Jim Hartz, a veteran TV anchor whose career included a stint co-hosting NBC’s “Today” show, has died at age 82.
The broadcaster’s wife, Alexandra Dickson Hartz, told the Washington Post that Hartz died earlier this month from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
He reportedly died April 17 at a Fairfax County, Virginia, hospital.
The Oklahoma-born Hartz co-hosted the “Today” show with Barbara Walters from 1974 to 1976, covering both news and entertainment for the popular morning show.
Tom Brokaw took over “Today” hosting duties in 1976 when NBC made changes to its lineup, with Hartz transitioning to the role of correspondent.
It was with the “Today” show that Hartz reported from each of the 50 states as the United States celebrated its 200th birthday.
“It’s one of those things you don’t forget,” Hartz recalled in 2012, according to the Washington Post. “It was a chance to see the country almost like a snapshot.”
Before his role with “Today,” Hartz worked as a correspondent and later as a news anchor with NBC’s New York station, WNBC, where he was hired in 1964 at age 24.
Following “Today,” Hartz joined NBC’s WRC-TV station in Washington, D.C., as an evening news anchor in 1977 and worked there for two years.
He later hosted PBS’s “Over Easy,” a show about getting older, along with the science-centric series “Innovation” and other programs for the network.
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