Bobby Rivers, an accomplished television personality and media pioneer, has died at the age of 70. His death was confirmed by his sister Betsy, who wrote on Facebook that her brother “is no longer in any pain.”
Rivers was best known for his work hosting Food Network’s Top 5 and his own VH1 talk show Watch Bobby Rivers.
His career began to blossom after graduating from Marquette University, when he joined Milwaukee’s WISN 12 in 1979 and became the city’s first Black film critic on television.
Other credits included stints as an entertainment reporter on WNBC TV’s Weekend Today in New York and WNYW-TV’s Good Day New York and the entertainment editor on ABC News and Lifetime TV’s Lifetime Live.
Rivers’ trailblazing nature was honored by many of his friends and colleagues after his death, including Whoopi Goldberg.
“All hail this pioneer Bobby Rivers…” Goldberg shared on Instagram. “He brought SO much to the table. R I P Bobby”
Katie Couric also shared her condolences, writing on x (formerly Twitter), “I am so sad to hear this. Bobby was a terrific guy and wonderfully warm, funny and smart. 💔”
The Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project, who interviewed Rivers earlier this year, said he had recently had a series of mini-strokes and that his lung cancer had returned.
Rivers died Dec. 26 while living in St. Paul, Minnesota.