Jackie Burke, a producer for E! News and KTLA-TV, died Feb. 28 in Los Angeles after a two-year fight with cancer, her friend Karen Stevens announced. She was 62.
Burke, who had a 40-year career in show business, graduated from Newbury Park High School and the USC School of Journalism and began at Entertainment Tonight in 1981. She moved to the Turner Entertainment Report and CNN entertainment news to executive produce E! News Daily’s weekend show.
“Jackie was the only Black person in the room for years, even before they had Black talent,” her friend Vana Thiero said. “She never sought the spotlight and forged a phenomenal career. She never saw herself as a trailblazer, but looking back, I think she was.”
Burke also worked red carpets for the TV Guide Channel, the Los Angeles Lakers, the KTLA Morning News and ABC’s The Bachelorette.
Survivors include her mother, Eddie; brothers Ken and Keith; and seven nieces and nephews. A memorial service will take place at 2 p.m. on March 24 at Valley Oaks-Griffin Memorial Park in Westlake Village.
Donations her memory may be made here.
