WABC TV anchor Bill Ritter revealed on Friday’s Eyewitness News that he has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and that he was signing off for the final time “unless someone finds an amazing cure.”

Ritter, 76, had helmed the 6 p.m. newscast in New York since 2001 and has been with the network since 1998.

“After a series of tests, my doctors have told me I have Alzheimer’s,” Ritter told viewers on Friday. “This is called ‘early stage’ Alzheimer’s, and they say the treatments I’m getting are keeping it at bay, at least for now. But there is no guarantee, because there’s no cure yet for Alzheimer’s. So, unless someone finds an amazing cure, and really soon, tonight will be the last newscast I anchor.”

The anchor said he will remain with the network in a newly created role that focuses on Alzheimer’s and similar afflictions. Ritter noted that his father had succumbed to the disease in 1998.

“It is not easy for me to say all that to you, our viewers and the people I work with, like the man I’ve worked with for 25 and a half years, our producer, and my friend, Zahir Sachedina,” Ritter continued. “I believe we are the longest-running, behind-the-scenes newscast team ever here, and maybe anywhere – a Muslim producer, and a Jewish anchor – for 25 and a half years. It’s what the melting pot of New York and the Tri-State – and I would hope the country – is all about.

Ritter went on to acknowledge his co-anchor Liz Cho and other members of the Eyewitness News team.

“I am going to so miss reporting the news to all of you with the truth and the facts, no matter where they fall,” Ritter said, signing off. “It has been my honor to do just that. But for now, I wish you health and peace. And let’s take care of each other.”

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