Fox News Channel Liberal Colmes Dies at Age 66

Alan Colmes, the liberal foil to Sean Hannity on Fox News Channel, passed away after a brief illness. He was 66.

Hannity & Colmes debuted on Fox News in 1996 and ran until January 2009. Colmes was also the host of the Alan Colmes Show on Fox News Radio. He told listeners he had a medical issue on Jan. 30.

Colmes death was announced on Fox News Thursday morning by Bill Hemmer during America's Newsroom. The network aired a tribute package on the Hannity & Colmes cohost from Hannity.

Hannity, in a statement called Alan Colmes "one of life's most decent, kind and wonderful people you'd ever want to meet."

Despite their political differences, Hannity said the two "forged a deep friendship" over the years," he said.

"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," said Hannity.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.