Yesterday, in the FTVLive Almost Daily Newsletter, I shared my thoughts on the passing of longtime TV Agent Richard Leibner.

Many of you emailed me saying that I should share that story on FTVLive.

So, here it is:

If you've been around this business for a while, then you know the name Richard Leibner.

Richard was the man behind the talent agency N.S. Bienstock, which was THE talent agency back in the day.

Leibner repped the biggest names in the business, such as Dan Rather, Diane Sawyer, Mike Wallace, Andy Rooney, and Norah O’Donnell, along with many more.

Leibner owned N.S. Bienstock with his wife, Carole Cooper. In TV news, you could just say the names Richard and Carole, and everyone knew who you were talking about.

Richard Leibner died yesterday at the age of 85.

Many people are sharing their stories about Richard, and I would like to share mine.

I dealt with Richard on two different levels.

When I was a news director, I dealt with Richard when I was looking to hire a Bienstock client. I always found Richard to be a tough but fair negotiator. As a News Director, talking to the agents was never something I enjoyed, but I never minded taking Richard’s calls. He was a joy to talk to.

That was my dealings with Richard while working in TV news. It was when I got out of news that I had a much more personal relationship with Richard.

Back when I was looking to take FTVLive.com out from behind a paywall and have the website supported by advertisers, I called Richard to ask if he wanted to become a sponsor of FTVLive.

Without hesitation, Richard said that he wanted to support FTVLive and me, and he became a sponsor.

Years later, UTA purchased N.S. Bienstock from Richard and Carole.

UTA does not advertise as they feel they are so big they don’t need to. Richard called me up and said to take the N.S. Bienstock banner off of FTVLive.com.

But Richard said that he would continue to pay me the sponsor money to post the job moves made by N.S. Bienstock/UTA clients.

Richard eventually stepped back at the agency, and Peter Goldberg was named the Head of News & Broadcasting at UTA.

Goldberg called me up and said that they were no longer going to pay me.

Shortly after that call, Richard Leibner called me up and said that when we made a deal, he said, “I told you I was there to support you.” He then offered to continue paying me the sponsor money out of his own pocket.

I would still be the money, but there would be no banner on FTVLive, no moves posted, and no strings attached.

I told Richard what a gracious offer that was, but I would not feel right taking his money without him getting something in return.

I turned down the offer, but it was then that I knew that Richard Leibner was not only a great agent but a great man.

He will be missed.