Alan Colmes, Fox News Commentator, Dead At Age 66


Alan Colmes, a Fox News commentator, died Thursday at the age of 66 after battling an illness. His death was announced by Sean Hannity this morning on America’s Newsroom.

Colmes is survived by his wife, Jocelyn Crowley, Fox News Insider reports. She released a brief statement following his death.

Alan Colmes passed away this morning after a brief illness. He was 66-years-old. He leaves his adoring and devoted wife, Jocelyn Elise Crowley. He was a great guy, brilliant, hysterical, and moral. He was fiercely loyal, and the only thing he loved more than his work was his life with Jocelyn. He will be missed. The family has asked for privacy during this very difficult time.”

The Fox News contributor was well-known for being a co-host with Sean Hannity on Hannity & Colmes. A tribute about their time together was aired on the program after the network announced that Colmes had died. The two worked with one another for 20 years after they both joined the Fox News Channel in 1996 with their show that enjoyed a 13-year run. The pair split in 2009 after Hannity went solo with his own television show on the network. Colmes went on to work on Fox News Radio and made appearances on television giving his liberal views.

Although Alan Colmes and Sean Hannity had a significant political divide, they had mutual respect for one another. Hannity said they “forged a deep friendship” over the years in spite of their differences.

Hannity paid tribute to Alan Colmes by saying he was “one of life’s most decent, kind and wonderful people you’d ever want to meet.”

“When Alan and I started ‘Hannity & Colmes,’ there wasn’t a day that went by where we didn’t say we were the two most fortunate men in all of television.”

“Alan, in the midst of great sickness and illness, showed the single greatest amount of courage I’ve ever seen.”

TMZ reports that Alan Colmes took a leave of absence last month. Colmes revealed on Fox News Radio that he was taking time away from work to “deal with a medical issue” and that he’d back to “taking your calls as soon as I can.” The specific illness that Colmes died from hasn’t been released.

Heavy reports that Alan Colmes was a stand-up comedian before he entered the realm of political journalism. He was born in New York in 1950 and began hosting his own late-night radio talk show on WEVD-AM, his bio on Fox News’ website reveals. He broke into the Boston market with talk show radio on WZLX, before heading into the national talk radio circuit in 1990. Alan Colmes’ show was described as “fast-paced and informative afternoon news-driven show, which aired daily on hundreds of affiliates nationwide,” according to the site. The popular contributor recently went back to radio as a host of the late-night talk show, The Alan Colmes Show, that was syndicated by the Fox News Channel..

Several friends and colleagues of Alan Colmes are honoring him on social media after news that he died.

“Heartbroken my friend Alan Colmes has died. He lit up the FNC halls w/his kindness & humor. Incredibly positive force. Prayers 4 his family,” Megyn Kelly wrote.

“So sad to hear of the death of Fox News colleague Alan Colmes. He and I agreed on little, but I liked him immensely. Good guy. R.I.P.,” Brit Hume tweeted.

“Very sad to report our friend and colleague @AlanColmes has passed away,” Shannon Bream wrote.

[Featured Image by Peter Kramer/Getty Images]

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