Richard Tauber

1944 - 2018

Richard Harold Tauber was born on June 30th, 1944, in Paterson, New Jersey, alongside his fraternal twin brother Bob. He was welcomed home by his mother Carolyn (Midge) Greenberg, his father Eugene Tauber, and his older brother Stuart. Dick spent most of his childhood in South Orange, NJ. He developed a love for theatre, became the President of New Jersey Temple Youth, and graduated from Colombia High School in 1963. In 1967, he graduated with a BA in Theatre from Denison University, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi. He studied at University of Michigan and Columbia University and began pursuing technical theatre work in addition to acting in New York City. He worked at "Shakespeare in the Park" under the direction of the famed Joseph Papp and later joined the crew for the original Broadway production of Godspell where he ran lights on over 800 shows. He met Marjorie Hirschberg in an acting class in Greenwich Village and they were married in 1973. Dick then became the Dean of Students and Marjorie the Head of the Drama Program at The Darrow School in New Lebanon, NY. In 1978, they celebrated the birth of their first child, Ethan. In 1981, they moved to Atlanta, GA, where Dick had been hired to work at the newly established CNN, and where he would continue to work for the next 32 years. Dick and Marjorie bought a house and had their second child, Elizabeth, in 1983. The family spent many happy days together until 1997 when Marjorie passed away from ALS. During his time at CNN, Dick ran the Satellite Desk and became Vice President of Transmission Systems and New Technology. In 2013, after retiring from CNN, he was inducted into the Space and Satellite Hall of Fame. He became President of the Board of Directors of the Southeast Chapter of Space and Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), which he helped to found in 2005. He also received three Emmy Awards for his work at CNN: The first was in 1986 for his part in Turner Broadcasting System Inc.'s "Goodwill Games"; the second in 2002 for CNN's coverage of 9/11; and, the third, a Technical Emmy, in 2007 for CNN's mobile, IP, news-gathering system. Dick was also vital in CNN's groundbreaking coverage of the First Gulf War. In addition to being very passionate about his work, Dick was an avid movie lover and delighted in blaring classic rock from his car speakers. He loved to tell jokes and anecdotes and had a wonderful sense of humor. He was an incredibly kind soul, extremely generous and helpful to everyone he knew and mentored many people over the years. He is survived by his two children and two brothers. He will be greatly missed by colleagues, friends and family. A memorial service will be held 11:00 AM April 13, 2018 at Dressler's Jewish Funeral Care with interment to follow at Crest Lawn Memorial Park. Arrangements made by Dressler's Jewish Funeral Care 770-451-4999. Tauber, Richard