How did Bruce Johnson die? Tributes pour in as WUSA news anchor passes away at 71

Bruce Johnson recently passed away on March 3 at the age of 71. He gained recognition as a news anchor on CBS affiliate WUSA9 for 44 years.

He was remembered for his years of dedicated service as a Washingtonian who greatly impacted the DC area. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser paid tribute to Bruce on Twitter and wrote:

Bruce Johnson’s cause of death and career

According to WUSA9, Johnson died of heart failure in Delaware on Sunday morning. However, he has encountered a similar issue in the past.

He suffered a heart attack while covering a news story in Washington, DC, in 1992. He felt a tightening in his chest and was taken to a local hospital by his cameraman.

Doctors found that he had suffered a massive heart attack, which is mostly referred to as a widowmaker. As part of his recovery, he trained and completed the 26.2 mile Marine Corps Marathon in Washington Marine Corps Marathon.

Born in 1950, he attended Kentucky State University for three years and began his broadcast career on WCPO-TV. He graduated from Northern Kentucky University in 1973 with a degree in political science. He then earned a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Cincinnati.

He returned as commencement speaker to NKU in 2018 and was awarded an honorary doctorate degree. He was a member of the National Press Club, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He was also a national advocate for survivors of heart attacks and cancer.

Bruce joined WUSA9 TV in 1976 and was an award-winning anchor and reporter for major news stories from the nation’s capital. He was the co-anchor of Channel 9’s 6 pm weekly newscast and the anchor of Off Script with Bruce Johnson.

He was the author of the book Heart to Heart, which featured his story and the comeback stories of 11 other male and female cardiac survivors. It was published by the People’s Medical Publishing House in China and he traveled to Beijing and Shanghai to promote his book.

Johnson wrote another book, All Or Nothing: The Victor Page Story, in 2012. It documented the life of former NBA prospect Victor Page.

Netizens pay tribute on Twitter

Bruce became popular among the public in all these years as a news anchor. The public and famous personalities paid tribute to him on Twitter when they heard about his death.

Johnson is survived by his wife Lori, three children – Brandon, Kurshanna, and Carolyn, and three grandsons.

About the author

Anupal is a pop culture writer at Sportskeeda with a degree in Political Science. He developed a keen interest in the lives of celebrities, films, TV shows, and box office collections since an early age. After accumulating significant experience as a content writer across varied fields at companies such as The Indian Wire, DigiStatement, and QuirkyByte Media, he eventually settled on writing about his favorite genre - pop culture.

Anupal believes in conducting in-depth research while writing about any topic and relies on varied sources to ensure he produces holistic articles. He also often glances through content that was published in the 80s and 90s to gain a better understanding of the subject he is covering.

Anupal admires Robert Downey Jr., who played one of his favorite Marvel superheroes, Iron Man. He is inspired by the actor's resilience and the determination in overcoming past struggles to building a successful Hollywood career and admires the way he articulates his thoughts while speaking in interviews.

If Anupal could travel back in time, he would love to experience James Cameron's 2009 film 'Avatar' in a theatre full of fans. When he's not busy working, he binges on the latest OTT titles across languages.

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