Emmy-Winning L.A. Newsman Mario Machado Dies at 78

Machado was the city's first Chinese-American reporter and appeared in numerous memorable films, including all three "RoboCop" movies

Mario Machado, an eight-time Emmy Award-winning Los Angeles news reporter and anchor who also played reporters in "Rocky III" and "RoboCop," died Saturday in a West Hills convalescent facility, a spokesperson told TheWrap. He was 78.

His daughter, Michelle, told the Los Angeles Times that he passed away due to complications of pneumonia.

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Machado, who was suffering from Parkinson's disease, was born April 22, 1935, in Shanghai, China, and became Los Angeles' first Chinese-American on-air television news reporter. His father was Portuguese, and his mother was Chinese-Portuguese.

His first television appearance was in 1967 on KHJ-TV (now KCAL-TV) as an on-air reporter. In 1968, he began working as a color commentator at KNXT, now KCBS-TV, and a year later he became the nation's first Consumer Affairs reporter at the station.

In 1970, he became a regular reporter for "The Big News," anchored by Jerry Dunphy and L.A.'s most popular newscast in the '60s. He also hosted the Emmy-winning "Medix," a weekly series examining medical situations and how they affect the public, as well as daily news program "Noontime," which aired for seven years on KNXT.

When not hosting or reporting, Machado played reporter roles in a number television shows and films, including "Brian's Song," "Wonder Woman," "Rocky III," "Scar Face," "The Golden Girls," "St. Elmo's Fire" and all three "RoboCop" films.

He is survived by his four children: Brian, Michelle, Dennis and Andrea.

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