LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alan Mendelson, longtime KCAL9 business reporter best known for his “Best Buys” segments highlighting consumer deals on clothing, electronics and other items, which later became a show independent, died at age 70, according to relatives.
“With much sadness and a collective broken heart, our family is sad to announce that our brother, Alan Mendelson, passed away Wednesday at his home in Las Vegas,” his brother Seth wrote on Facebook.
His daughter, Marisa Mendelson just tweeted “My dad. Alan Mendelson. 04/07/1952-11/09/2022” followed by several family photos.
No cause of death was given.
Mendelson was a KCAL fixture for nearly two decades, including much of the ’90s, and was known there as the “money man.” In the early 2000s, he moved to Las Vegas and started a television production, marketing and public relations company while hosting infomercials and other media segments. He also appeared as a newscaster in the movies “Gentleman B” in 2000 and “False Colors” in 2011.
A founding member of the Association of Business News Broadcasters, Mendelson won Emmy, Janus, and Golden Mic Awards for his reporting.
“Alan was very smart, informative and knew all about money, which is why we call him the ‘money man,’” Pat Harvey, a former colleague and CBSLA host, told the station. “He was a very warm gentleman who made me laugh while on set…he left too soon.”
Mendelson began his career as a roving reporter for a local Syracuse station and helped manage the assignment desk for the “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite” before moving to a local station in Miami.
“He made a name for himself as the person who broke the news of the death of former New York Governor and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller” in 1979, his brother told KCAL/KCBS. “For whatever reason, Alan was sent to Ethiopia, where he covered a civil war and was pinned down by enemy fire for several hours before friendly troops were able to get him and his crew to safety.”
In addition to his brother and daughter, Mendelson is survived by his son Jason; sisters Leslie and Betsy; and a grandson.