Dave McNary, a veteran reporter who covered the film industry for Variety, died on Saturday in Pasadena. He was 69 years old.
McNary has been hospitalized since December 19, when he suffered a stroke, said his wife, Sharon McNary.
He worked in several publications for more than 40 years in journalism, including UPI, the Los Angeles Daily News, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and the Pasadena Star-News before joining Variety in 1999.
“We are all heartbroken over the loss of Dave McNary,” Variety’s chief editor, Claudia Eller, said in a statement to The Times. “He has been part of the Variety chain for more than two decades and our newsroom will never be the same without him. Dave’s loss is truly immeasurable. “
McNary was a prolific reporter known for his dogged coverage of industry guilds and labor issues, including the 2007-08 Writers Guild strike and, more recently, the news that Ed Asner and other SAG-AFTRA members were coming in with a Collective action against the guild reduced health benefits for the elderly, many of whom were unable to work during the pandemic.
“There was no one who had such an encyclopedic knowledge of the problems faced by all union workers in Hollywood,” said Sharon McNary, infrastructure reporter at KPCC-FM (89.3).
McNary was a union delegate and guild president throughout his career in journalism and was passionate about labor issues, his wife said.
“He was in negotiations, he was at the table, he was around contracts and he knew that collective bargaining really matters,” she said. “He really wanted to see if the unions were doing the best business for the people they represented. It is basically where he bet his reputation. “
Colleagues and industry figures recalled McNary’s generosity and the old school work ethic on social media on Saturday.
“Thanks for the professionalism and kindness of all these years, Dave,” said director Ava DuVernay on Twitter.
A graduate of UCLA, where he was editor of the Daily Bruin newspaper, he rose through the ranks as a business reporter and editor and gradually began to specialize in the entertainment industry.
At UPI, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, McNary saw an opportunity to beat his competitors on the Associated Press by covering the weekend’s box office more aggressively, Sharon McNary said. (The couple met at UPI.)
Instead of waiting until Monday for the results, I would call on Sunday.
“He really made it his thing,” said Sharon McNary. “He realized that if he started calling people on Sunday, he could win the AP and get his copy in newspapers across the country. It has now become a standard part of entertainment reporting: ‘Who won the box office that weekend?’ I think Dave’s work really elevated it to the point where it became something people talk about. ”
McNary was also a constant presence on the Los Angeles comedy scene, hosting the All-Star Variety Show, a weekly Sunday night showcase at the Ice House in Pasadena, for decades until the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Auditions have always been a social event,” said Sharon McNary.
His love for comedy dates back to the 1970s, when he trained with the Groundlings and the group’s founder, Gary Austin. He performed with a comedy troupe called The Procrastinators, which regularly appeared on “The Gong Show”. McNary used his earnings from “The Gong Show” to buy his first car, his wife said.
In addition to his wife, McNary left sisters Nancy McNary Leach, Barbara McNary Spindler, Jane McNary O’Meara and Patti McNary.