John McLaughlin Remembered by TV Panelists: ‘He Was One of a Kind’

Obits

“He shaped me in many ways,” National Review veteran Tom Rogan recalls

John McLaughlin
Getty Images

Following news of “The McLaughlin Group” host John McLaughlin’s death Tuesday at age 89, the people who shared a stage with the TV fixture rushed to offer their thoughts and grief.

Fox News analyst and former “McLaughlin Group” panelist Monica Crowley called the host “one of a kind.”

“I was honored to be a regular panelist for several yrs. He was one of a kind. RIP,” Crowley tweeted shortly after the news broke.

“McLaughlin Group” regular Clarence Page took comfort in the fact that McLaughlin apparently went with a grin on his face.

“Sad news. We lost John McLaughlin this morning,” Page wrote. “I hear that he smiled before he passed. His final gift to us. RIP.”

Another familiar face to “The McLaughlin Group” viewers, Tom Rogan, posted a video to Facebook acknowledging the debt he owed to McLaughlin.

“We’re remembering him in the best way that we can, which is to say the best moments of the show,” Rogan said in the video. “He provided me with unbelievable opportunities … I owed him a lot; I will always owe him. He shaped me in many ways.”

Even the left-leaning TV showrunner Greg Berlanti (“The Flash,” “Arrow”) weighed in with a tribute, noting that his parents “made us watch him every week” and using of one of the host’s favorite catchphrases: “The answer is… He will be missed.”

According to a post on “The McLaughlin Group” Facebook page, McLaughlin, who led the PBS series for 34 years, died Tuesday morning.

Now he has said bye bye for the last time, to rejoin his beloved dog, Oliver, in heaven,” the Facebook page noted, referencing his famous sign-off. “He will always be remembered.”

McLaughlin missed an episode of the show for the first time in more than three decades last weekend.

Comments