Jim Lehrer, Legendary PBS NewsHour Anchor, Is Dead at 85

“Good evening, I’m Jim Lehrer,” the host began every NewsHour. Photo: Carol Guzy/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Journalist and longtime anchor of PBS NewsHour Jim Lehrer died “peacefully in his sleep” on Thursday at 85 years old, PBS announced. “I’m heartbroken at the loss of someone who was central to my professional life, a mentor to me and someone whose friendship I’ve cherished for decades,” said PBS NewsHour anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff. “I’ve looked up to him as the standard for fair, probing and thoughtful journalism and I know countless others who feel the same way.” Lehrer co-founded PBS NewsHour in 1983, serving as its anchor for nearly four decades. He moderated 12 presidential debates, the most any journalist has moderated in U.S. history. In 1996 and 2000, he moderated all of the presidential debates, making him the first person to do so. Lehrer retired from NewsHour in 2011, but not before moderating a 2012 debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Lehrer has even been impersonated on Saturday Night Live (played by Chris Parnell), a testament to his impact on pop culture. The journalism legend is survived by his wife, Kate; his three daughters Jamie, Lucy, and Amanda; six grandchildren; and a generation of viewers who began their evenings with “Good Evening, I’m Jim Lehrer.”