Richard Leibner, a talent agent who represented some of the best-known anchors in TV news died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. He was 85 years old.
Leibner was an agent and adviser to local anchor Chuck Scarborough, along with Dan Rather, Mike Wallace, Ed Bradley, Morley Safer, Bob Simon, Steve Kroft, Bill Whitaker, Diane Sawyer, Paula Zahn, Brian Stelter and Fareed Zakaria, among others.
According to Variety, Leibner firmly believed that top news anchors should be treated like Hollywood royalty.
“Decades ago, he made it his personal mission to see that big name news stars should be treated and compensated like traditional movie and television stars,” said Jay Sures, UTA’s vice-chairman, in a memo to staffers Tuesday.
He co-founded N.S. Bienstock with his former partner, Nate Bienstock. UTA purchased Bienstock in 2014. Leibner retired in 2021.
Funeral services will be announced at a later date.