There's not a teleprompter in the world that makes the words come out any easier under these circumstances.
Ted Koppel and wife Grace Anne Dorney Koppel have released a brief statement in response to their son Andrew's sudden death yesterday at the age of 40.
"Our son, Andrew, was a brilliant, caring man, whose loss we will mourn for the rest of our lives," said the couple. Ted, 70, and Grace have been married for 47 years and have three other children.
Andrew was discovered unconscious early Monday morning at an acquaintance's Washington Heights apartment following what was described by witnesses as a daylong drinking binge with a waiter he had just met at a Manhattan bar.
The younger Koppel lived in Queens with his girlfriend and daughter.