Former Peoria-area TV news anchor Brian Christie dies

A former Peoria-area television-news anchorman died earlier this week.

Brian Christie was residing in San Diego when he died Sunday, according to a Facebook post from friend and former co-worker Greg Todd. The FTVLive website also reported Christie's death.

Christie long had been ill with non-alcoholic liver disease. On a San Diego news website, he chronicled his diagnosis and outlook.

From 1985 until 2001, Christie was a primary news anchor for CNN and subsidiary channels. Before that, in the early-to-mid-1980s, he shared an anchor desk with Clark Smith at what then was known as WRAU-TV (19), the ABC affiliate in Creve Coeur.

The station now is identified as Heart of Illinois ABC and is based in East Peoria.

A Boston native and Harvard University graduate, Christie also worked in local news at TV stations in his hometown; Austin, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; and San Diego. He hosted a number of syndicated news, information and talk shows.