Longtime WABC anchor Bill Ritter has been a mainstay of New York’s news scene for decades. So, it came as a shock when he announced he would step away from the anchor desk last month because of a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
On Wednesday, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) paid tribute to Ritter on the House Floor for his, “unwavering commitment to keeping the public informed,” and voiced support for Ritter and his family after his diagnosis.
Ritter will now do Alzheimer’s reporting for ABC.
“I don’t want to be schmaltzy about this because I don’t believe in all this stuff, but I’ve gotten something given to me,” Ritter said. “I can’t afford to do it without being with my family and spending all this time because that will be gone quickly. But I do believe I also have to stay at my job to do this. I’m quite excited about that. And I use that word kind of weirdly, but I am; I think it’s like given to me.”
9 questions with Bill Ritter
How did you react to the response you got?
“I would say with surprise. We anticipated people in our area. You know, we’re the biggest station in the country. We’re certainly the biggest station here in New York City. We had no idea it would be expanded, but it went around the country. There were millions of people who poured into us. We were shocked.
“We quickly realized, Robin, that this was beyond us. We had to rise to the occasion. I had to rise to the occasion and focus on my family, because you don’t know how I could go down again and I won’t be able to get up. But also somehow, being in this position, I feel like I have been met with something that I have to embrace. and I mean, it’s not I have to, I’m quite honored by it.”
Seven and a half million people in the United States are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Why did you go public now? You said something interesting in a conversation with Maria Shriver. You said, ‘I just can’t do this anymore.’ Can’t do what?
“I couldn’t go up on the television screen where I’ve been for so many decades, where you know, you tell the truth. and I couldn’t do that anymore if I wasn’t telling people the truth about me. People didn’t see or hear that I was not doing my best. My mistakes, I heard; my wife, she heard, but no one else ever said anything. I managed it fairly well.”
You’re 76. People might have thought, ‘Oh, he’s older.’ What was it that led you to get the tests? Were you noticing the symptoms that were more than just forgetfulness, which is age?
“Maybe it was age, and I wanted to know about it, yes.
“We did have tests and it didn’t show up saying I have Alzheimer’s. And yet I know how I talk, and I wanted to find out about this. My dad had died of Lewy body [dementia]. At the time everyone thought it was just a break off from Alzheimer’s. And I felt like, ‘OK, I want to know about this.’ And finally, we did a high-end test. If I had it or not, this would show it, and it did show it.”
Can we talk about that moment? You mentioned your dad. He had Lewy body, and so you’d seen your dad be diminished. When that test came in, you’re Bill Ritter, you’re the guy who chases bad guys with a microphone, what was that moment like?
“I had very quick responses. I first flashed on the picture of my father and then I quickly flashed to it kind of being a little bit scared. Pretty quickly after that, and we’re talking about seconds, I thought about my family and I said, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to go under at some point and they’re going to be stuck with all this.’
“And I did not wail and I didn’t cry so much, although I cry fast now — about 3 seconds, then it stops. But when you were talking about my dad, I quickly did it and it quickly stops because you can’t live like that.”
Well, and you picked yourself up and are now doing this reporting that included a conversation with Maria Shriver, whose dad was diagnosed in 2003. She said a person cannot handle Alzheimer’s dementia alone.
“Don’t forget this, there’s 7.5 million people now. Within 20 years, it’s going to be double this. They’re going to have all sorts of things that will keep us alive. [[There are]] hundreds of new developments for people who have Alzheimer’s, and they’re trying to figure out what are we going to do, how we’re going to pay for it.
“When my dad died of this, I went and I got, as I said, I think I said to you— this is one of the problems of having Alzheimer’s, I don’t remember whether I told you that.
“The group that asked me to emcee when they found out my dad had died of it — in 1988, in my first walk as emcee, there was one company that was there. Last October, when we do them every year, there were 29 businesses that are trying to deal with this, so it’s happening.”
You are already being treated. What is it that you’re doing to the extent you can tell us?
“I do go to the doctor twice a week. It’s expensive. I’ll tell you what I what I worry about: I have gotten so many people, wonderful people say, please tell me what you’re doing, and because I’m not a doctor, I can’t say what it is because what if I say something and it’s not the right thing for the person? All of a sudden I’m responsible for that.”
There’s a cost here that not everybody can afford.
“And that’s one of the problems. I worry about that. I will say that even to people who have money, it is frightening how much it costs. And so, the people who don’t have any money or have very little money, they’ve got to figure out how to do it.
“Part of this campaign, I think, is to give a platform for people who are trying to deal with this. There are people who are working in Washington who are saying, ‘We’ve got to figure this out. How do we do it?’”
You spoke with New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim, whose father has Alzheimer’s
“[His father] was an expert. He spent his career trying to deal with Alzheimer’s and all sorts of other kinds of things. And he’s 79 and he is now in the wraps of it. And Andy said, ‘I’m going broke here. If I’m going broke and I’m a senator, what are the people who are barely getting along going to be.’
“And it’s going to happen to all the people who follow us because even if I hang on for 15 years or 10 years, we have to look out for the people behind us. And I don’t want to be schmaltzy about this because I don’t believe in all this stuff, but I’ve gotten something given to me. I can’t afford to do it without being with my family and spending all this time because that will be gone quickly. But I do believe I also have to stay at my job to do this. I’m quite excited about that. And I use that word kind of weirdly, but I am; I think it’s like given to me.”
Do people come up to you on the street?
“Yes. you know, I got several hugs today. They want to say thank you for doing this, ‘My mother had this and I didn’t understand what was going on. And I want my father to be able to have better things than happened to my mom.’
“And so, we’re affecting people. And if we can do that, I’m all for this. I’m honored to be doing it.”
This interview was edited for clarity.
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Robin Young produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Thomas Danielian. It was adapted for web by Michael Scotto.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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