Richard Wagner, a veteran of the US Army and a longtime CBS News journalist, died at the age of 85.
Wagner’s wife, Donna Lewis-Wagner, told Deadline that he died on Tuesday at his home in Charlottesville, Va. The reason for death was not disclosed.
The long-serving news reporter was best renowned for his coverage of global crises including the Vietnam War.
During his tenure on “CBS Evening News” from the 1960s until the 1980s, Wagner covered numerous missions in Saigon in 1964.
According to archives, he also covered the Salvadoran civil war in 1984, reporting alongside late war photographer John Hoagland, and Nelson Mandela’s historic release from prison in South Africa in 1990.
Wagner also covered South Africa’s democratic transition from apartheid.
In 1987, the Overseas Press Club awarded him the Ben Grauer Award for his outstanding on-the-ground reporting.
Wagner wasn’t simply noted for his international reporting; he also covered big national news events such as the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant disaster in 1979 and NASA’s Challenger disaster in 1986.
Wagner served as CBS News’ first health and science correspondent before leaving the network in 1993, according to Deadline.
He also shared anchoring duties with Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather on the “CBS Evening News.”
CBS Richard Wagner Cause Of Death
His wife who broke the news of his passing didn’t disclose his cause of death.
