Remembering Beloved Producer Bob Lange

April 6, 2009— -- To have been secure in work as Bob Lange was throughout his career, took an extraordinary measure of talent, thoughtfulness, and dedication.

To be secure in memory, as Bob Lange was today, is a measure of humanity, vividly evoked by a large and tearful group of colleagues who gathered to remember him following his sudden death Sunday at the age of 60.

In journalism, which requires a balance of so many elements, ideas and patterns of human conduct, Bob was a source of unusual strength.

"He pushed for perfection, but also was known as a caring person who wanted to use his craft to change the world for the better," said David Westin, the president of ABC News. "The void he leaves cannot be filled."

Bob died of a heart attack while jogging in his neighborhood. He is survived by his wife, Lisa; a daughter, Emily; twin sons, David and Michael; his father, Monroe Lange and siblings Steve Lange and Elinor Abraham.

"We all knew Bob as a supremely talented journalist and maker of important news programming," said David Sloan, the executive producer of ABC News magazines. "We have also known him to provide a gentle, reasoned voice to critical issues facing the magazines -- hard to do in our often chaotic profession."

Bob was a senior broadcast producer. That meant he had to work astride the chaotic worlds of producers, reporters and crews who do the work of gathering and editing stories; and the executive staff that decides how the stories fit into the tone and policy of a show and make it unique. In military terms, he would have been half-officer, half-enlisted. He seemed equally at home in both worlds, and equally skilled. Because of that, his input was pivotal.

"Good Morning America" anchor Diane Sawyer said she would remember Bob "sitting at his desk, with stacks of books and papers around him, a friendlier version of one of those oracles you'd climb the mountain to meet."

"There were depths inside him -- kindness, conviction, and the mysterious things that gave him insight into a complex world," Sawyer said. "He was the definition of a cornerstone. Solid. Reassuring. Aware of the whole architecture. Not seeking the spotlight, but holding all of us in place."

During his career, Bob had filled many roles. He originally joined ABC News in 1981 as a consumer investigative producer working with John Stossel on "20/20." He then worked for a time at CBS for "60 Minutes" and as a senior producer at "48 Hours."

Bob returned to ABC News as senior producer on "Primetime Live." Most recently, he worked as a senior broadcast producer on all ABC news magazines and served as co-executive producer for "What Would You Do?'" which recently concluded its current season.

Bob was the recipient of a number of awards and honors, including recent Emmy awards for his work on "Waiting on the World to Change," a special on children growing up in poverty in Camden, N.J., and for the network's primetime coverage of the California wildfires.

John Quiñones, the anchor of "What Would You Do?" said, "Bob was a mentor, a superb editor who always made our stories soar; but, beyond all that, a wonderful, wonderful friend."

Many of his colleagues used the word "teacher" to describe him.

"Bob spent too many hours teaching me the difference between reporting and telling a story; the right way to schedule an unscheduled interview; and most importantly, Bob taught me that the biggest goal is to help people care," said ABC News anchor Chris Cuomo.

He could handle the complexities of structuring a story from beginning to end; or he could watch another's work and quickly hone in on what would make it better. A couple of weeks ago, he watched a story of mine and found a weakness I hadn't noticed in my own focus on arranging details: I had waited too long to state the theme that gave additional context to the nuts and bolts of the story. (The report was about a glimmer of hoping in a housing market hammered by recession.)

"Bob was not flashy or loud, he did not call attention to himself, his authority came from his talent," said "Nightline" anchor Cynthia McFadden. "We sought him out because he had wisdom and dignity and because he had a rare gift for finding the gem in the story, the heart of the story, the humanity of the story. He was a master craftsman. What a comfort it was to work with him, to learn from him and to rely on him."

John Zucker, the senior vice president of law and regulation at ABC, who worked with Bob for more than two decades at CBS and ABC, said some of the words that best describe him include "decent, responsible, patient, honest, self-effacing and wryly funny, in that Eeyore sort of way… simply put, a mensch. An absolute mensch."

Many who spoke today at our gathering to remember Bob remarked on his openness and availability to discuss virtually any aspect of planning or execution in which they were involved.

"He never failed to help a colleague in his quiet way," said Sloan, "helping to solve another's problems yet also feeding the passion he had for his work."

ABC News correspondent Jay Schadler said, "Oh, how powerful a gentle man can be."

In his leisure time, Bob loved gardening and fly fishing -- hobbies that are relaxing but can also require intense concentration. Likewise, if his work seemed clear and polished, it was only because of the intense preparation he had put into it.

Chris Whipple, a senior producer of the "What Would You Do?" series, said, "It's hard to believe a heart that big could fail."