Colleagues Pay Final Tribute to Peter Jennings

Peter Jennings’ four-decade career as a network television reporter and anchor made him a national media star, but those who knew the ABC newsman best remembered him Tuesday in deeply personal terms, recalling the “goofy” father who loved to dance the jitterbug while cooking and the man of quiet generosity who took a personal interest in the homeless living in Central Park.

A two-hour memorial service, held at Carnegie Hall a little more than a month after the 67-year-old anchor died of lung cancer, focused less on his work as a broadcast journalist and more on recollections of his private life by family, friends and colleagues.

“He was often described as cosmopolitan, but I think my father valued awe over sophistication,” said Christopher Jennings, his 23-year-old son, noting his love of canoe trips and his fierce devotion to his family.

“The slightest achievement by his children -- or even his dog -- could wet his eyes,” he said. “My father gave love in earnest.”

“Each day is, above all else, a day without him,” his son added.

About 2,000 people filled the gilded auditorium for the emotional celebration of Jennings’ life, including nearly all of the top television network executives and journalists: NBC anchor Brian Williams, “Today” co-hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, former CBS anchor Dan Rather, current CBS anchor Bob Schieffer, “Good Morning America” co-hosts Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, CNN anchor Aaron Brown and PBS interviewer Charlie Rose. (Former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw was caring for his mother in California and could not attend.) New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was in attendance, as was his predecessor, Rudolph W. Giuliani, and the Rev. Al Sharpton. Performers included cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.

“From the time I first met Peter 41 years ago until our last meeting a few weeks ago, I felt a thrill whenever I saw him,” said Ted Koppel, host of ABC’s “Nightline.” “Not many people have genuine charisma, that kind of animal magnetism that makes it difficult to focus on anyone else in the room. Peter had that.”

Jennings’ death Aug. 7, just four months after he announced his diagnosis, has been a major blow to ABC. The network has still not settled on who will replace him as anchor of “World News Tonight.”

Robert Iger, chief executive of Walt Disney Co., ABC’s parent corporation, said the company owed Jennings “an extraordinary debt of gratitude” for his work, adding how difficult it was to accept his death.

“When you know someone of Peter’s dynamism and presence, you simply think they will always be there,” Iger said at the memorial.

ABC News President David Westin called Jennings “a true anchor in every sense of the word,” adding that “an anchor keeps the ship steady.”

But for the most part, speakers took note of their private loss. A montage of photos projected behind the stage throughout the service depicted Jennings’ off-air life: bicycling and hanging off the side of a sailboat, embracing his children and walking arm in arm with his wife, Kayce Freed. In the images, Jennings looked tan and healthy, squinting into the sun with a contented smile.

Tom Nagorski, senior broadcast producer of “World News Tonight,” spoke of Jennings’ graciousness, even in his final days. He read a note the newsman sent Nagorski’s young daughter after he became ill, thanking her for a get-well letter she had made for him.

“That was a wonderful, wonderful letter,” Nagorski said, his voice choking as he read Jennings’ words. “The colors really cheered me up. Whenever an adult is sick, there’s nothing like a young person’s kindness to make them feel better.”

Actor Alan Alda said Jennings was simply “authentic.” He recalled how the anchor would insist on staying to help wash dishes after dinner parties and how he always gave him a book to read after visits, most recently a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

“There’s a vacancy now that no president can fill, no power on Earth can fill,” Alda said. “Others will step in and fill in his shoes excellently. But no one can replace the unique presence that was Peter.”

Mary Brosnahan Sullivan, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, said a number of homeless people who live in the park across from Jennings’ Manhattan apartment had approached his widow after he died, offering their condolences and noting how he frequently took the time to speak with them. Jennings often volunteered to distribute meals to the homeless, she said, and would engage in long conversations with the people he met.

Jennings’ 25-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, spoke last, telling the tearful audience: “Without him, I find myself stumbling and in the dark.... Loving him so much and not having him with me is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

She concluded by quoting a passage from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”:

Take him and cut him out in little stars

And he will make the face of heav’n so fine

That all the world will be in love with night

And pay no worship to the garish sun.