Ted Johnson Les Crystal, who was president of NBC News in the late 1970s before serving for more than two decades as the executive producer of PBS’s NewsHour, died on Wednesday. He was 85.Crystal had stomach cancer and pneumonia, according to the broadcast.“Rest in peace Les Crystal, a wonderful human being, @NewsHour‘s first Executive Producer, consummate television newsman, mentor and dear friend,” NewsHour anchor Judy Woodruff wrote on Twitter.