James LeRoy Hartz, professionally known as Jim Hartz, a former broadcast news anchor, and reporter died April 17, 2022 at age of 82 in Alexandria, Virginia. The cause of death was advanced COPD. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma February 3, 1940 he graduated from Tulsa Central High School in 1958. He attended the University of Tulsa in pre-medicine. While in school he worked at Tulsa radio stations KOME, and later at KRMG, and realized his interest was in broadcast journalism. In 1960 he was anchor and news director at Tulsa station KOTV. At 24 he joined the NBC-owned WNBC-TV in New York, the youngest correspondent NBC had ever hired. He anchored the #1 rated 6 pm and 11 pm nightly news casts until 1974 when he became cohost of the Today Show with Barbara Walters. In 1977 he joined WRC-TV in Washington DC anchoring the evening newscasts until 1979. As an NBC reporter he covered the Apollo space missions and the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. His first major assignment was co-anchoring with David Brinkley during the sudden return of Gemini VIII on March 16, 1966. He covered every manned flight after that from 1966-1976. He was the first journalist to fly the SR-71 spy plane, the U-2 spy plane, and the F-15 Eagle. He was regarded as an aerospace expert. After leaving NBC he cohosted the PBS series Overeasy with Broadway actress Mary Martin. During the early 1980s he hosted PBS Innovation, and in the 1990s he co-anchored a joint PBS-NHK venture Asia Now from Tokyo Japan. Over his career he earned 5 Emmy awards and 2 cable ACE awards. In 1987 Oklahoma Governor George Nigh appointed him to the board of the Will Rogers Memorial Commission. In1993 he was appointed by Governor David Walters to chair of the Will Rogers Memorial Commission where he served until 2014. In 1998, while serving as a Visiting Professional Scholar at the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, he co-authored with astronaut Dr. Rick Chappell, a book called Worlds Apart: How the Distance Between Science and Journalism Threatens America’s Future. An active member of Christ Episcopal Church in Alexandria Virginia, he served as lay reader, Vestry and as Junior Warden. He recently edited a documentary of the impact of 9/11 on the congregation, Christ Church Remembers: Twenty years after 9/11. He is survived by his wife Alexandra Dickson Hartz, psychotherapist in Alexandria, Virginia, daughters Jana Hartz Maher of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Nancy Hartz Cole of Reston, Virginia, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his son, John M. Hartz. A memorial service is planned for a later date. Memorial donations may be directed to the COPD Foundation; Christ Church Foundation; Will Rogers Memorial