Deadline’s Legendary Hollywood Labor Reporter Dave Robb Gets Final Sendoff This Saturday

Friends who wish to pay their final respects to Dave Robb — Deadline’s dean of Hollywood labor reporters — will have their chance this Saturday. Kelly Robb has organized a memorial at which friends and fans can gather and reminisce about this larger than life journalist starting at 11 AM PST at the MPTF Saban Family Center and Rose Garden. That is located at 23388 Mulholland Drive in Woodland Hills, CA. If you care to RSVP to Kelly, you can email her at eileenkellyrobb@aol.com.

Dave died December 9 from inoperable cancer of the brain stem at age 74. I’d always called Dave Deadline’s cage fighter, because he was fearless and always ready to mix it up, if the cause was right. I was honored when Dave asked me to work with him to write his obit. He knew he had a short time, and luckily he felt no pain and was able to say his goodbyes and sort his accomplishments. He appreciated the final moments of his life in the most enviable way.

I always knew Dave was a great journalist, but was honestly surprised by the sheer quantity of his exploits earned in decades at the trades. There was the work he did covering Hollywood labor unions. He was a dyed in the wool union man, but that made him even more passionate about uncovering corruption within the ranks. He also did groundbreaking work in the areas of set safety, the protection of children on film sets and where they were housed while working in Hollywood, and in the area of civil rights. You can read his obit here, and better yet, come down to say hi to Kelly and reminisce about a live well lived.