{"id":183581,"date":"2026-02-18T22:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/183581\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T22:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:57:10","slug":"a-great-day-for-kopi-fresno-tv-news-legend-hanging-up-mic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/183581\/","title":{"rendered":"A Great Day for Kopi. Fresno TV News Legend Hanging Up Mic."},"content":{"rendered":"

Kopi Sotiropulos, the decades-tenured anchor on KMPH FOX26, announced Wednesday he is retiring.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sotiropulos made the announcement during the 9 a.m. broadcast of \u201cGreat Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all these years, it\u2019s time to take a break. This has been a great run. I\u2019ve been thrilled to work here at Channel 26. I\u2019ve met a lot of wonderful people over the years, and you know, it comes a time in your life when you say, hey, I got to move on,\u201d Sotiropulos said during the 9 a.m. broadcast.<\/p>\n

Fellow anchors Liz Gonzalez and Karl Cooke thanked Sotiropulos, praising him for his legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re very kind. The check\u2019s in the mail,\u201d Sotiropulos said, showing his trademark humor.<\/p>\n

KMPH News Director Jim Jakobs also praised Sotiropulos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe word legend does not even begin to describe what Kopi has meant to KMPH FOX26 all these years. He has impacted multiple generations of people throughout the Valley in so many positive ways. He will be greatly missed but never forgotten,\u201d Jakobs said.<\/p>\n

Viewers reacted on social media. Amy Molina posted video<\/a> of the announcement on Facebook, saying, \u201cWe will miss you. Enjoy your retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sotiropulos One of KMPH\u2019s First Employees<\/p>\n

One of the station\u2019s first employees in 1971, Sotiropulos held several roles, most notably weather anchor on the station\u2019s evening and morning newscasts.<\/p>\n

Known for his infectious personality, versatility and sense of fashion, Sotiropulos started at the station shortly after KMPH signed on as an independent station based in Visalia.<\/p>\n

He began as a copywriter \u2014 writing, producing and starring in commercials. He also hosted the weekday movie program \u201cDialing for Dollars,\u201d where viewers called in for a chance to win a jackpot.<\/p>\n

Sotiropulos left TV for Hollywood in 1977, finding work in several films, including \u201cBeverly Hills Cop II,\u201d where he played a bartender, and \u201cThe Postman Always Rings Twice\u201d starring Jack Nicholson. He also made guest performances on shows such as \u201cThe Incredible Hulk,\u201d \u201cThree\u2019s Company,\u201d \u201cThe New Mike Hammer,\u201d \u201cPerfect Strangers,\u201d \u201cHighway To Heaven,\u201d \u201cSoap,\u201d \u201cGeneral Hospital,\u201d \u201cDays of Our Lives,\u201d \u201cThe Hardy Boys,\u201d and \u201cKnight Rider.\u201d<\/p>\n

During that time, he started his own commercial production company.<\/p>\n

Sotiropulos returned to TV news at KMPH in 1992, delivering the weather on the \u201c10 O\u2019Clock News.\u201d In 2003, he started on the morning newscasts, where he\u2019s been since.<\/p>\n

In 2022, Sotiropulos reduced his schedule and no longer appeared daily on \u201cGreat Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opa! A Greek Fest Advocate<\/p>\n

Born in the Peloponnese region of southern Greece, Kopi and his family moved to Fresno when he was three. He attended Fremont Elementary School, where he learned English. He later went to Hamilton Junior High, Fresno High, Fresno City College and San Francisco State.<\/p>\n

Advocating for Greek Fest, the annual late-summer ritual at St. George Greek Orthodox Church, is one of Sotiropulos\u2019 trademarks.<\/p>\n

Peter Vallis, Greek Fest chair, expects Sotiropulos to continue helping with the event. He said people come, especially to see Kopi.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be honest, Kopi is the most beloved Fresnan of his generation,\u201d Vallis said. \u201cKopi has taken that mantle both for the Greek community, for KMPH and really for the entire city. He\u2019s been a mascot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vallis said Sotiropulos will be known \u201cas the biggest Greek in town.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a walking, talking billboard all year long. And that can\u2019t be replicated. There\u2019s just not another Kopi,\u201d Vallis said.<\/p>\n

\"Kopi<\/a>Kopi Sotiropulos, in his Greek garb, poses with a fan at Greek Fest. Note the fashionable shoes. (Facebook\/Fresno Greek Fest)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kopi Sotiropulos, the decades-tenured anchor on KMPH FOX26, announced Wednesday he is retiring. Sotiropulos made the announcement during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183582,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":{"0":"post-183581","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fresno","8":"tag-fresno","9":"tag-fresno-headlines","10":"tag-fresno-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}