(NewsGlobal.com)- Former Democrat strategist and Fox News contributor Bob Beckel died this week at the age of 73.
Beckel, who joined Fox News in 2000 as a contributor, was, along with Greg Gutfeld and Dana Perino, one of the original co-hosts when Fox’s top-rated evening show “The Five” first premiered in July 2011.
In the course of his television career, Beckel appeared on “CBS This Morning,” “NBC Nightly News,” ABC’s “Good Morning America,” and “Nightline.” He was also a regular guest on the Sunday morning news shows like “Face the Nation” and “Meet the Press.”
In addition to TV, Beckel also co-authored USA Today’s “Common Ground” column for over ten years with conservative columnist Cal Thomas.
Beckel and Thomas also co-wrote the 2007 book “Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That is Destroying America.”
Before his television career, Beckel worked in the Carter State Department from 1977 to 1980 and was the national campaign manager for former Vice President Walter Mondale’s 1984 presidential campaign.
Throughout his career, Beckel struggled with addiction and substance abuse. While he rarely discussed it publicly, in 2015, he wrote about it in detail in his memoir “I Should Be Dead: My Life Surviving Politics, TV, and Addiction.”
In 2015, Beckel worked briefly at CNN before returning to “The Five” to continue his role as the show’s voice from the Left.
In 2017, Fox News severed ties with Beckel after a black employee accused the Liberal pundit of making a racist remark. Beckel denied the charge and accused Fox of targeting him because of his harsh criticism of then-President Donald Trump.
On hearing the news of his death, Fox host Sean Hannity said despite their political differences, he always “got along great” with Beckel, adding that the cantankerous Democrat pundit was known as “Uncle Bob” by Hannity’s children.
Fox host Laura Ingraham described Beckel as an “old-time liberal” that you could fight with and still laugh with afterward.
