One of the most respected names in local New York City news has died.

The wife of WNBC's Gabe Pressman says he died in his sleep early Friday morning.

Pressman grew up in the Bronx and graduated from Morris High School.

He got his start at WNBC back in 1956, when local news was scarce on TV.

He was active for around 60 years, reporting on such iconic moments as the Kennedy assassination and the Beatles first coming to the U.S.

He also spent eight years with Channel 5 news in the 1970s, but always thought of WNBC as his home.

Back in 2015, Pressman told NY1 how he approaches reporting.

"I say to myself, 'What does the Average Joe who's going to be watching this or hearing this tonight...what is he gonna wanna know?' And I base the question on that," Pressman said.

He covered ten different mayors, including Robert Wagner and John Lindsay, who he tried to chase down during the 1966 transit strike. Pressman moderated countless debates, frequently sparring with politicians.

After getting his start in newspapers and radio, Pressman moved to TV in 1956, thought to be the first TV street reporter in the city.

Gabe Pressman was 93 years old.