Roger Mudd Dead: Former CBS, NBC Anchorman Succumbs To Kidney Failure

Roger Mudd has passed away at the age of 93.

The award-winning journalist died due to complications from kidney failure Tuesday in his house in McLean, Virginia, The Washington Post first reported.

Mudd was known for being an anchorman at CBS News and NBC News. He spent more than 30 years working as a journalist and even won a Peabody Award for his November 1979 special entitled “CBS Reports: Teddy” about Ted Kennedy.

Mudd’s interview with Kennedy made a mark since it crushed the latter’s political ambitions just before he was preparing to challenge President Jimmy Carter for the Democratic nomination in 1980. Apparently, the interview made viewers and the general public see that Kennedy was not at all prepared to run for the presidency.

Mudd’s son Jonathan was the one who relayed the news of the television personality’s demise to the press.

The longtime political correspondent started his career on television back in 1961 when he joined CBS News. At the time, he served as a congressional and national affairs correspondent. He also served as a regular substitute for Walter Cronkite on “CBS Evening News,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In 1980, Mudd switched to the other network, NBC, when CBS chose Dan Rather over him as replacement to Cronkite after the latter announced his retirement. Mudd shared the anchor desk with Tom Brokaw as part of his big move.

However, his time on “NBC Nightly News” with Brokaw was cut short when he was quickly pushed aside in 1983.

Apart from his work at CBS and NBC, the Washington DC native also did stints on PBS’s “MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” from 1987-92 and the History Channel from 1995 until 2004, as per ABC10.

In April 2008, Mudd opened up on the “NewsHour” about his interest in following and keeping tabs on the country’s politicians because the 100 senators and 435 representatives also wanted to talk.

Around the same time that year, he released a memoir, entitled “The Place To Be: Washington, CBS, and the Glory Days of Television News,” in which he discussed the challenges he faced when he covered Congress for CBS.

Mudd is survived by his children, Jonathan, Daniel, Matthew and Maria, as well as his 14 grandchildren and two great-grandkids. His wife of 53 years, E.J., who was a writer, passed away in June 2011.