Mac McGarry, the quizmaster and longtime host of local gameshow for teens It’s Academic, died last night in his Potomac home at age 87 after complications from pneumonia, NBC4 reports.

For those who grew up in the D.C. area, It’s Academic was a staple of Saturday morning programming. The quiz show assembled students from area high schools, giving them the chance to test their academic knowledge head-to-head in a gameshow-like environment. With a diverse range of questions ranging from aeronautics to Shakespeare—and everything in between—McGarry led the show with charismatic grace and a familiar warmth. For those who watched It’s Academic regularly, or semi-regularly, when it broadcasted on NBC 4, McGarry became as essential a character as the litany of now-infamous cartoon characters that bookended the show’s Saturday morning programming. Except that, while the cartoons came and went, It’s Academic and McGarry were timeless.

Indeed, since the show first aired on October 7, 1961, it’s since become the longest-running quiz show in the world. And McGarry was there from the beginning, up until his retirement in November of 2011. That’s 50 years. Fifty years as the host of a T.V. show. That is dedication.

But apart from his hosting duties on It’s Academic, McGarry was a noted and revered journalist in the Washington area, who covered a diverse host of topics for NBC, where he worked for for the duration of his career. Joining NBC in 1950, he started out as an announcer for the radio show American Forum of the Air. He quickly moved to television, where he covered such big events as Harry S. Truman’s inauguration and the Korean War for NBC News.

In 2011, McGarry was forced to retire from his hosting duties on It’s Academic due to health reasons. But the show went on, with journalists Hillary Howard and David Zahren taking over hosting duties for the Washington and Baltimore shows, respectively. To this day, It’s Academic holds a Guinness World Record for the longest-running quiz show, with McGarry attached to that title for most of the show’s run.

In a statement, It’s Academic Executive Producer said this of McGarry:

“Mac McGarry made “It’s Academic” what it is today. He was our host for 50 years, and was probably the only game show host in television history who would occasionally burst into song in the middle of the show. And what you saw on TV was the real Mac McGarry—funny, smart, knowledgeable, and a joy to work with. He was a Washington institution, and he set the standard—not just professionally–but as a human being as well. All of us who knew and worked with Mac will miss him.”