Jim Hartz, former Today show anchor and NBC news correspondent, dies at 82

Jim Hartz, the NBC news correspondent and anchor who co-hosted Today with Barbara Walters in the 1970s, died April 17th according to The New York Times. He was 82. The Times reported that Hartz's cause of death was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Born Feb. 3, 1930 in Tulsa, Okla., Hartz attended University of Tulsa with ambitions of going to medical school, before switching to journalism in his junior year. After graduating, he became a reporter for a local station in Tulsa and a host of their morning show, before being promoted to news director at only 24.

When Hartz was hired by NBC, he became — according to the Times — the youngest correspondent ever hired by the network. During his decade as a New York anchor, he covered local stories and national ones, including Robert F. Kennedy's funeral and the Watergate scandal.

NBC News/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images Jim Hartz, former 'Today' show anchor and NBC news correspondent, dies at 82

Hartz was 34 when he started working at Today, succeeding anchor Frank McGee in 1974 and winning the job over seasoned personalities Tom Brokaw and Tom Snyder. Although he only anchored Today for two years, his coverage included important historical moments such as President Richard M. Nixon's resignation, the end of the Vietnam War and the American Bicentennial.

After Walters left in 1976, the network brought Brokaw on to host and moved Hartz to a position where he reported for Today from across the nation. When his time with NBC ended, he worked with PBS co-hosting the celebrity talk show Over Easy with actress Mary Martin and a weekly science show called Innovation. His partnership with PBS continued into the early 90's as the host of Asia Now, a co-production with the news station that originated from Tokyo.

Hartz is survived by his second wife, Alexandra Dickson, as well as two daughters, Jana Hartz Maher and Nancy Hartz Cole, and six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Hartz's son, John Mitchell Hartz, preceded him in death at age 52 in 2015.

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