Richard Leibner, a well-known talent agent who changed the industry by representing famous TV news anchors, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 85 after battling cancer.
Leibner managed the careers of numerous broadcast journalists, including Diane Sawyer, Dan Rather, Norah O’Donnell, Mike Wallace, Andy Rooney, Ed Bradley, Morley Safer, Bob Simon, Steve Kroft, Bill Whitaker, Paula Zahn, Brian Stelter, and Fareed Zakaria, among others. He retired in December of 2021 after 58 years in the industry.
Leibner died at his residence in New York, according to an internal memo from UTA Vice Chairman Jay Sures.
“Richard will be remembered as the agent who revolutionized the news business,” Sures wrote. “Many years ago, he made it his personal mission to ensure that popular news personalities were treated and compensated like traditional movie and TV stars.”
“Richard was truly unique and larger than life. He was one of a kind and will be deeply missed,” Sures added.
Leibner began his career in 1963 after earning a master’s degree in taxation from NYU, a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Rochester, and a C.P.A. license. He briefly worked for his family’s accounting firm before co-founding N.S. Bienstock with his former partner, Nate Bienstock. The firm was later acquired by the Leibners, and Richard began his career as an agent.
After many years of service in the TV news industry, Leibner was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2018.
He is survived by his spouse, Carole Cooper, another longtime agent known for representing news anchors, two sons, Adam and Jonathan, and four grandchildren. Cooper and Adam Leibner are still working at UTA.
Details about funeral services will be provided later.
