Les’ Encounters with History

Not my life, but my career (A front row seat on history)

By Les Rose, 2021

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Disaster Coverage I Shot and Produced

  • 2011 Gabrielle Giffords shootings in Tucson, AZ (41 days of straight coverage)
  • 2001 9/11 Coverage in Shankesville, PA and New York, NY
  • 2000 Alaska Air crash (off Santa Barbara)
  • 1994 Northridge Earthquake and numerous others
  • 1993 Malibu firestorms
  • 1992 Los Angeles Riots
  • 1992 Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii and many in Florida
  • 1991 Oakland firestorms
  • 1986 Cerritos Air Disaster, Cerritos, California
  • 1980 Skyway Bridge Disaster in Florida

MAJOR TRIALS COVERED

  • 2011 The Dr. Conrad Murray Trial (Michael Jackson’s Doctor)
  • 2007 OJ Simpson Preliminary Trial in Las Vegas
  • 2005 The Robert Blake Trial
  • 1994 OJ Simpson trials (final year on the first, six months of the second)
  • 1993 The Michael Jackson Molestation Trial
  • 1992 The Rodney King Trial
  • 1989 The Menendez Brothers Trial

OTHER MEMORABLE ASSIGNMENTS

  • 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs
  • 2013 The Bankruptcy of the Crystal Cathedral
  • 2013 Los Angeles Diocese Priest Molestation Scandal
  • 2012 Death of Whitney Houston
  • 2012 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Los Angeles
  • 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs
  • 2010 World Series
  • 2009 NBA Playoffs
  • 2008 Five network pool cameraman for five weeks on the road with candidate Barack Obama
  • 2007 Democratic Debate in Las Vegas, NV
  • 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
  • 2006 President Ford’s funeral
  • 2005 Jet Blue Landing
  • 2003 Super Bowl XVIII
  • 2003 Arnold for Governor Campaign
  • 2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII
  • 2003 Super Bowl XXXVII
  • 2002 World Series
  • 2002 American Idol finals (Covered every final set of shows until 2012)
  • 2001 California Energy Crisis and Enron
  • 2001 LAPD Rampart Police Scandal
  • 2001 NBA Playoffs
  • 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles
  • 2000 NBA Playoffs
  • 1999 Columbine High School shootings
  • 1998 Eight days in Nagano, Japan studying Japanese culture (for the Winter Olympics)
  • 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego
  • 1996 Kurt Gibson’s Home Run during the World Series in Los Angeles
  • 1996 Super Bowl XXX
  • 1991 Dr. Jonas Salk announcing testing of an AIDS vaccine on humans
  • 1989 World Series
  • 1988 NBA Playoffs
  • 1988 World Series
  • 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta
  • 1987 NBA Playoffs
  • 1986 Hostage David Jacobsen’s release to a US hospital in Wiesbaden, Germany
  • 1986 Twelve Academy Awards Presentations (Covered every Award Presentation from 1986 to 1997)
  • 1985 Undefeated Chicago Bears VS. Miami Dolphins
  • 1984 Super Bowl XVIII
  • 1984-86 Civil Wars of Nicaragua and El Salvador for NBC News
  • Nine Grammy Awards and Five MTV Awards

INTERVIEWS OF NOTE

  • Alanis Morissette
  • Amy Van Dyken, Olympian
  • Angelina Jolie
  • B. King
  • Betty White
  • Beyonce’
  • Billy Crystal
  • Bob Barker
  • Bob Hope
  • Bonnie Raitt
  • Buckminster Fuller
  • Carlos Santana
  • Carol Burnett
  • Carole King
  • Caroll Shelby
  • Celine Dion
  • Charlton Heston
  • Cheech Marin
  • Cheryl Ladd
  • Chuck Yeager
  • Clint Eastwood
  • Clive Davis
  • David Crosby
  • David Letterman
  • Devo
  • Don Johnson
  • Don Johnson
  • Eddie Van Halen
  • Ellen DeGeneres
  • Emilio Estevez
  • Eric Clapton
  • Gary Larson (The Far Side)
  • George Burns
  • Gerald Ford
  • Gladys Knight
  • Graham Nash
  • Hugh Hefner
  • Jack Lemon
  • Jackson Browne
  • James Taylor
  • Jay Leno
  • Jimmy Buffet
  • Jimmy Carter
  • Julia-Louis Dreyfus
  • Katy Perry
  • k d lang
  • Kenneth Branagh
  • Kiefer Sutherland
  • KISS
  • Kobe Bryant
  • Larry Flynt
  • Laurence Fishburne
  • Leon Russell
  • Magic Johnson
  • Mariah Carey
  • Martha Stewart
  • Martin Sheen
  • Mel Gibson
  • Mick Fleetwood
  • Mike Tyson
  • Morris Day
  • Nancy Reagan
  • Neil Armstrong
  • Neil Diamond
  • Nicolas Cage
  • Oscar Winning Producer Harvey Weinstein
  • Paula Abdul
  • Quincy Jones
  • Raquel Welch
  • Reba McIntire
  • Richard Branson
  • Ringo Starr
  • Rob Reiner
  • Rosa Parks
  • Sam Kinison
  • Shaquille O’Neal
  • Sir Elton John
  • Sir George Martin
  • Sonny Bono
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Steve Wozniak (Apple Co-Founder)
  • Telly Savalas
  • The Cast of Hawaii 5-0 (2011)
  • The members of Lady Antebellum
  • Tito Puente
  • Tom Hanks
  • Tommy Lasorda
  • Ty Murray
  • Walter Cronkite
  • Wayne Newton
  • William Shatner/ Leonard Nimoy