NBC News Employee Remembered as ‘Gentle Giant’ After Dying From Coronavirus

Longtime NBC News employee, Larry Edgeworth, 61, has died after testing positive for the coronavirus, NBC reported Friday.

Edgeworth’s wife Crystal said he suffered from other health issues before contracting the virus. He spent 25 years at NBC News as an audio technician, and worked in an equipment room at the network’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza headquarters in New York.

NBC News Chairman Andy Lack sent an email to staffers Friday notifying them of Edgeworth’s passing.

“As we have heard from medical professionals, those with underlying health concerns are sadly the most vulnerable,” Lack wrote. “Many of you were fortunate enough to work with Larry over the years, so you know that he was the guy you wanted by your side no matter where you were.”

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Edgeworth was well-known to many network correspondents and producers who traveled around the world covering news stories with him. Lack’s letter described him as a “gentle giant who would give you the shirt off his back.”

Many other NBC News employees expressed their condolences and shared memories of Edgeworth on social media.

“Larry Edgeworth was a giant both physically and emotionally. You were always in good hands when he was on your crew,” Today weathercaster Al Roker wrote on Twitter. “A tremendous loss.”

Larry Edgeworth was a giant both physically and emotionally. You were always in good hands when he was on your crew. A tremendous loss https://t.co/CD8tSbttd6 via @NBCNews

— Al Roker (@alroker) March 20, 2020

Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie posted on Instagram that her “heart breaks” after learning Edgeworth died.

“I adored Larry,” she wrote. “We traveled together for two straight months on a campaign in 2008 and he was always the most warm, most professional, most loving. All hours of the day and night, no matter how hungry or tired or stressed we were — he was always a joy.”

“Larry, dear, I will miss you,” she added.

“Larry was a gentle bear of a man, the heart and soul of our extended NBC family,” Andrea Mitchell, NBC News’ chief foreign affairs correspondent, said. “I was always cheered and reassured knowing he was on the team in the field. He always had my back whether here in the U.S. or in the most dangerous situations around the world.”

Edgeworth is survived by his wife and two sons. “We are doing everything we can to support his family during this very difficult time,” Lack wrote.

Most NBC employees have been required to work from home after at least two other staffers tested positive for coronavirus.