Bill Ritter, WABC-TV anchor, announces early-stage Alzheimer's diagnosis and final newscast

Veteran New York news anchor Bill Ritter said Friday that he has been diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease and that the evening broadcast would be his last.

Ritter, 76, has anchored WABC-TV's 6 p.m. newscast since 2001. He made the announcement on the air during Friday's Eyewitness News.

"After a series of tests, my doctors have told me I have Alzheimer's," Ritter said.

"It's early-stage Alzheimer's, and they say the treatments I'm getting are keeping it at bay, for now," he continued. "But there is no guarantee, because there's no cure yet for Alzheimer's."

"So, unless someone finds an amazing cure, and soon, tonight will be the last newscast I anchor," he added.

Ritter joined WABC-TV in 1998 after working at the Los Angeles Times, California television stations and ABC News. He began anchoring the station's 11 p.m. newscast in 1999 and joined the 6 p.m. broadcast in 2001. He also anchored the 5 p.m. show for several years.

The station said Ritter will remain at WABC-TV in a new role that includes reporting on Alzheimer's and other neurological conditions and their effects on patients and families.

"For decades, Bill Ritter has covered and led New Yorkers through the stories that matter most," WABC-TV General Manager Marilu Galvez said in a statement. "A defining presence at ABC7, he has done so with exceptional insight, integrity and, most of all, heart, earning the love and respect of viewers and colleagues alike."

"While he is stepping away from daily anchoring, he will continue to be an integral part of our ABC7 family, including sharing personal updates and providing resources to help others impacted by Alzheimer's better understand the disease and the resources available to them," she said.

"Bill is strong, brilliant, and resourceful, and we look forward to his continued reporting on Eyewitness News," Galvez added.

Ritter said his father died of Alzheimer's in 1998 after years of illness.