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Cohen, the husband of former TODAY anchor Meredith Vieira, died on Tuesday, Dec. 24, TODAY reported. The Plainview, New York, native was 76 years old.
A veteran reporter, Cohen lived with multiple sclerosis for more than 50 years and overcame two cancer diagnoses during his life. He was also legally blind.
Cohen, who worked for CBS News, was given his MS diagnosis in 1973.
"I was diagnosed when I was 25 years old and essentially told there is no hope," he said during a 2018 appearance on TODAY. "Diagnosed and adios. Nothing much we can do."
Cohen and Vieira were married for 38 years and raised three children together: sons Ben and Gabe, and daughter Lily. The couple lived in Irvington (Westchester County), NY. Throughout his life, Cohen used his platform to advocate for those living with chronic illness.
On the couple's second date, Cohen mentioned to Vieria that he had MS.
"I told her about the illness because I sort of learned the hard way to get it on the table and she really didn’t blink,” he told Yahoo Life.
"I’ve always been of the school of thought that you could get hit by a bus the next day, any one of us could," Vieira said to Yahoo Life. "It certainly wasn’t enough to scare me off."
Cohen wrote several books detailing his health journey, inspiring countless others facing similar battles.
When Vieira left TODAY in 2011, she explained that her decision was driven by a desire to spend more time with Cohen and their children.
"Time is one of those weird things," she said. "You can never get enough of it, and it just keeps ticking away. And I know that I want to spend more of mine with my husband, Richard, and my kids."
Current TODAY hosts reflected on Cohen's life after announcing his death.
"[Meredith] was such a beautiful and devoted wife to Richard, and he adored Meredith," said Savannah Gutherie. "Being out with them, they were the most fun, entertaining, irreverent, cool couple you could hang out with."
"She held on to her sense of humor even after all this," Hoda Kotb said.
Cohen’s life was marked by resilience, advocacy, and love, leaving a lasting impact on his family, friends, and all who followed his story.
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