Tucker Carlson Announces the Death of His Father, Former KABC Reporter Richard Carlson – Details

Tucker Carlson penned a heartfelt and lengthy obituary for his father, who recently passed away at his home after enduring an illness.

Richard Warner Carlson, a storied journalist, Marine veteran, and former KABC reporter, passed away on March 24, 2025, at the age of 84. In a heartfelt obituary written by his son, Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News personality paid tribute to a life marked by resilience, intellect, and unshakable integrity.

Alongside a vintage press credential bearing his father’s photo — a young “Dick Carlson” identified as an assignment editor for KTVU-TV — Tucker unveiled the life of a man shaped by hardship and fortified by experience.

“He refused all painkillers to the end and left this world with dignity and clarity,” Tucker wrote. He also revealed that Richard died at home in Boca Grande, Florida, “holding the hands of his children with his dogs at his feet,” after enduring six weeks of illness.

The emotional tribute began at the very beginning — Richard’s birth on February 10, 1941, at Massachusetts General Hospital, to a 15-year-old Swedish-speaking girl. He was placed in Boston’s Home for Little Wanderers shortly after, where malnutrition left him with rickets, a condition that bowed his legs for life.

He spent years navigating the foster care system before being adopted by the Carlson family in Norwood, Massachusetts. However, life didn’t get easier — his adoptive father, a tannery manager, died when Richard was just 12.

At 17 years old he had been jailed for car theft, expelled from school for a second time, and ultimately found structure in the U.S. Marine Corps.

But Richard wasn’t destined to be defined by struggle. “In 1962, in search of adventure, he drove to California,” Tucker recalled. What followed was a whirlwind of life experience — a year aboard the SS Washington Bear as a merchant seaman, transporting cargo to far-flung ports in Asia, and then, a leap into journalism.

From a copyboy at the Los Angeles Times (LA Times), he climbed his way up to become a wire service reporter for UPI, and eventually an investigative reporter and anchor for ABC News.

During the turbulent 1960s and ’70s, Richard crossed paths with some of the most notorious and influential figures of the time — Jim Jones, Patty Hearst, Jerry Garcia, Eric Hoffer, and even Mafia leaders and members of the Manson Family.

In 1965, while covering the Watts riots in Los Angeles, he was seriously injured — an event that didn’t slow him down but added another scar to a life already layered with grit.

By 1975, he was a single father of two young boys after his wife abruptly left for Europe and never returned. He poured himself into raising them, often bringing them along on reporting trips and turning family dinners into extensive history lessons.

“At home, he educated them during three-hour dinners on topics that ranged from the French Revolution to Bolshevik Russia, PG Wodehouse, the history of the American Indian and, always, the eternal and unchanging nature of people,” Tucker divulged.

Richard’s intellectual curiosity was insatiable. He was known to read compulsively — even at red lights — and left behind a vast personal library of dog-eared books covered in handwritten notes. His life experience, combined with his voracious reading, ultimately cemented a firm belief — “God is real.”

In 1979, Richard found lasting love when he married Patricia Swanson. The two shared a happy 44 years together until her passing. “She died sixteen months before he did and he mourned her every day,” Tucker shared.

Long before he was devastated by his beloved wife’s passing, Richard’s career continued to ascend. In 1985, he joined the Reagan administration as the director of the Voice of America, later serving as the U.S. ambassador to the Seychelles.

By 1992, he was CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and would go on to lead a division of King World television. During his tenure as president of the CPB, Richard brought the same directness and initiative that had defined his earlier work in journalism and diplomacy.

He served at a pivotal time in the early 1990s — a period marked by efforts to reshape and modernize the nation’s public broadcasting framework following the passage of the 1992 Public Telecommunications Act.

On December 9 of that year, Richard took a proactive step by circulating a letter to a wide spectrum of stakeholders — including board members of major public broadcasting entities, leaders of regional and national organizations, station managers, and other key figures in public media.

His goal was simple yet strategic — to solicit meaningful feedback and ensure that the implementation process reflected the voices of those most directly involved.

His illustrious television career saw him garner numerous prestigious awards, such as a Peabody, Headliners and Golden Mike honors, and three Emmys. However, the last 25 years of his life took a more mysterious turn.

Tucker admitted that the details of his father’s work during this time were “never completely clear to his family,” though it was apparent he was involved in high-level work across dozens of countries and breakaway republics.

He crossed paths with global figures such as Lebanon’s Rafic Hariri, Adjara’s Aslan Abashidze, Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko, and unnamed leaders of Somaliland. “He was a fundamentally nonjudgmental person who was impossible to shock, and he described them all with amused affection,” explained Tucker.

Beyond his widely recognized titles in journalism and diplomacy, Richard’s career was punctuated by bold moves and controversial chapters that further cemented his reputation as both fearless and unconventional.

One of the more explosive episodes came while working at the LA Times, where he formed a friendship and professional bond with Carl Brisson — the son of Hollywood actress Rosalind Russell. The duo’s journalistic collaboration would go on to make national headlines.

Together, Richard and Carl co-authored a Look magazine exposé that made waves by linking former San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto to organized crime. The report delivered a devastating blow to Joseph’s political trajectory, effectively derailing any ambitions he had for higher office.

The politician decried the story as “character assassination for political purposes” and later won a $350,000 libel judgment — though notably, Richard was never named as a defendant in the case.

As Richard’s television career wound down, he briefly pivoted into the world of finance, joining Great American Federal, a San Diego-based savings and loan institution. His foray into the financial sector didn’t mark the end of his public aspirations.

In 1984, he tested the political waters with a mayoral run in San Diego, challenging then-incumbent Roger Hedgecock — a candidate who was, at the time, under indictment for perjury. Though Richard’s bid ultimately proved unsuccessful, it underscored his unrelenting drive and belief in civic engagement, even when stepping into turbulent political terrain.

Aside from his illustrious career and storied life adventures, Richard remained devoted to his family, speaking to his sons every day and sharing a weekly lunch with them at Washington’s Metropolitan Club for over thirty years. Each meeting began with a friendly dice game.

His love for dogs never waned and was a quiet through-line in every chapter of his life. In closing his tribute, Tucker honored his father not just for what he achieved, but for who he was.

“He was the toughest human being anyone in his family ever knew, and also the kindest and most loyal. RIP,” concluded the commentator. In addition to Tucker, Richard is survived by his other son Buckley Carlson, his daughter-in-law Susie, and his five grandchildren.

At this time, we wish to extend our most sincere condolences to Tucker, Buckley, and all the family members, loved ones, and friends of Richard. We hope for their healing as they mourn such a significant loss. RIP, dear Richard.