Bryant Gumbel on John Palmer: Fellow NBC Newsman Tears Up (VIDEO)
Fellow NBC newsman Bryant Gumbel made an appearance Monday on the "Today" show to remember John Palmer who passed Saturday after a battle with pulmonary fibrosis.
A longtime news anchor of "Today" during the 1980's, Palmer passed in Washington at the age of 77. Bryant worked as a news anchor during the same time Jane Pauley and Bryant Gumbel served as co-hosts of "Today."
On Monday both Gumbel and Pauley shared their memories of working with Pauley. Gumbel, now 64, worked as co-host of "Today" for 15 years, he remembered Palmer as a good man.
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"John was a gentleman with a capital "G," he was gracious in every respect," Gumbel said on the morning show.
Palmer first worked for NBC between 1962-1990. During his career he covered the Arab-Israeli war, the war in Cyprus and the civil war in Angola. He also broke the news of Carter's administration's failed effort to rescue the American hostages in Iran. Before returning to NBC in 1994 as a national correspondent, he also held gigs with the Discovery Channel, the Christian Science Monitor, and on the syndicated talk show "Total Recall."
"I would love to have his legacy," Pauley said speaking of Palmer on Monday morning.
"He was just gracious in every respect," Gumbel added. "Just a professional, warm man… Jane was the kid sister, I was the troublesome brother, and we had two eccentric uncles, and then there was John. John was the adult of the group."
Pauley noted that Palmer remained humble for the duration of his career, despite his many successful ventures.
"He took me aside one day after the show and he said, 'Jane, don't take it the wrong way, but does it ever amaze you that Kirk Douglas knows who you are?' I think a guy from Kingsport, Tennessee, he always pinched himself, 'What am I doing here?' But thank God he was," she said.
