Artvoice Daily

NBC News Washington Bureau Chief and host of Meet the Press, Tim Russert, succumbed to an apparent heart attack today while recording voiceovers at the bureau for this Sunday’s broadcast of the popular news show. He was 58.

Russert, a native son, was one of Buffalo’s most prominent boosters. He frequently ended the Sunday morning show with his familiar cheer: “Go Bills!”

He is survived by wife Maureen Orth, a writer for Vanity Fair; and son Luke, a recent graduate of Boston College.

Russert gained fame as an author with the books Big Russ and Me, a tribute to his dad who also survives him, and The Wisdom of Our Fathers. He was named Father of the Year by the National Father’s Day Committee in 1995, and received the same title in 2001 from the National Fatherhood Initiative.

His death comes two days before Father’s Day.

Here’s how Tom Brokaw broke the heartbreaking news to millions of Americans.