Jim Hartz, ‘Today’ show host with Barbara Walters in the ‘70s, dead at 82

Jim Hartz had a two-year stint on the NBC speak present from 1974 till 1976.
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Barbara Walters’ former “Immediately” present co-anchor Jim Hartz has died. He was 82.

The speak present host handed away on April 17 in Fairfax County, Virginia, as a result of persistent obstructive pulmonary illness, his spouse, Alexandra Dickson Hartz, instructed Deadline.

Hartz joined the morning information present in 1974 when he was 34.

The broadcaster changed earlier “Immediately” host Frank McGee, who died at 58.

Earlier than Hartz grew to become part of the NBC community, he was a reporter for WNBC, overlaying native information.

A number of key occasions he reported all through his two-year “Immediately” present profession embrace President Richard Nixon’s resignation, the start of the Apollo 15 spacecraft, the conclusion of the Vietnam Warfare and the American Bicentennial in 1976.

Walters, 92, gushed over her co-host to the New York Instances in 1974, saying: “Jim, doesn’t thoughts sharing the stage with me. He isn’t offended when I attempt to assist him.” She left the present in 1976 for a job at ABC.

Jim Hartz and Barbara Walters lined the 1974 election for NBC Information.

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In the identical interview, he famous how a lot he loved being part of the “Immediately” present and needed to honor McGee’s legacy.

“I spotted ‘Immediately’ would imply so much. I keep in mind speaking with Frank [McGee] after he first did the present; he mentioned he knew it will broaden his perspective and provides him an opportunity to do new issues,” Hartz defined. “I hope it's going to do the identical for me—it’s greater than only a information present.”

As soon as Hartz departed NBC, he anchored different packages such because the PBS speak sequence “Over Simple” and a science present known as “Innovation.”

Hartz was born on Feb. 3, 1940, in Tulsa, Oklahoma because the fifth youngster of Rev. Marvin Dillard Hartz and Helen Hartz.

A number of occasions he lined all through his profession embrace President Richard Nixon’s resignation, the start of the Apollo 15 spacecraft and the conclusion of the Vietnam Warfare.

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He attended the College of Tulsa and initially deliberate to check drugs till he discovered his true calling in journalism. After he graduated in 1962, he hosted the native Oklahoma TV station’s “Solar Up” morning present simply two years later.

Hartz is survived by his spouse, his daughters Jana and Nancy, six grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. His son John handed away in 2015 on the age of 52.