Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Marvin Zindler - Houston TV Icon Dies at 85

Anyone who has seen “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” will remember the character of Melvin P. Thorpe- “Watchdog News”. Well few people outside Texas know he’s based on a real -life person named Marvin Zindler. Marvin appeared on Houston, Texas’ Channel 13 Eyewitness News for more than 3 decades. He was a pioneer of consumer reporting and actually did expose the “Chicken Ranch” brothel in LaGrange, Texas.

Marvin died today at age 85 after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer. Though often flamboyant and sometimes a bit zany, Zindler is remembered in Houston as a crusader for the “little guy” and will long be remembered. As he always signed off his segment of the newscast, “This is Maaarvin Zindler, Eyewitness News!”

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