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Longtime Las Vegas media personality Steve Schorr is pictured with granddaughters Aliza (right) and Caitlyn. Schorr donated his time to many causes throughout Southern Nevada and was active at the school bearing his name, Steve Schorr Elementary School.
Friday, Nov. 13, 2020 | 12:45 p.m.
Las Vegans might be familiar with Steve Schorr as an investigative TV news reporter in the early 1980s or later as a longtime executive with Cox Communications.
But his passion was advocating for missing children and the needy.
Schorr, who died Thursday at age 74, will be remembered for creating Nevada Child Seekers in the 1980s.
The nonprofit organization helps locate missing and exploited children.
Schorr also used his influence to help implement the AMBER alert system in Nevada, sending notifications over the airwaves when a child is missing or abducted.
Schorr worked with numerous community organizations and served on the boards of directors of some 20 local nonprofit organizations.
“Steve was widely recognized by local, state and national organizations for his tireless and lengthy involvement with civic organizations, youth groups and public service agencies,” Cox officials said in a statement.
He received a lifetime achievement award from the U.S. Justice Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
“My dad never said no to anybody,” said his son Darrin Schorr, a Las Vegas Fire & Rescue captain. “He was just completely community orientated. He only cared about helping people.”
The Clark County School Board honored Schorr by naming an elementary school after him.
“He was extremely proud of that school and those kids,” his son said. “He was there all the time.”
Schorr referred to the students as “his kids” and would often visit with gifts for them, the teachers and staff.
In a 2017 interview on the Ed Bernstein Show, Schorr talked about what got him through the ups and downs of life.
“I’m driven by one thing, and that’s people and community,” he said. “To the day I die, I will do whatever I can to try to make this great place that we call home a little bit better. It’s just who I am. I can’t change that.”
Schorr and his wife, Holly, were also animal lovers and raised Dobermans for 30 years. He judged dogs shows, helped rescue groups and hosted charity events.
“He just loved life,” Darrin Schorr said. “Whenever he walked into a room, everyone knew who he was and knew that voice.”
Schorr, who had a distinct, baritone voice, started his career as a radio personality in Philadelphia. He later moved his family from their native New Jersey in the late 1970s for a job as a news anchor at KTNV-TV in Las Vegas.
He later worked at KLAS-TV and KSNV-TV before transitioning to a role with Prime Cable, which eventually became Cox Communications.
Schorr was the longtime vice president of public affairs and spokesman for Cox, where he worked for more than 25 years before leaving in 2013.
He was an award-winning journalist, receiving two Emmy Awards for news anchoring, two National Freedom Foundation Awards, a Headliner Award and an Armstrong Award for Broadcasting
Schorr is survived by his wife, son and three grandchildren, Aliza, Caitlyn and Ethan. He was preceded in death by another son, David.
Services are pending.
Steve Schorr is pictured with sons David (right) and Darrin.
Las Vegas Sun staff member Rebecca Clifford-Cruz contributed to this report.
