Irv Weinstein, who was once referred to as the king of local news in Buffalo, has died.
Weinstein was living in an assisted living facility in Irvine, Calif., battling Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 87.
According to Buffalo News, the legendary news man retired in 1998 after 34 years at WKBW, the ABC affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y.
“We all knew it was coming, but it’s still a real shock,” WKBW anchor Keith Radford told the Buffalo News. Radford replaced Weinstin in the anchor seat and paid him a visit a year ago. “I’m just so glad I went out to see him in California when he was diagnosed and we could still talk and joke around. He was an original, never will be another. I was blessed to be close to him.”
Weinstein announced he was battling ALS in 2016. He arrived at Channel 7 in 1964 and quickly became a local news icon in Western New York.
He was known for his alliterative phrases to describe news scenes such as “pistol-packing punks” and “Buffalo’s blaze busters.”
Weinstein started his career in Rochester, N.Y., when he was 15.