WASHINGTON (AP) — Rowland Evans, a syndicated columnist and longtime CNN host known for a courtly but direct manner that sometimes caught his guests off guard, died Friday of cancer. He was 79.
Evans, who had been in poor health for several years, died at Georgetown University Hospital.
He was half of the print and television duo that included Robert Novak, another columnist and longtime CNN host.
The two hosted a political interview show on CNN called "Evans & Novak" for nearly 20 years. In June 1998, The Wall Street Journal's Al Hunt and syndicated columnist Mark Shields joined the program. The show was then renamed "Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields."
"Rowland has been a part of the CNN family from its beginning," said CNN News Group chairman Tom Johnson.