R.I.P.: Big Al Sims, Sactown Radio/TV Personality

Big Al Sims (1970-2025)

Alvin "Big Al" Sams, is a Feature TV reporter, radio host, producer, and content creator with over 20 years of working in local TV and radio died this Tuesday.

Sams, 55, celebrated a birthday in December.

Alvin Sams was a prominent presence on Sacramento’s airwaves on KHYL-FM V101. After hosting his “V Mornings with Big Al” for nearly a decade on the hip-hop station, corporate owners iHeartRadio let Sams go in 2020. Sams was one of several high-profile Sacramento on-air personalities let go that year in mass layoffs by Audacy.

But Sams soon found a new home and new fans as a reporter on the popular morning show “Good Day Sacramento” on KMAX-TV, Channel 31. The Sacramento station, owned by CBS, announced the news of Sams’ death on Tuesday. A cause was not disclosed. The station plans an on-air tribute to Sams’ life and work on Sunday.

Sams’ career on Sacramento’s radio and television airwaves spanned a quarter-century. Sams also worked as a co-host and entertainment reporter at KTXL-TV, the Sacramento television station better known as Fox 40.

Big Al used his voice and talents to many community endeavors and charities, including the American Cancer Society, The SOL Project, the American Federation for Suicide Prevention, MLK365, the American Diabetes Association, and others. He's helped raise funds and awareness for cancer and diabetes research, spoken out against smoking, helped church groups assist the homeless and unsheltered, helped youth to bridge the education gap, and fought for social justice and equity.

His Facebook introduction was an apt summation: “Do what I do like I do it for TV & radio.”

Calling him a “fun and fantastic part of the ‘Good Day’ weekend show,” Sams “loved being out in the community, focusing on positive stories in neighborhoods all over Northern California,” CBS Sacramento said on its website.

“It was an honor to have such a caring and talented man as Big Al on our team,” the station said.