Bill Ritter, a WABC host, describes his initial symptoms two years prior to receiving an Alzheimer's diagnosis.
Bill Ritter is being open about his well-being. The 76-year-old WABC anchor provided more details on when he first noticed symptoms, just days after he said he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and would be resigning from his on-air position.
“I think the first was about two years ago,” he stated this on Good Morning America on June 15. “I realized I was forgetting people names and places. I didn’t know why that was happening.”
Ritter revealed that although his wife Kathleen Friery saw the shift, his amnesia went mostly unreported.
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“We thought, ‘okay, well maybe I'm working too hard,’” he clarified. “So, I scaled back.”
In fact, the anchor stated that he only did the 6 o'clock show in 2025 and quit conducting the 11 and 5 o'clock shows.
“I was sleeping for the first time at night,” nevertheless, he replied, “It wasn't getting better and so it was at that moment, just like that, we said, ‘You know what? I got to get tested.’ And that’s what we did.”
Ritter subsequently received an early-stage Alzheimer's diagnosis at that point, which he made public during the June 12 ABC 7 New York newscast.
Ritter stated that the response from the public and his loved ones has been "amazing" in the days after, with his family the anchor is the father of three children serving as his pillar of support.
“Alzheimer's is a thing that gobbles up families,” he added. “And they're the real tough ones in this. You know, my kids say, ‘Dad, you're so brave about all this.’ And I'm not the one that's brave. It's my kids and my wife who are the brave ones. That's really the real case here.”
Riter also discussed why he chose to broadcast the information live.
“My job as a journalist is to speak honestly to the public and that is what drove me about this,” he clarified. “Very few people knew about it. All the people that I wanted to talk to—my friends for 25 years, 30 years—I couldn't talk to them about it because we wanted it to be one big group.”
He went on to say, “My very good bosses figured out a way to do this and we did it. And we had an incredible time of this.”
Ritter stated during his announcement that although he was leaving his position as an on-air journalist, he wasn't going too far from ABC, where he has worked since 1998, in order to assist in training the network's future generations.
“I am going to so miss reporting the news to all of you,” he stated, “with the truth, and with facts, no matter where they fall. It has been my honor to do just that. For now, I wish you health and peace, and let’s take care of each other.”
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