News

Hugh Downs, genial presence on TV news and game shows, dies

1 / 5
FILE - This Jan. 12, 2012 file photo shows Hugh Downs at the "Today" show 60th anniversary celebration in New York. Downs, a genial and near-constant presence on television from the 1950s through the 1990s, has died. His family said Downs died of natural causes Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 99. Downs was a host of the Today show on NBC, worked on the Tonight show when Jack Paar was in charge, and hosted the long-running game show "Concentration." (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)
FILE - In this March 10, 1966 file photo, Hugh Downs hosts the "Today"show on NBC. Downs, a genial and near-constant presence on television from the 1950s through the 1990s, has died. His family said Downs died of natural causes Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 99. Downs was a host of the "Today" show on NBC, worked on the "Tonight" show when Jack Paar was in charge, and hosted the long-running game show "Concentration." (AP Photo/Jack Kanthal, File)
FILE - In this March 10, 1966 file photo, Hugh Downs hosts the "Today"show on NBC. Downs, a genial and near-constant presence on television from the 1950s through the 1990s, has died. His family said Downs died of natural causes Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 99. Downs was a host of the "Today" show on NBC, worked on the "Tonight" show when Jack Paar was in charge, and hosted the long-running game show "Concentration." (AP Photo/Jack Kanthal, File)
FILE - This Jan. 12, 2012 file photo shows Hugh Downs at the "Today" show 60th anniversary celebration in New York. Downs, a genial and near-constant presence on television from the 1950s through the 1990s, has died. His family said Downs died of natural causes Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 99. Downs was a host of the Today show on NBC, worked on the Tonight show when Jack Paar was in charge, and hosted the long-running game show "Concentration." (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)
FILE - This Feb. 15, 1960 file photo shows host Hugh Downs on the set of the game show "Concentration" in National Broadcasting Company Studio in New York. Downs, a genial and near-constant presence on television from the 1950s through the 1990s, has died. His family said Downs died of natural causes Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 99. Downs was a host of the Today show on NBC, worked on the Tonight show when Jack Paar was in charge, and hosted the long-running game show "Concentration." (AP Photo, File)

FILE - This Jan. 12, 2012 file photo shows Hugh Downs at the "Today" show 60th anniversary celebration in New York. Downs, a genial and near-constant presence on television from the 1950s through the 1990s, has died. His family said Downs died of natural causes Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Scottsdale, Ariz. He was 99. Downs was a host of the Today show on NBC, worked on the Tonight show when Jack Paar was in charge, and hosted the long-running game show "Concentration." (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)