Veteran news anchor Harry Gasser, 76, passes away

Veteran news anchor Harry Gasser succumbed to complications from a stroke around 3:50 a.m. Thursday, his son Henry said.

Gasser was brought to Quezon City General Hospital after complaining of breathing difficulties the previous Sunday while jogging—one of his regular activities.
 

Gasser, formerly a news anchor on RPN 9's News Watch—the first English-language news program in the Philippines, which first aired in 1970—leaves behind widow and former comedienne Flora Gasser. The two appeared on an episode of GMA's “Wish Ko Lang,” during a time when the latter was struggling to earn for herself and her husband.

The Harry Gasser Appreciation Society had this to say about him in a post from 2011: “When TV news was sober. When it was all about the news, and not the sensation. When looks did not matter (ok, there's Cathy Veloso Santillan, but he chose to go home every night to Flora Gasser). He was the prime mediator for martial law babies of what was happening to the world. Celebrating Harry Gasser is celebrating your childhood.”

Gasser's body will be brought to St. Peter's Chapel along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. He will be cremated on Monday, April 7. — Vida Cruz/BM/ELR, GMA News