Bill Rosendahl, a former producer and host of public affairs TV shows for Century Cable and Adelphia Communications and operations executive at those and other cable-TV providers, died March 30 after a years-long battle with cancer, according to friends and colleagues and published tributes. He was 70.
He also was the first openly gay man to sit on the Los Angeles City Council, serving from 2005 to 2013. He retired after being diagnosed with a late-stage form of cancer.
Rosendahl first began hosting and producing public affairs TV shows for Century Cable in Los Angeles in the late 1980s, with his Week in Review show becoming a mainstay for both Century and Adelphia (with the latter purchasing the former in 1999). He also served as an executive for Century Communications Corp. Between Week in Review, Local Talk, The God Squad, Beyond the Beltway, Mideast Perspective and Personal Best, Rosendahl hosted and produced more than 3,000 public affairs programs during his 16 years with Century and Adelphia, often signing off each episode with “God bless and bye-bye,” according to obituary information provided by Mike Bonin, Rosendahl’s successor on the L.A. City Council. His career in cable also included stints at Group W and TelePrompTer.
