NBC News Employee Dies from Coronavirus

An NBC News employee has died from the Chinese coronavirus, according to a company memo published by the Daily Beast on Friday morning.

NBC Chairman Andy Lack told staffers that audio technician Larry Edgeworth is the first staffer to pass away from the illness, calling him “longtime member of our NBC News family.” According to Lack, Edgeworth had “suffered from other health issues that led him to succumb to the illness.”

“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,” wrote Lack. “Stacy Brady says he was known as the ‘gentle giant who would give you the shirt off his back.’”

Edgeworth’s passing comes as some of NBC’s biggest stars, such as Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, and Craig Melvin, have been working from home after a Today show staffer working at its headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza contracted the illness.

Last week, the CBS News Broadcast Center in New York shut down for cleaning after the network confirmed its first coronavirus case.