Lloyd Dobyns Jr., a former NBC News anchor, died Sunday at the age of 85, his old employer said Wednesday. Citing his family, NBC News reported he died in North Carolina from complications after a series of strokes.
Dobyns was an NBC News correspondent and anchor during his time with the network. Through his career, he won multiple awards, including a George Foster Peabody medal, a DuPont-Columbia Award, a Humanitas Prize and two Christophers. He was granted an honorary doctorate of humane letters by the University of North Carolina.
He was employed by NBC News from 1969 to 1986, during which time he was a reporter for “If Japan Can… Why Can’t We?” and the host of “Weekend.” He briefly hosted “NBC News Overnight” with Linda Ellerbee and anchored “Monitor,” too. Later in life, he hosted podcasts for Colonial Williamsburg, chatting with staff members about their roles at the restored capital of colonial Virginia.
“He was a friend, teacher, trouble-maker, and a world-class journalist,” Ellerbee said in a statement released by NBC News. “I shall miss him more than I can say.”
Online Wednesday, he was memorialized by not only colleagues, but viewers, who called his newscasts “smart and funny” and referred to him as “a fine journalist.”
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