NBC anchors shared heartfelt messages honoring staffer Larry Edgeworth, who died from COVID-19.
The announcement was given Friday morning by NBC News Chairman Andy Lack.
Edgeworth, 61, was a longtime staffer of NBC News. Anchors and other staff spent Friday morning sharing tributes to him on social media.
This is our beloved colleague, Larry Edgeworth, who just passed away due to COVID19. I adored him. He was full of spirit and joy and humor. He was the pro of pros. We traveled in 2008 on a campaign plane for two months. He was a bright light every day. Larry, dear, we will miss u pic.twitter.com/36Hg9WbiCG
— Savannah Guthrie (@SavannahGuthrie) March 20, 2020
“I adored Larry,” Savannah Guthrie wrote. “We traveled together for two straight months on a campaign in 2008 and he was always the most warm, most professional, most loving. All hours of the day and night, no matter how hungry or tired or stressed we were – he was always a joy.”
Hoda Kotb joined in with her own tribute, saying Edgeworth had a “big heart.”
“I would like for you to know this name : Larry Edgeworth,” she wrote on Twitter. “He was a longtime member of our NBC crew.. big smile.. big heart..we loved Larry and he loved us back.. all of us …He died after testing positive for the Coronavirus.” (RELATED: NBC News Staffer Dead After Contracting Coronavirus)
Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent Anne Thompson shared a photo of Edgeworth and herself during a shoot.
“This is Larry Edgeworth (left), our @NBCNews colleague who died from #coronavirus and this is why I loved him. He made every shoot, no matter where or what, better,” Thompson wrote on Twitter.
This is Larry Edgeworth (left), our @NBCNews colleague who died from #coronavirus and this is why I loved him. He made every shoot, no matter where or what, better. pic.twitter.com/8otVFXdNhn
— Anne Thompson (@annenbcnews) March 20, 2020
Anchor Al Roker, who has been quarantined at home due to another staffer testing positive for coronavirus on the third hour of “Today,” shared his condolences as well.
“Larry Edgeworth was a giant both physically and emotionally,” he wrote. “You were always in good hands when he was on your crew. A tremendous loss.”
Edgeworth worked in an equipment room at the 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters. He suffered from underlying health issues before contracting coronavirus, according to his wife. Edgeworth is survived by his wife and two sons.
Two staffers, including the “Today” show staffer, have tested positive for coronavirus. The other staffer works for NBC’s Nightly News.