Nick Charles, the first sports anchor at CNN, died Saturday in Santa Fe, N.M., at 64. He had been diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2009. Charles had served as a sports anchor at Washington's WRC/Channel 4 and Baltimore's WJZ/Channel 13 before joining CNN when it launched in 1980. At CNN, he and Fred Hickman formed a popular team as anchors of "Sports Tonight."
Beginning in 2001, Charles hosted of Showtime's ShoBox: The New Generation. He also hosted boxing on Versus. In March 2011, Charles returned to the airwaves for a final time as a host of HBO's Boxing After Dark program. He won the Boxing Writer's Association Broadcaster award in 2007 and in 2008, he won the Sam Taub Award for excellence in boxing broadcasting journalism. Charles is also the winner of several cable ACE awards.
"It's an imperfect world, but, boy, it's still beautiful," he told CNN in a recent interview. "What is life? It's 20 percent what happens to you and 80 percent how you react to it. Find that little kernel every day that brings you pleasure and joy -- and fasten onto that. That's what's going to make life worth living. Always look for the best."
