LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Robin Leach, the host of the 1980s celebrity show ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,’ has died at the age of 76.
He died Thursday night, according to a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where Leach was also a writer.
“Sad to report the death of famed celeb reporter, friend and colleague #RobinLeach @ 1:50 a.m. in #LasVegas. He would have been 77 Wednesday. He suffered a second stroke Monday. He in hospice care. He’d been hospitalized since Nov. 21, after suffering a stroke in Cabo San Lucas,” columnist John Katsilometes tweeted Friday morning.
Katsilometes tweeted a statement from Leach’s family after his death was announced,
“Despite the past 10 months, what a beautiful life he had. Our Dad, Grandpa, Brother, Uncle and friend Robin Leach passed away peacefully last night at 1:50 a.m”
“Everyone’s support and love over the past, almost one year, has been incredible and we are so grateful. Memorial arrangements to follow. With love, Steven, Gregg and Rick Leach.”
Leach rocketed to fame in 1984 when the show premiered in first run syndication. The program perhaps better than any other captured the opulence and excess of the rich and famous around the world in the 1980s.
The show continued until 1995. Leach became a familiar presence in commercials and on late night talk show couches.