Beloved California newscaster Dick Cable passed away Wednesday after an illness. He was 89 years old.
Cable was a staple of Sacramento news radio for three decades as the former anchor of KXTV.
Born Richard Arnold Cable in New York on June 23, 1936, Dick followed in the footsteps of his father Homer Cable, who worked for the Stars and Stripes military news agency during and after World War II.
In January 1969, Cable was hired by then-CBS affiliate Sacramento News10, in later years KXTV would be the place where he met his wife of 48 years, Berta Gonzales Cable while working at the station in 1973.
In 1977, they tied the knot and would continue to raise the five children he had from a previous marriage.
His career was not without a few bumps in the road. In the late 1970s he was taken off the air in pursuit of the youth movement but returned to the air in 1981.
Speaking to the Bee at the time, Cable said, “I’m not a wilting flower. I’m a healthy thinker — sometimes maybe not a good one, I don’t know, but one thing the station needs to know is that I’m working hard here.”
His longtime news desk colleague Jennifer Smith, who now lives in New Orleans, told the Bee that Dick’s personality immediately appealed to her.
“He was warm and genuine and no-nonsense and certainly not any of the ways that some people view TV anchors as being pretentious and smart,” Smith said. “He was the opposite of that.”
A News10KXTV Reunion Facebook post was posted about the passing of anchor Jodie Mitchell Moreno.
“Hello friends…I have some very sad news to share. Dick Cable passed away today. I am in touch with his wife Berta and can share as I hear more, but please keep her in your thoughts and send her true love,” the post read.
The post added, “Dick was an amazing man, friend and colleague. During the years we stayed in touch, he sent me the most hilarious jokes. We traveled and visited with him and Berta this past year and it was so nice to see him before he passed away. Tell your loved ones how much they meant to you.”
I read the comments of people who said they worked with him, the thoughts were the same, that Cable was a great man and he will be missed.
“My heart is filled with so many memories of our dear friend and colleague. I am so grateful to have spent almost 20 years with Dick Cable…a true broadcasting legend. Rest in Peace dear friend,” wrote another.
Another added, “I’m saddened by the news. I have so many memories of Dick. Not just as a co-worker but as a friend. I miss those Halloween parties, playing football with my son, dinners at my house. I’ll miss you my friend.”
Another giant in Sacramento’s broadcasting days when Cable was on the air, Stan Atkinson, who died in 2025, once described Dick as another time in the news world.
“Being a nice guy may not carry the weight we once did, but Dick and I came from that old school where honesty was what it was all about,” Atkinson said in a 1988 Bee interview. “He’s a good man and it shows.”
ABC10 President and General Manager Risa Omega said “Dick leaves a legacy on this building and this city.”
Cable is survived by his wife, five children and 10 grandchildren.
