Howard K. Smith dead at 87

NEW YORK (AP) - Howard K. Smith, a broadcasting pioneer and, from
television's infancy, a familiar sight in viewers' homes, died of pneumonia
aggravated by congestive heart failure on Friday at his home in Bethesda,
Md.

He was 87.

Smith began his years as a foreign correspondent working for United Press in
Copenhagen and Berlin.

In 1941 he joined CBS News as a member of the team assembled by the legendary
Edward R. Murrow during World War II, and in 1946 succeeded Murrow as CBS'
London correspondent.

Smith covered Europe and the Middle East until 1957, when he came to
Washington, D.C., as a correspondent and commentator at CBS.

At ABC News, Smith served as a correspondent and anchored several long-form
newscasts.

In 1969 he became co-anchor with Frank Reynolds of 'The ABC Evening
News.'

In l975 Smith relinquished his co-anchor role but continued as a political
commentator. Four years later he retired from daily journalism.

He wrote several books including the 1942 best seller 'Last Train from
Berlin,' and his 1966 memoir, 'Events Leading Up to My Death: The Life of a
Twentieth-Century Reporter.'

His numerous awards include a Peabody and an Emmy.