Jim Hartz obit

Jim Hartz, NBC News Veteran and ‘Today’ Co-Host, Dies at 82

He worked opposite Barbara Walters on the morning show from 1974-1976 and covered the U.S. space program for years.

 

He was not on the list. 

Jim Hartz, the NBC News veteran who covered the space program for a decade and co-hosted the Today show in the 1970s alongside Barbara Walters, has died. He was 82.

Hartz died April 17 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at a hospital in Fairfax County, Virginia, his wife, Alexandra, said.

Hartz beat out Tom Brokaw and Tom Snyder when he stepped in for fellow Oklahoman Frank McGee as co-host of Today in July 1974. McGee had spent three years on the job before dying of bone cancer at age 52.

When Walters exited Today in June 1976 to join ABC News — Jane Pauley replaced her — Hartz was removed in favor of Brokaw a couple months later. He spent a brief stint as a correspondent before leaving the network.

The Tulsa native and son of a pastor was working at the CBS affiliate KOTV as a reporter and morning-show host in his hometown when he joined New York’s WNBC-TV in 1964 at age 24 as one of the country’s youngest local news anchors.

From 1966-76, Hartz covered every manned flight for the U.S. space program, including the Apollo launches that sent the first astronauts to the moon.

After Today, Hartz co-anchored the news for NBC-owned WRC-TV in Washington from 1977-79 and succeeded Hugh Downs to co-host with actress Mary Martin PBS’ Over Easy, about aging gracefully. He hosted the PBS science program Innovation as well.

The five-time Emmy winner also served as a visiting scholar at the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University and was the longtime chairman of the Will Rogers Memorial Commission.

In addition to his wife of 42 years, survivors include his daughters, Jana and Nancy, and six grandchildren.