Former AP correspondent Sam Summerlin dies at 89

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Associated Press foreign correspondent Sam Summerlin, who was the first to report the Korean War had ended and covered everything from Latin American revolutions to U.S. race riots during a long and distinguished career, has died.

Summerlin had a second successful career as a New York Times executive and then a third as producer of scores of documentaries on historical figures and entertainers.

Two years later, he was sent to cover the Korean War, where at age 23 he was one of the youngest war correspondents in Asia.

The Korean War is Over, before handing the old-fashioned crank phone back to a military official.

Summerlin went to drop in on the author one day, but when he saw an ominous sign written in English and Spanish ordering people without prior appointments to stay away he decided to call first.

Summerlin left Cuba to become AP bureau chief in Buenos Aires before Castro rose to power, but he returned years later with a small group of reporters, a visit he would jokingly say resulted in him making the biggest mistake of his career.

There he found himself immediately immersed in the civil rights movement and the often-violent encounters between police — and white supporters of the status quo — and those seeking change.

After retiring from the Times in 1987, he founded Hollywood Stars Inc., which produced video programs, and SAGA Agency Inc., which provided celebrity still photos and interviews.