Bill Ritter stepped away from the WABC anchor desk in June 2026 after an early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis. His wife Kathleen Friery has now shared how the family first noticed the signs.
Have you watched Eyewitness News at 6 on WABC (American Broadcasting Company) any night over the past two and a half decades? If you live in the New York area, chances are you know that voice and that face. Ever wonder what it takes for a familiar figure like that to sit down on live television and tell millions of viewers something deeply personal? That is exactly what Bill Ritter did, and it is a quiet, honest kind of brave.
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Bill Ritter Alzheimer’s Announcement: A Farewell Broadcast Like No Other
In his on-air farewell broadcast on Eyewitness News, on 12 June 2026, during what turned out to be his last night at the anchor desk, Ritter told viewers, “After a series of tests, my doctors have told me I have Alzheimer’s.” He explained it was early-stage disease and that his treatment was helping so far, adding that he was stepping down because “there’s no guarantee” without a cure.
Ritter said his doctors had told him the treatments were “keeping it at bay, at least for now.” He had anchored the 11 pm newscast since 1999 and added the 6 pm broadcast in February 2001, making his sudden exit after 25 years at the station feel especially personal to long-time viewers.
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Eyewitness News: The Show Bill Ritter Called Home for 25 Years
Ritter joined WABC in 1998 after a career spanning print journalism at the Los Angeles Times and local television across California. Colleagues describe him as a defining presence on Eyewitness News. He is not leaving television altogether. WABC has confirmed Ritter will remain on staff in a new role, reporting specifically on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, including the cost of care and its effect on families like his own.
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Inside Bill Ritter’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: What He and His Family Said
In an interview on Good Morning America, days after his announcement, Ritter described the earliest sign he noticed, around 2024, while still anchoring three newscasts a night: “I realized I was forgetting people, names, and places.” His father had lived with Lewy body dementia and died in 1998, so Ritter said his first reaction to his own diagnosis was fear rooted in that family history.
His wife, Kathleen Friery, has since spoken publicly too. In comments she shared with People magazine, she said she was nervous to raise what she was noticing, but when she finally did, Ritter did not brush it off. “Oh, yeah. I’m feeling it,” he told her. Friery, married to Ritter since 2008, said the diagnosis itself did not arrive as a single shocking moment but as confirmation after many months of appointments: “This thing is real.” The couple share a 17 year old daughter, Ella, and Ritter has two adult children, Mia and Owen, from a previous marriage (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
Bill Ritter on his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and new mission, Here and Now (WBUR
Alzheimer’s Statistics: How Common Is It at Age 76
Ritter’s diagnosis lands him in the age group where Alzheimer’s becomes far more common. According to national data, about 5% of Americans aged 65 to 74 live with Alzheimer’s dementia, rising to about 13% for ages 75 to 84 and to roughly 1 in 3 people aged 85 and older. In 2026, an estimated 7.4 million Americans aged 65 and older are living with the disease, and about 1 in 9 people in that age group has it(2✔ ✔Trusted Source
2026 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimer’s Association
)(.
Alzheimer’s remains among the leading causes of death in the United States, and there is still no cure, only treatments that can slow progression in some patients (2✔ ✔Trusted Source
2026 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimer’s Association
Go to source)(3✔ ✔Trusted Source
Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, PMC, National Institutes of Health
Alzheimer’s Care: What Doctors Say to Do and What to Avoid
Neurologists and caregiving experts consistently point to a few core principles for families navigating a diagnosis like Ritter’s.
What helps:
- Speak slowly, use short simple sentences, and give the person time to respond instead of finishing their sentences for them (4✔ ✔Trusted Source
Communicating With Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease, National Institute on Aging ). - Keep daily routines consistent for meals, medication, and sleep, since predictability reduces confusion and agitation (4✔ ✔Trusted Source
Communicating With Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease, National Institute on Aging ). - Stay physically active together where possible, since regular movement is linked to better mood and sleep in people with dementia (4✔ ✔Trusted Source
Communicating With Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease, National Institute on Aging ). - Involve the person in decisions about their own care for as long as they are able to participate (4✔ ✔Trusted Source
Communicating With Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease, National Institute on Aging ).
What to avoid:
- Do not argue or try to correct every factual mistake, since this often increases distress without helping memory (4✔ ✔Trusted Source
Communicating With Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease, National Institute on Aging ). - Do not talk about the person as if they are not in the room, even if their responses seem delayed (4✔ ✔Trusted Source
Communicating With Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease, National Institute on Aging ). - Do not take on all caregiving duties alone. Experts specifically warn against caregiver burnout and recommend building a support network early (2✔ ✔Trusted Source
2026 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimer’s Association ).
Experts also stress that caregivers need their own support, since more than 12 million Americans currently provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or related dementias (4✔ ✔Trusted Source
Communicating With Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease, National Institute on Aging
)(2✔ ✔Trusted Source
2026 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimer’s Association
).
References:
- Bill Ritter on his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and new mission, Here and Now (WBUR) – (https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/07/09/bill-ritter-alzheimers)
- 2026 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, Alzheimer’s Association – (https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures)
- 2025 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, PMC, National Institutes of Health – (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12040760/)
- Communicating With Someone Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease, National Institute on Aging – (https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-changes-behavior-and-communication/communicating-someone-who-has-alzheimers)
Source-Medindia