Bernard Kalb passed away on Sunday at his home in North Bethesda, Maryland, according to his family. Kalb was a longtime journalist and the original anchor of CNN’s “Reliable Sources” show. He was 100.
According to Marvin Kalb, Kalb’s younger brother, complications from a recent fall were the cause of his death.
A CNN biography states that Kalb spent more than three decades covering international news for CBS News, NBC News, and The New York Times while traveling the world. From 1992 through 1998, Kalb anchored CNN’s “Reliable Sources” as its first host.
CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht praised Kalb as a trailblazing journalist in a statement.
“Bernard Kalb was an important figure in journalism, and his pioneering efforts to hold our profession to account are immeasurable. Everyone at CNN is sending our deep sympathies to his wife, children, and the whole Kalb family,” Licht stated.
He was with the American delegation when President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met for the first time in Geneva in November 1985 while serving as the State Department’s spokesperson.
He traveled with presidents and secretaries of state going back to Nixon and Kissinger on their diplomatic missions while working as a television correspondent. He also accompanied President Nixon on his first visit to China in 1972. He graduated from City College of New York with a B.A.
Bernard Kalb’s wife and children
Four daughters were born to Bernard Kalb and his wife, the former Phyllis Bernstein. Details about his four daughters are unknown.
Bernard Kalb’s parents and siblings
On February 4, 1922, Bernard Kalb was born in Manhattan to immigrants Max and Bella (Portnoy) Kalb; his mother was from what is now Ukraine, and his father was from Poland. His brother is Marvin Kalb
