John McLaughlin—the longtime host of the eponymous current affairs TV show The McLaughlin Group known for his cantankerous spirit and iconic sign-off—is dead at the age of 89.
According to a post on The McLaughlin Group‘s Facebook page, the Rhode Island-born Catholic priest-turned-political pundit passed away peacefully Tuesday morning.
“John touched many lives,” the show’s staff wrote. “For 34 years, The McLaughlin Group informed millions of Americans. Now he has said bye bye for the last time, to rejoin his beloved dog, Oliver, in heaven.”
Last week, McLaughin missed his first-ever episode of the show, which he created and hosted since 1982. In a note to viewers of the public broadcast show, McLaughlin wrote that he was “under the weather.”
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“The final issue of this episode has my voice, but please forgive me for its weaker than usual quality,” said the note, which was reportedly shown before the show aired. “Yet my spirit is strong and my dedication to the show remains absolute.”
McLaughlin was born in Providence in 1927 and later attended theological school at Boston College, where he also received degrees in English and philosophy. After teaching in Connecticut, he went on to obtain his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University.
Though raised as a Democrat, McLaughlin returned to Rhode Island to launch an (unsuccessful) bid for the U.S. Senate as a Republican. He was later recruited to be a speechwriter for President Richard Nixon by Pat Buchanan, a Nixon adviser and, later, a regular McLaughlin Group panelist.
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In 1982, McLaughlin created The McLaughlin Group, on which he would serve as the executive producer and host. Even in its formative years, the panel discussion show with McLaughlin seated between four guests developed a reputation for its volume and unwieldiness.
“The program…may not tell you much you haven’t heard before, but it tells it fast and loud,” wrote a New York Times reviewer in 1988.
The show stayed true to that nature for nearly another three decades.
With McLaughlin absent last week, Buchanan began the show by collectively sending the panel’s best wishes, as Deadline reported at the time.
“This is our first time in 34 years that our distinguished leader Dr. McLaughlin is not in his chair,” Buchanan said, “and we miss him.”
According to the post Tuesday, information regarding McLaughlin’s memorial service will be released via his show’s Facebook page.
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