models and called the 50th anniversary of the Normandy invasion his favourite story to cover. His dream interview, he said, was Jesus Christ. Beyond these remarks in his station biography, he did not make his political or religious views a public part of his work.

Greene was part of a generation of highly visible, highly paid Los Angeles anchors that included Jerry Dunphy, Paul Moyer, Kelly Lange and Tricia Toyota. The Los Angeles Times described him and Ann Martin as fixtures of Hollywood, as familiar as the Hollywood sign. When KCBS recruited him in 2001, general manager John Severino said the station's research showed he was one of the most highly respected news people in the market and expected him to bring "a strong halo effect." After his death, viewers who grew up watching Eyewitness News in the 1980s and 1990s shared memories of him as a nightly presence in Southern California homes.

Greene's honours included 10 Golden Mike Awards (among them one for his coverage of the 1986 Cerritos air disaster), 12 Los Angeles Press Club Awards, three Edward R. Murrow Awards, two local Emmy Awards from nine nominations, two Iris Awards from the National Association of Television Program Executives, and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the television category on July 15, 1999, at 6906 Hollywood Boulevard.

Greene is often cited as the visual model for Ron Burgundy, Will Ferrell's character in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), which is set in 1970s San Diego. His former KGTV co-anchor Jack White consulted on the film, and the filmmakers found photographs of Greene in White's scrapbooks. White told 10News in 2013 that when he first saw Ferrell in makeup he thought it was Greene, but stressed that the character was a composite and "not Harold Greene." Greene told 10News he found the connection kind of flattering. Archival KGTV newscasts featuring Greene and White from 1975 have circulated online as a look at the real newsroom behind the parody.

Greene's career included two abrupt exits from KABC-TV. Around 1980, after two years co-anchoring the 5 p.m. newscast with Jerry Dunphy, he was fired and replaced. In August 2000, after 18 years at the station, he left following what the Los Angeles Times described, citing sources, as disagreements with station management; the station declined to comment and Greene could not be reached. Neither episode involved allegations of misconduct in reporting.