Bob Pool, a veteran Los Angeles Times reporter who memorably chronicled the triumphs, challenges and daily lives of everyday Angelenos, died Sunday, according to his family. He was 79.
Pool, who worked at the Times for more than three decades before retiring in 2014 and had been in failing health in recent years, was beloved by readers and colleagues for his empathy, humor and wit — and his ability to tell tales about Los Angeles that made the sprawling metropolis feel like a small town.
“He was a newspaper man to the core of his being and he just had a playful sense of curiosity and a delightfully droll sensibility often in his writing,” said Sherry Pool, his wife of 45 years who was by his side when he died at a long-term medical care facility. “I think that Bob knew Los Angeles, the whole county, certainly the city, as well if not better than most people because he … just loved getting the story.”
And:
Pool joined the Times in 1983 as a general assignment reporter on the metro desk, covering a broad array of stories. But he was best known for human-interest pieces that focused on the lives of ordinary Californians — a pregnant postal worker, a Bel Air hotel bellhop — who didn’t attract the attention of reporters more fixated on the city’s celebrities and politicians.
“Bob wrote about people who would not have had a moment in the sun the way they did had they not crossed paths,” said Hector Becerra, the Times’ managing editor who met Pool when he was an unpaid intern in 1998. “He specialized in telling stories that would not have existed had it not been for Bob Pool.”
And:
Pool was also known in the newsroom for his unassuming demeanor, lack of ego, love of puns and idiosyncrasies, such as his difficulties dealing with technology. But he is most remembered for the interest he took in his colleagues, regardless of status, a reflection of how Pool approached his coverage of Los Angeles.
Here's a story that contains samples of Bob's best stories. Writes Shelby Grad:
It’s a risky proposition to create a “best of list” for Bob Pool stories in the Los Angeles Times.
Not only are there too many to choose from — more than 4,000 — but there are few shortcuts for finding the true gems. That’s because Pool hated writing for Page 1. He favored economy over length. And the headlines rarely did justice to tales he could weave way inside the old Times Valley Edition, say, on a page next to GE refrigerator ads.
And:
Pool, who died Sunday, was a legend in The Times newsroom for three decades. Most of that time, he did not have a defined assignment. His beat was “the Bob Pool story,” a perfect slice of the Los Angeles human condition that many days made reading a newspaper chronicling wars, sleazy politicians, economic distress and environment degradation somewhat bearable.
He had an eye for stories you would want to read. He found people you wanted to know. He respected your time. And he knew how to make you smile (during his early days at the Thousand Oaks News-Chronicle, he knew how to get you interested in a municipal government piece: “Although they’re already up to their knees in sewage effluent, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District leaders agreed Monday night to consider expanding their sewer system to Topanga Canyon.”)
And:
As Times columnist Steve Lopez wrote of Pool on his 2014 retirement: He’s the ultimate reminder to reporters that “good things happen when you blow off news conferences, set fire to press releases, get out of the office and celebrate the daily drama on what might be the world’s greatest stage.”
Tweets Tony Pierce:
The great Bob Pool covered LA the way I loved: without any baloney.
The pieces I loved best from him were of everyday Angelenos who were quietly doing extraordinary things. His eye and style is one of my major inspirations for http://hearinLA.com
And now that the @LATimes is magically, suddenly, interested in the neighborhoods of LA, maybe one day they'll realize it's the people who make up the neighborhoods, not the businesses or trendy food spots.
It's the humanity that gives LA its unique spirit, that's what I learned from Bob Pool stories.
Look at the features the Times has now on its homepage (https://latimes.com/.../2024-04-28/la-me-bob-pool-writings) honoring the longtime scribe: a piece about the bell captain of the Hotel Bel-Air, one about a woman who lived in the Biltmore Hotel for over 40 years.
It's the people that brings life to the places.
When I first got to meet Bob, I introduced myself and told him I felt like I was meeting a celebrity. He couldn't believe "young people" read the paper, let alone knew who wrote the stories.
I told him he'd be surprised how many readers he touched through his work. He remained so kind to me, me a nobody, that the night the Cubs won the World Series, he congratulated me on Twitter.
What a fantastic cherry on top of a wondrous night.
Thank you for everything, @BobsLATimes. Mostly thanks for leading by example.
Tweets Hector Becerra:
RIP to one of the best: Veteran L.A. Times newsman Bob Pool, a chronicler of everyday Angelenos, dies - Los Angeles Times
Tweets Matt Hamilton:
Bob Pool was a great colleague and reporter, and I think of him every time I drive through La Brea and Beverly, with its two Chevron stations that he wrote about https://t.co/I6m7UVS49L
Tweets Richard Winton:
No one told LA’s story person by person better than Bob. He the thousands of stories in the naked city. Bob Pool, veteran L.A. Times newsman and observer of the human condition, dies at 79
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