News crew sobs on air after suicide of popular weatherman
Newsreaders broke down in tears on air after their beloved weatherman committed suicide in his home outside Kansas City, Missouri.
Harman, 41, gave the morning weather report on Fox 4 News for 12 years, where his playful style developed devoted fans and the admiration of his on-air co-workers.
****** members said he succumbed to a lifelong struggle with depression Tuesday and took his own life.
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Beloved: The anchors of Fox 4's morning show struggled to make sense of the suicide of weatherman Don Harman
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Coping: The four anchors of Fox 4's morning newscast reached for the tissues as they cried on air
'If you struggle or someone else you know struggles, please don't ever stop. Please don't ever stop trying to get help,' Mr Harman's co-worker, Loren Halifax, said as she struggled to hold back tears on this morning's newscast.
Ms Halifax and the other members of the top-rated morning news team sniffled and cried as they tried to come to grips with the suicide.
Mr Harman was known for his silly costumes and goofy antics on the early-morning show. He wasn't afraid to make fun of himself, his co-workers said.
Clips showed Mr Harman wearing a superman costume and a pirate hat. Others showed him cackling wildly at the morning crew's gags.
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Humor: Mr Harman was known for his funny antics on the top-rated morning show, although his laugh hid a deep pain
The TV crew's struggle was compounded by the fact that he the TV station worked to keep his death under wraps for 18 hours as authorities tried to notify Mr Harman's elderly ****** in Ohio.
The news slipped out onto blogs and social media and sympathy for Mr Harman poured in from viewers Wednesday, even as the TV station declined to publicly acknowledge his death.
When the station finally announced Mr Harman had ****** himself, the grief was palpable.
'I sit here and cry wondering why, how. Our beloved weather man is gone,' a viewer wrote.
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Helping hand: Morning anchor Mark Alford reaches over to comfort his colleague Nick Vasos as the two work to maintain their composure on air
Nick Vasos, a co-anchor of the morning show, said Mr Harman insisted that the two of them drive two hours outside Kansas City to visit an elderly woman in failing health recently.
The woman had written the local TV personalities to say how much she enjoyed watching them.
Mark Alford, who worked with Mr Harman for more than a decade, said his colleague was disturbed at work Tuesday, the day he went home and ****** himself.
'He was in a mood that day,' Mr Alford said.
He paused. Trying to regain his voice: 'You know, we always tried to...'
Ms Halifax said co-workers knew Mr Harman was haunted by depression and they worked with him to sort through his feelings.
Ultimately, though, they were unsuccessful.
Mr Harman was honored for his educational work as 'Doppler Don,' a character he created to teach school ******** about the weather.
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