Robin Leach, host of ‘Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,’ dies at 76
Robin Leach, the veteran television host who titillated viewers with the rarefied perks of celebrity through “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” has died. He was 76.
The famed celebrity reporter died at 1:50 a.m. Friday after suffering a stroke on Monday while in hospice care in Las Vegas, his son Gregg Leach said by phone Friday.
Leach, who had been hospitalized after a stroke in November, was with family at the time of his death.
“Despite the past 10 months, what a beautiful life he had. Our Dad, Grandpa, Brother, Uncle and friend Robin Leach passed away peacefully last night at 1:50 a.m.,” sons Steven, Gregg and Rick Leach said in a statement to The Times.
“Everyone’s support and love over the past, almost one year, has been incredible and we are so grateful,” they added, saying memorial arrangements would follow.
The English star, who had been working as a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-journal, Robin Leach is shown in 1991.
made a name for himself stateside on the syndicated TV series from 1984 to 1995, always signing off with the catchphrase, “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams,” which was continuously parroted to indicate largesse and glamour.
During the series’ run, Leach rubbed elbows with the likes of Lana Turner, Adam West, Lynda Carter, Tony Bennett, Karl Lagerfeld, Duran Duran and Michael Jordan.
“There’s nothing wrong with being rich,” Leach told The Times in 2003. “Capitalism can do what governments can’t.”
Leach was born in 1941 and raised in a lower middle-class London suburb, the son of a vacuum cleaner sales executive. He came to New York in 1963 and sold shoes before throwing himself into a career covering showbiz as a newspaperman.
At 18, he became the Daily Mail’s youngest Page One editor. He moved to New York in his early 20s and worked for the New York Daily News, Ladies Home Journal, People magazine and the Star.
“Now an eternity of champagne and caviar. We’ve lost a dear, dear friend and a wonderful man. Rest in peace Robin Leach,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman said on Twitter.
Leach is survived by his sons and several grandchildren.