Veteran political commentator and TV host Alan Colmes died on February 23, 2017. Colmes brought a liberal point of view to Fox News and was the political sparring partner of conservative Sean Hannity on Hannity & Colmes.
Many distraught fans of Alan Colmes wonder what Alan Colmes died of? He is survived by his wife Dr. Jocelyn Elise Crowley who revealed that the cause of death was lymphoma, according to the New York Times .
His family released a statement, which reads as follows .
“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.”
RIP, @AlanColmes : @FoxNews TV/radio personality was 66. It was a pleasure to appear on his radio show 2 years ago. https://t.co/vG2pOtDML5
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) February 24, 2017
Many colleagues at Fox News have left heartfelt tributes to Alan Colmes, who died at the age of 66. Former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly remembers his kind spirit and humor:
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 (@megynkelly) February 23, 2017
Greta Van Susteren remembers the mild-mannered political TV host as a gentleman.
Alan Colmes was always a gentleman…always kind…a wonderful colleague. pic.twitter.com/VxQimzE3bZ
— Greta Van Susteren (@greta) February 23, 2017
Despite their political differences, Hannity reveals in a statement that he was fond of Alan Colmes.
“He was one of life’s most decent, kind and wonderful people you’d ever want to meet,” Mr. Hannity stated.
Hannity states that Colmes was very fond of his wife and they were both very inexperienced when getting started on the job.
“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.
Very sad to report our friend and colleague @AlanColmes has passed away.
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) February 23, 2017
Alan Colmes started his career as a stand-up comic and was known for his humor among his colleagues. Hannity also reveals that despite their political sparring on Fox News, it was never personal.
Despite his failing health, Hannity reveals that Alan Colmes was more concerned about how his wife was going to cope rather than himself.
Hannity & Colmes aired from 1996 to January of 2009. Alan Colmes whose books also included Red, White & Liberal: How Left Is Right and Right Is Wrong is considered by many to have been what made Fox News “fair and balanced” in the largely conservative network. While some thoughts that his views were drowned out by the more aggressively styled commentating of Hannity, Colmes believed that you fight fire with water, not fire with fire.
Bill O’Reilly describes Colmes as a Fox channel original and unique. O’Reilly stated in a tribute that Colmes had no malice and was a kind person who never took political debates personally.
. @seanhannity reflects on the passing of Alan Colmes: “It’s like a part of me left today… This was a good man with a great, huge heart.” pic.twitter.com/G2fe8yLHdd
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 23, 2017
Alan Colmes’ cause of death being lymphoma, it was not unexpected to those who knew of his illness. Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer announced his death on Thursday and it was followed by tributes from colleagues.
re:Alan Colmes death-he was actually more fun to be around than some crotchety conservatives w/o sense of humor; respected him; miss him
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 23, 2017
Colmes graduated from Hofstra and made a name for himself on several radio shows among liberal viewers. His late-night talk show The Alan Colmes Show was syndicated by Fox News and announced a leave of absence due to his health last month.
“As I previously mentioned on the show last year, there would be times I would be taking off from the show to deal with a medical issue,” Colmes stated at the time.
“This is why I’ve been out recently and will be out this week as well. But I will be back taking your calls as soon as I can.”
Along with his wife, Dr. Jocelyn Elise Crowley, Colmes is survived by his sister-in-law Monica Crowley, who is a conservative radio commentator and pundit. Monica Crowley posted a heartfelt tribute on Facebook, which you can read here .
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