CBS Legend Ruth Ashton Taylor Has Died

Ruth Ashton Taylor, a pioneering TV and radio journalist who became the first female TV reporter on the West Coast when she joined what was then CBS’ KSTL-TV, has died. Taylor passed away at an assisted living facility in San Rafael, California on Thursday, Jan. 11, according to her family, the Associated Press reported. Taylor’s cause of death was not disclosed, with her daughter, Laurel Conklin, sharing that “she died very suddenly.” She was 101.

Born in Los Angeles in 1922, Taylor graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School and Scripps College in Claremont, California before going on to earn her master’s degree from the Columbia Journalism School in 1944, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After graduation, Taylor went on to take a job as a news writer and producer at CBS radio in New York, becoming one of the original members, and the only woman, in a documentary unit led by Edward R. Murrow. Reflecting on the role while speaking with Pat Harvey in 2008, Taylor said, per CBS News, “The most important thing that happened to me in the early part of my life was when Ed Murrow gave me an opportunity to do a documentary.”

View on X

Taylor returned to Los Angeles in 1951 and was hired as the West Coast’s first female television reporter at KNXT, now KCBS. Although she was hired to deliver a “women’s segment” for the station’s daily half-hour newscast, Taylor delivered coverage that included features and interviews with celebrities and presidents. She was later hired to produce a similar segment for CBS’ Los Angeles news radio powerhouse KNX.

After Taylor exited left the station in 1958 to work as a college public information officer, she returned in 1962 to join a program produced by TV personality Ralph Story and to co-host The Ruth and Pat Show on the radio with comedian Pat Buttram. By 1966, she turned exclusively to television, becoming a general assignment reporter and co-host of a weekend news interview show. After retiring in 1988, Taylor continued as an occasional contributor, covering stories in the Sacramento area into her 70s.

Taylor earned the Governors Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1982 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990. She is survived by her daughters, Laurel and Susan; her grandson, Damon; and her great-grandson, Demare.