KTLA stalwart Hal Fishman diagnosed with cancer

Sad to learn today that KTLA-TV anchor Hal Fishman has been diagnosed with colon cancer, which has spread to his liver, according to a station rep and Variety.com. The discovery of his cancer came on the heels of Tuesday night's salute to Fishman and KTLA (which is celebrating its 60th anniversary as the first commercial TV station west of the Mississippi) held at the Autry National Center, which Fishman attended.

Hal has been the subject of gentle and not-so-gentle ribbing in this town for his rat-tat-tat news delivery style, his punctilious commentary segs, his oft-professed knowledge of aviation (he's an accomplished pilot) and an off-camera personality that has been known to rub some colleagues the wrong way. But after 32 years in the KTLA News anchor chair, he's also undeniably part of the fabric of local TV news in this market. As such, he's more than earned all the well-wishing messages that viewers are sending in via the KTLA website.