Roy Hobbs at his last TV job.
Posted Sunday, February 18, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Roy Hobbs, a former WAGA-TV anchor from 1996 to 2003, has died in West Palm Beach, Fla. He was 64.
The cause is unknown, according to West Palm Beach authorities. His 22-year-old daughter Taylor posted the news on her Facebook page.
Hobbs was very open about his depression and cocaine and alcohol addiction over the years.
Hobbs talked to CNN about his issues in 2012, two years after being arrested for cocaine possession. He ultimately went into counseling and Narcotics Anonymous. “It’s not like your character is bad or you’re immoral,” he said on the network. “You are genetically predisposed to this… I don’t have a stop button in my head.” He said he has tried to commit suicide in the past.
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His last known anchor job was at WRDE-TV in Delmarva, NBC Affiliate in Delaware from 2014 to 2016.
He attended Amanda Davis‘ funeral service last month. The two worked side by side at Fox 5. “As I walked past her I broke into tears because it’s just not fair,” Hobbs wrote January 2 after her public viewing on his Facebook page. “The outpouring from the people of Atlanta for this beautiful wonderful incredible woman is incredible.”
Roy Hobbs took a photo with former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young at Amanda Davis’ funeral service last month. CREDIT: Facebook
“Roy and I were desk neighbors many years,” said Brett Martin, who worked at “Good Day Atlanta” while Hobbs was at Fox 5. “He would be coming to the office just the time I was leaving for the day. We shared many laughs, our appreciation of R&B and our love for movies. We used to talk for hours. Sad to hear this.”
Angeline Hartmann, a former reporter at Fox 5 who was known as Angeline Correa at the time, said his “million-dollar smile will never be forgotten. For those of us who knew him personally, that smile was a reflection of his big heart… Today, my heart breaks for his two children who were the light of his life.”
“Roy was a good anchor with an ebullient personality off-camera,” said Buz Veazey, assistant news director at WAGA-TV when Hobbs worked there. “He dealt with some serious personal and health issues but seemed to be in a good place when I saw him last a couple of years ago. I was saddened to hear of his passing.”
Hobbs also worked at stations in Nashville, Boston, Little Rock and Birmingham.
He is survived by his wife, Ellen Hobbs, daughter Taylor Hobbs and son Roy Hobbs III.
He left a bittersweet note on January 30 on his Facebook page:
It’s 2 AM. I am officially two hours into my 64th year. My birthday didn’t start off with a bang. It began with a pain. That pain was in my heart. I always begin my birthdays with reflections of the years prior. The totality of those years can be hard to cope with when you think about the mistakes, losses, heartbreak and pain you’ve encountered over the years. Well let me tell you it ain’t the years… it’s the mileage. Boy do I have a lot of miles! As those who have followed my personal life you know the past 2-2 1/2 years have not been kind. Yes I’m still here to celebrate this birth anniversary. However the weight of the losses I’ve suffered over the past 50 months years is heavy and at times I wanted to unload it all but I was told to keep carrying the weight, that I couldn’t pick the time to let the weight of life go. So here I am. Having another birthday. I’ve been thinking about my dreams of 50 years ago. The sad thing is the one dream, my most important dream never came true. At this time in my life I doubt it will. I thought it had but I was wrong. I suppose my illness played a major role in not getting the most important aspect of my life from occurring so I can’t blame anyone but myself, but isn’t that true for 99% of us. I’m taking responsibility. I remember thinking this age was so far away and that I had time. Time is nothing if it’s not used correctly and here in what seems like a blink of an eye all that time between then and now has passed. The two things I’m most proud of that wasn’t a waste of time? Taylor Genevieve Hobbs and her brother Roy Hobbs… my 2 now adult children. Thank you for the love and affection you’ve shown me. My love for you two is without bounds or limits. My advise is the advice I just got from a 93 year old celebrity I met Saturday. Live each day as if it’s the last and love to the fullest. I had it backwards and that seemingly small juxtaposition of 2 ideas has cost me dearly. So I reflect on what is, what was and what could have been. However I live in what is and for as many years I have left I’m taking that 93 year old woman’s advice and I suggest you do the same.
ADDENDUM
I’ve been listening to the “soundtrack” of my life and I have lived a remarkable life… thanks for the encouraging comments as they led me to listen to music! It washed away dismay and brought joy!!! I hope you guys listen to some of the music and remember what your life was like back then.
His last note on his Facebook public page was from Christmas Eve:
It’s that time of year when no one should be alone. We should be with her family or loved ones our friends. But if you’re like me and you were alone tonight you can spend this time reflecting on the past 12 months. I personally have been through a great deal. Health, heart ache, pain, sadness, and extreme depression. There is the one thing I do know. That is I would not have made it through these past 12 months were it not for the love and kindness that many of the 5000 Facebook friends I have gave me. Tonight while I try to prepare a turkey and some other sides to take to work for my coworkers tomorrow I will take that love that with given me over the past 12 months and I will wrap it up and hold onto it. I want to thank all of you for your on conditional love and wish you all a merry Christmas. I know we can be depression and anxiety if we continue to give and receive unconditional love and to me that is the best Christmas gift of all. Merry Christmas everyone and I’ll see you on New Year’s eve.
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