Broadcasting icon Hugh Downs died at his Scottsdale, Arizona, home at the age of 99, his family confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday.
Downs, an Ohio native, joined NBC in Chicago after he served in the Army and soon became a fixture in American households. The Emmy-award winning broadcaster served as a “Today” show anchor for nine years from 1962 to 1971, one of the country’s most turbulent periods.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Downs had a hand in some of the programs that have transformed NBC and worked to shape the network’s history. He helped launch “The Tonight Show” franchise with Jack Parr in 1957, a show now hosted by Jimmy Fallon more than 60 years later.
Downs was also a longtime host of ABC news program “20/20.”
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