Dennis Richmond, a legendary anchorman whose delivery of the news became associated with Bay Area station KTVU for four decades, died Wednesday.

He was 81.

The station where Richmond anchored the news from 1976 to 2008 announced his death Wednesday. They reported that he died in Grass Valley with his wife, Deborah, by his side.

“Dennis was a strong presence in the KTVU newsroom for decades, guiding the team and setting high standards for himself and his colleagues in everything they did,” KTVU General Manager Mellynda Hartel said in a statement released by KTVU’s corporate owner, Fox Broadcasting. “His impact is still felt in the KTVU newsroom today.”

Richmond had a calm, no-nonsense demeanor and a rich baritone delivery. Over time, he became one of the Bay Area’s most trusted anchors and was regularly named the market’s most popular anchor in various viewer polls. KTVU’s late-night newscast topped the ratings for years after Richmond took over.

“I join so many in Oakland in mourning the passing of Dennis Richmond — a legend, trailblazer and dear friend,” former Congresswoman and current Oakland mayoral candidate Barbara Lee wrote on social media. “For decades, he was the voice who shined a light on our city, breaking barriers in broadcast news.”

Lee added that Richmond’s loss “is felt by all of us.”

KTVU dedicated its noon broadcast to Richmond. Other Bay Area anchors shared their appreciation of him.

“I grew up watching him, and I know so many others did, too,” KRON anchor Stephanie Lim wrote on social media. “His legacy continues on.”

Before rising to the role of anchor, Richmond made a name for himself at the station by covering the 1976 kidnapping of Patricia Hearst, and the 1978 assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk by Supervisor Dan White.

As an anchor, he fed the public emergency information for major incidents such as the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake and the 1991 Oakland Hills firestorm.

“Like so many people in the Bay Area, I fondly remember growing up watching Dennis Richmond on the news,” state Sen. and former Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin wrote on social media. “He set the standard for journalistic excellence and integrity, inspiring generations of journalists. He will be greatly missed but never forgotten.”

Another news legend, former Bay Area News Group sports columnist Dave Newhouse, in a 2016 story called the anchor “the Bay Area’s Walter Cronkite.”

During his tenure, Richmond shared the anchor desk with Barbara Simpson, Elaine Corral, Leslie Griffith and Julie Haener. He signed off for the final time during an emotional broadcast with Haener on May 26, 2008, the day he turned 65.

Haener said in a tearful interview that the Bay Area news scene has suffered a great loss: “He was so respected. This news is going to hit people really, really hard.”

Richmond said none of that credit deserved to go to him — even though his talent was so easy to see that he landed roles as a newscaster in four Hollywood movies.

“What makes me proud is that if the rest of the people hadn’t pulled together, I’d have fallen flat on my face,” Richmond told Newhouse ahead of his retirement. “I have to give credit to everyone around me for the fact that I’m still here.”

He spent his retirement years in Grass Valley. He returned to KTVU for a brief segment in 2017 ahead of being the emcee for the Friends of Faith (Fancher) breast cancer fundraiser. Fancher was an award-winning KTVU reporter who died in 2003 after a 6½-year fight against the disease.

Richmond first joined the station as a clerk in 1968.