Veteran broadcaster Les Smith, a familiar face to generations of Memphis TV viewers, has passed away.
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According to the Memphis outlet WREG, family members reported that Smith died Wednesday morning at 75 after a brief battle with lung cancer.
His son, radio host Jason Smith, confirmed his father’s death on Facebook, stating he was “one of the best to ever hold a mic in Memphis.”
Per the Memphis station FOX 13, his family announced last week that Smith was in the hospital battling lung cancer. His son said Smith had just returned from a trip to Belize and was “in bad shape physically.”
Les Smith’s Prolific Reporting Career Also Included Stints in Florida and Missouri
Per the WREG, Smith’s television career in news and sports began in 1975 at a station in Jefferson City, Missouri. Before arriving in Memphis in 1983, he also worked in Tampa and West Palm Beach, Florida.
Smith worked as a sports and news reporter at the Memphis station WMC-TV for two years. In 1985, he joined WREG-TV, where he spent seven years as a sports anchor and reporter before leaving in 1992.
Smith returned to television in 2000, working as a freelance reporter for ABC 24. He then transitioned to WHBQ-TV, where he dedicated 13 years as a reporter for FOX 13 before his retirement in 2014.
The comments section for Les Smith’s son’s post of his father’s passing was filled with condolences from fans who had watched the veteran reporter for decades.
“My condolences, my brother, to you and your family. Your dad was a true legend in the city,” one onlooker wrote.
“We enjoyed his stories from his sportscasting years, and had a lot of laughter and good times with him. He will be missed, and we are not the same without him. Rest in peace, Les,” a second fan wrote.
“Les Smith made this city a better place. He made me a better reporter. He held the people in power accountable for what they did. And Les tied all of this together with brilliant writing,” a third well-wisher wrote.
“Les Smith was a damned good man,” they added.