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JUDY WOODRUFF: We want to close
tonight remembering one of our
own, a man at the heart of the

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"NewsHour" family.

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Few people have had as much of
an influence on the "NewsHour"
as Les Crystal. Always behind

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the camera, Les led the way
to transforming this program.

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He came to us after a 20-year
career at NBC, where he served
as executive producer of "The

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Nightly News" and then president
of NBC News. He joined Jim
Lehrer and Robin MacNeil in

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1983 to expand the half-hour
"MacNeil-Lehrer Report" into
the "MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour,"

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the first national
nightly newscast to do so.

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LES CRYSTAL, Former
Executive Producer, "PBS
NewsHour": The half-hour
had been very successful,

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but I think the appetite
had been there to do more
than just a single subject.

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JUDY WOODRUFF: The show won
countless awards, a Peabody and
Emmys, during his tenure. Les

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had a deep commitment
to public media.

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As executive producer of the
show, he guided generations of
journalists to tell the most

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important stories. He was
driven to get to the truth and
tell stories from across the

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globe that were often ignored.
To us, he was a great boss,
smart, kind and generous with

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his wisdom and time.

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Linda Winslow was the show's
deputy executive producer during
Les' tenure. She succeeded

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him as executive producer.

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LINDA WINSLOW, Former Executive
Producer, "PBS NewsHour":
He had an amazing ability

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to relate to other people as
human beings, not as whatever
their job description said

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they were.

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And the entire "NewsHour" staff
was one big extended family,
as far as Les was concerned.

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He shared our joys. He attended
our weddings. He made our
babies smile. And he mourned our

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losses. He was, in a word,
a real mensch. And I'm
going to miss him dearly.

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JUDY WOODRUFF: A loving husband,
father and grandfather, Les
helped create the "NewsHour"

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family. Together with Jim
and Robin, they instilled a
passion for getting to the heart

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of the news that remains the
core of the program today.

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JEFFREY BROWN: Les was a
role model as a journalist,
as a leader, most of
all as a decent human

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being. He took me under his
wing long ago, first as a
mentor, then as a colleague, and

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for many years as his friend.

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ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH,
Former Chief Correspondent,
"The NewsHour With
Jim Lehrer": How would

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I describe Les Crystal? Sweet,
calm, supportive, determined.
Les expected the best from us.

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And, because of his own
kindness and his skill, we
wanted to give him the best.

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JUDY WOODRUFF: And he was
the consummate editor.

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PAUL SOLMAN: He was
infuriatingly scrupulous,
poring over scripts
like a medieval scribe.

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He could be in the middle
of five conversations
and phone calls. He'd
take yours, and yours

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was the only call in the world.

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I mean, who loves their boss?
But -- and I'm not exaggerating
-- in the case of Les Crystal,

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everybody did.

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JUDY WOODRUFF: Les' demeanor
defined his leadership style.

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CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT, Special
Correspondent, "PBS NewsHour":
It's hard to separate the

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professional Les from the
personal, because he was always
calm. He was always a rock of

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stability, whether it was a
stressful time, when we were
in a war zone and he was giving

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us instructions, or whether we
were just sitting and chatting.

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He was always the same:
strong, rock of stability
and just wonderful.

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JUDY WOODRUFF: When Les stepped
down as executive producer, he
took on the role of president

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of MacNeil/Lehrer Productions.
In this job, and even after
officially retiring, he devoted

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his life to ensuring the
financial backbone to keep
the "NewsHour" strong.

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He was a dear friend
to me and everyone he
touched at the "NewsHour."

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Les Crystal died after a long
struggle with brain cancer
and then pneumonia. He was 85

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years old.

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It's hard to say goodbye
to him. We are overwhelmed
with memories today.

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And to Toby, Les' wife, to his
three children, Brad, Alan and
Liz, and his grandchildren,

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we send all of our love.

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The "NewsHour" wouldn't
have become the "NewsHour"
without Les Crystal.