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I was stunned and saddened last night to learn that Robert Pietranton, a longtime Warner Bros. TV publicist with whom I’ve had a years-long professional relationship, has passed away. He was just 56 years old.

The news broke at Deadline, where co-editor-in-chief Nellie Andreeva gave Robert a heartfelt farewell. I’m not going to be able to top what she did over there, and you should absolutely read it, but I wanted to write something about Robert, too.

Pietranton, SVP Publicity & Communications of Warner Bros. Television Group, passed away suddenly at his home on Wednesday. The cause of death isn’t known, and likely will never be made public since while he was beloved by plenty of journalists, Robert wasn’t exactly a celebrity.

I was frozen when I saw his photo and that headline. Robert was a kind, funny guy with whom I’ve had dozens of conversations (mostly about Bruce Springsteen). Nobody saw this coming, and his friends and coworkers are seemingly all shellshocked.

“There are no words to describe just how much Robert has meant to everyone at Warner Bros. Television Group,” Channing Dungey, Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Television Group and WBD US Networks, told Andreeva. “He was the heart and soul of not just our publicity department, but of our broader Studio. Throughout his 20+ year tenure, he was our confidant, our voice of reason, and our first stop in a brewing crisis. Beyond his impeccable reputation within our industry, he was most importantly our friend. His kindness and warm laugh will be deeply missed. We are heartbroken beyond measure and are keeping him and his family in our thoughts and prayers.”

I can’t say enough good things about Robert, with whom I have been in regular contact since 2012. That wasn’t when Robert started at WB, mind you — just when my old outlet got big enough that we started getting publicity from WBTV. Our first conversation about about Kelly Hu’s first appearance on Arrow, and we talked pretty regularly throughout the decade-long life of the Arrowverse.

To give a sense for how accomplished Robert was in his job, he served as a key publicity point of contact on (again, via Deadline) Abbott Elementary, All American, The Bachelor franchise, The Big Bang Theory, ER, Gossip Girl, The Jennifer Hudson Show, The Mentalist, Mom, The Pitt, Riverdale, Smallville, Shameless, Extra, Shrinking, Supernatural, Running Point, Ted Lasso, Two and a Half Men, The Voice, and The West Wing.

“To have worked with Robert was truly a joy,” said Rebecca Marks, executive VP of publicity and communications at Warner Bros. TV Group, told Variety. “He was kind, honest, and warm, and his ability to connect with the press was widely respected. Most of all, Robert loved this business dearly. He was a consummate executive whose passion for storytelling was evident in everything he did, and we were so lucky to have him in our lives.”

WB TV’s official statement read, “Pietranton was known for his calm demeanor under pressure, unwavering kindness, generosity, and decency. He was a rare executive who saw character and work ethic as traits valued over title or pedigree, lessons he often shared. He deliberately avoided the spotlight and was often happiest when those around him received the accolades. He personified the word mensch to those fortunate enough to know him.”

That “calm demeanor under pressure” is something I was familiar with. He was one of the people I spoke with regularly when big stories would unexpectedly leak, like when Cress Williams’s casting in Crisis on Infinite Earths went public and when Dominic Purcell issued a fiery statement upon leaving DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

I always thought that Robert was mostly humoring me when we would get into long email conversations about Springsteen; I’m an obsessive fan, after all, and can easily get distracted by Bruce and take things off in that direction. Robert and I weren’t close, but we were friendly; he was both a genuinely nice guy and also a great publicist. In the latter role, it’s expected that sometimes you’ll just roll with whatever nonsense a reporter wants to talk about. But, no, he apparently loved Bruce so much that it merited not one but multiple references in Andreeva’s obit. In fact, I didn’t know that one of his nicknames was “Bobby Gene,” a reference to the Springsteen song “Bobby Jean.” Which, of course, demands only one appropriate end to this story about losing a friend:

We’ll miss you, baby.
Good luck, and goodbye, Bobby Gene.