NBC's Tim Russert Dies at 58

NBC News political analyst Tim Russert collapsed and died at work Friday, his colleague Tom Brokaw reported on CNBC. He was 58.

Russert was the managing editor and moderator of long-running Sunday morning news program "Meet the Press" since 1991 and a contributor to "NBC Nightly News" and "The Today Show." He joined the network, owned by General Electric(GE), in 1984.

He also wrote two bestselling books, Big Russ and Me in 2004 and The Wisdom of Our Fathers in 2006.

The Emmy Award-winning journalist's use of a white dry eraser board in emphasizing the importance of Florida during NBC's coverage of the 2000 presidential election made TV Guide's list of the "100 Most Memorable TV Moments," according to Russert's bio on MSNBC.com. The Washington Post also credits him with coining the phrases "red state" to denote Republican-leaning states and "blue state" to denote those in which Democrats are strong.

Russert was born in Buffalo, N.Y. and graduated from John Carroll University and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He worked as a lawyer in both the U.S. Senate and New York governor's office in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Russert lived in Washington, D.C. with his wife, journalist Maureen Orth, and son Luke.

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