NBC newsman Garrick Utley dies at 74

Garrick Utley, the veteran NBC News correspondent, anchor and host of "Meet the Press," has died, NBC announced on its air Friday morning.

Below, the clip from the "Today" show, with which Utley was also long associated. Utley, as longtime viewers of network news will attest, was a deeply serious newsman (his parents were also correspondents for NBC News radio) who believed that television — as the world's most powerful medium — should adhere to the highest standards, and his career was indeed testament to that belief. He reported from Vietnam at the height of the war; and from multiple locations overseas. He was a no-flash, no-frills, no baloney newsman who was a rock for NBC for many years, and one of TV news' very best.

Gerry Solomon, Utley's longtime producer at NBC on "MTP" and "Sunday Today" — now director of the journalism program at Queens College — said in a phone interview a little while ago, "He was a wonderful guy to work with — dedicated, committed, and had a great feel for all kinds of stories, not just hard news. But he gave gravity and information to all kinds of stories. It was wonderful to see his mind at work, inspirational." Utley was 74, and had been battling cancer.

Meanwhile, here's Tom Brokaw's tribute... 

All, As a longtime friend and colleague of NBC newsman Garrick Utley, I am sad to share the news that he has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Garrick was the first of our generation to crack the starting line-up of NBC News in the glory days of Huntley-Brinkley. He was NBC’s first Saigon bureau chief and, later, ran our London and Paris bureaus before returning home to anchor a weekly magazine show and serve as fill-in anchor for John Chancellor on “Nightly.” Garrick was a man for all seasons — a national political correspondent, moderator of “Meet the Press” and anchor of “Weekend TODAY.” Always the complete gentleman, he was a gifted linguist, speaking flawless German, French and Spanish — and sharing his passion for opera with colleagues and NPR audiences. Bill Wheatley said recently, “Garrick was the quintessential foreign correspondent,” from Vietnam to the old Soviet Union, from Northern Ireland to the Eastern Bloc. Garrick embodied the history of NBC News for most of the latter half of the 20th Century and he will be greatly missed. He is survived by his wife Gertje, an art historian; a brother Jonathon; and sister-in-law Carol Marin, Chicago’s leading political reporter at our NBC affiliate, WMAQ. The TODAY show aired a lovely tribute this morning: http://www.today.com/video/today/54465479呆5479 — Tom Brokaw

(Newsday app readers, watch this good obit here: http://bit.ly/1godzQa. Unfortunately, this content is unavailable on mobile phones.) 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

SEE PHOTOSRecent notable deaths