Mario Machado, Los Angeles' very first Asian-American news anchor and actor appearing in movies such as Robocop and Scarface, died of pneumonia complications at the age of 78 on Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In an interview with the LA Times, Machado's daughter Michelle shared that her father passed on at a shut-in facility located in West Hills, California. Her father, according to Michelle, also battled Parkinson's disease for some time.

Machado first broke into the US media landscape in the 1960s when he worked as a newscaster at KNXT and KCBS-TV, local stations in LA. His portfolio of contributions both as a reporter and producer would later give him eight wins and 10 nominations from the Emmy Awards.

As a former soccer player, he fit the job as host of Star Soccer, a show from England which aired on PBS. He also covered the North American Soccer League for CBS.

Machado tried the movies from the 1970s to the 90s and is best remembered for his appearances in films such as Rocky III, Scarface and St. Elmo's Fire. In the Robocop franchise, he played the popular role of Casey Wong.

Born in April 1935 in Shanghai, China, Machado's mother is of Chinese-Portuguese descent while his father is pure Portuguese.