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Veteran New York news anchor Bill Ritter revealed Friday that he has been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, bringing an end to his more than two-decade run behind the WABC-TV anchor desk.
Ritter, 76, who has anchored the station’s 6 p.m. newscast in New York City since 2001, revealed during Friday’s Eyewitness News broadcast that it would be his final night anchoring the program.
“After a series of tests, my doctors have told me I have Alzheimer’s,” Ritter said during the broadcast.
“It’s early-stage Alzheimer’s, and they say the treatments I’m getting are keeping it at bay, for now,” he continued. “But there is no guarantee, because there’s no cure yet for Alzheimer’s.”
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“So, unless someone finds an amazing cure, and soon, tonight will be the last newscast I anchor,” he added.
According to ABC7, Ritter joined WABC-TV in 1998 after an extensive journalism career that included work at the Los Angeles Times, local television stations in California and positions with ABC News.
He began anchoring the station’s 11 p.m. Eyewitness News broadcast in 1999 and was added to the flagship 6 p.m. newscast in 2001. He also anchored the station’s 5 p.m. broadcast for several years.
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ABC7 reported that Ritter will remain with the station in a new role focused in part on reporting about Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions, as well as their impact on patients and families.
“For decades, Bill Ritter has covered and led New Yorkers through the stories that matter most,” WABC-TV General Manager Marilu Galvez said in a statement.
“A defining presence at ABC7, he has done so with exceptional insight, integrity and, most of all, heart, earning the love and respect of viewers and colleagues alike,” she continued.
“While he is stepping away from daily anchoring, he will continue to be an integral part of our ABC7 family, including sharing personal updates and providing resources to help others impacted by Alzheimer’s better understand the disease and the resources available to them.”
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“Bill is strong, brilliant, and resourceful, and we look forward to his continued reporting on Eyewitness News,” Galvez added.
Ritter also noted during the broadcast that his father died from Alzheimer’s disease in 1998 after battling the illness for years.