John McLaughlin, the host of TV’s The McLaughlin Group since its debut in January 1982, died on Tuesday at age 89.

The political commentator’s passing comes just days after he missed his first hosting of his eponymous syndicated public affairs program in more than 34 years. Longtime panelist Pat Buchanan stepped in as host for that episode.

“I am under the weather,” McLaughlin explained in a note that prefaced this past weekend’s telecast. His distinct, once-bellowing voice, heard in pre-taped intros, was “weaker than usual,” McLaughlin acknowledged. “Yet my spirit is strong and my dedication to the show remains absolute!”

An ordained priest and holder of a PhD (in philosophy), McLaughlin taught high school at a Jesuit prep school before becoming a writer for a Jesuit current affairs publication. Some time after that, the Vietnam War opponent sought (but lost out on) a seat in the United States Senate. In 1974, he served as a speechwriter for President Richard Nixon, and in the 1980s wrote for National Review.

McLaughlin had moderated The McLaughlin Group, weekly round-table discussion of political issues, since Day 1, but had actively participated in the conversation less frequently in recent months, sometimes merely introducing the next issue.

McLaughlin could be a hard boss to work for. A 1990 article in The Washington Post Magazine by Alterman quoted former McLaughlin staffers Anne Rumsey, Kara Swisher and Tom Miller recalling instances of petty tyranny and McLaughlin leering at female employees.

His former office manager, Linda Dean, filed a $4 million lawsuit against McLaughlin in 1988, claiming she was fired after protesting his unwanted sexual advances. McLaughlin denied the allegations; the suit was settled out of court in December 1989.

McLaughlin and his wife of 16 years, former Secretary of Labor Ann Dore McLaughlin, divorced three years later.

In 1997, McLaughlin, then 70, married 36-year-old Cristina Vidal, the vice president of his production company. They divorced in 2010.