Al Allen, FOX 2 reporter for decades, dies at 79
FOX 2's Al Allen has died
Al Allen, a beloved reporter who spent decades on the air, has died. He was with FOX 2 for years, covering a wide breadth of stories across the city of Detroit.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Al Allen, a beloved member of the FOX 2 family, has passed away.
A family spokesperson told FOX 2 that Allen passed away at a Metro Detroit hospital Tuesday night. Allen was 79 years old.
For nearly 30 years, Allen was a fixture on air on FOX 2, reporting on crime and corruption, featuring stories highlighting the best of people in Metro Detroit.
He was a constant presence, bringing viewers traffic and weather reports with a style and sensibility that was uniquely his own.
In 2023, Allen found familiar ground in front of the camera as he and Brandon Hudson took a ride and had candid conversations about his storied history on-air.
Allen was born Andrew Long and lived in Little Rock, Arkansas, until the age of 13, when he moved to Detroit. He got his start in broadcasting at a college radio station, where, as a journalism student, he would mop the floors and clean the windows and then sit behind the mic and deliver the news to listeners.
Allen started his television career in 1984 and worked at WJBK until he retired in 2012.
Six years later, he would write a memoir entitled, 'We're Standing By', detailing his work and stories from his life as a broadcaster.
It detailed his coverage of the 1967 Detroit riot, the funeral procession for Rosa Parks in Washington, and personal stories of his mom feeding him and other crews while waiting to report on the death of former Detroit Mayor Coleman Young.
"She fixed omelets; she fixed the toast; she fixed hash brown potatoes; and then she had my two sisters take the food over there. That's my mother!" he says.
Allen won multiple local and national awards, including recognition for his reporting on the death of Jimmy Hoffa and for issues plaguing the African American community in Detroit.
He was eventually inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.
It was in Detroit where he would eventually meet his wife Alfreda, and the two had a son together, Andrew Long Jr."
Funeral and visitation details are pending.
What you can do:
While FOX 2 continues to learn more about our beloved friend, we know many viewers' lives were impacted by his presence here on TV and his ability to make stories come to life. If you had a moment of joy with Allen and have a photo and you'd be interested in sharing it with our viewers, go to fox2detroit.com/photos.