ABC anchor Peter Jennings dies of cancer: Canadian-born broadcaster who delivered network's nightly news for five decades was 67

NEW YORK - Peter Jennings was the face of ABC News.

The urbane Canadian-born broadcaster delivered the nightly news toAmericans for more than five decades. He was there for every bigstory, be it war or weather.

Jennings, who announced in April that he had lung cancer, diedSunday at his New York home, ABC News President David Westin said ina statement. He was 67.

"Peter has been our colleague, our friend, and our leader in somany ways," Westin said. "None of us will be the same without him."

With Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather, Jennings was part of a triumviratethat dominated network news for more than two decades, through thebirth of cable news and the Internet. His smooth delivery and yearsof international reporting made him particularly popular among urbandwellers.

"Peter was born to be an anchor," Brokaw said Monday on NBC's"Today." He said he met Jennings in 1966 covering Ronald Reagan'scampaign for California governor and "we had an instant friendship."

"Peter, of the three of us, was our prince. He seemed so timeless.He had such elan and style," Brokaw said.

Rather, appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" tribute toJennings, noted that beneath Jennings' polished exterior was a fiercecompetitor.

"If Peter was in the area code, I didn't sleep," Rather said.

Jennings dominated the ratings from the late 1980s to the mid-'90s, when Brokaw surpassed him. He remained a Canadian until 2003,when he became a U.S. citizen, saying it had nothing to do with hispolitics - he did it for his family.

"He was a warm and loving and surprisingly sentimental man," saidfellow ABC anchor Ted Koppel.

Jennings deeply regretted dropping out of high school, and hewould have wanted that lesson passed along, Koppel said. He made upfor it by becoming a student of the world, studying cultures andtheir people for the rest of his life.

"No one could ad lib like Peter," said Barbara Walters. "Sometimeshe drove me crazy because he knew every detail. ... He just died muchtoo young."

Jennings was wherever the big story was. He logged more than 60hours on the air during the week of the Sept. 11, 2001, terroristattacks, offering a soothing sense of continuity during a troubledtime.

Jennings' announcement four months ago that the longtime smokerwould begin treatment for lung cancer came as a shock.

"I will continue to do the broadcast," he said, his voice husky,in a taped message that night. "On good days, my voice will notalways be like this."

Although Jennings occasionally came to the office betweenchemotherapy treatments, he never again appeared on air.

"He knew that it was an uphill struggle. But he faced it withrealism, courage, and a firm hope that he would be one of thefortunate ones," Westin said. "In the end, he was not."

He is survived by his wife, Kayce Freed, and his two children,Elizabeth, 25, and Christopher, 23.