Multiple sources are reporting that Fox News creator and former CEO Roger Ailes has died at age 77. He died just three days after turning 77. Mr. Ailes’s widow has issued the following statement:

“I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning,” she said. “Roger was a loving husband to me, to his son Zachary, and a loyal friend to many.
He was also a patriot, profoundly grateful to live in a country that gave him so much opportunity to work hard, to rise-and to give back,” his wife said in the statement. “During a career that stretched over more than five decades, his work in entertainment, in politics, and in news affected the lives of many millions. And so even as we mourn his death, we celebrate his life.”

Mr. Ailes was instrumental in the conservative movement. From Politico last year:

Not only did he tutor presidents from Richard Nixon to Ronald Reagan to George H.W. Bush in the ways of media politics, but he was largely responsible for two of the signal changes in American political culture since the 1960s: the rise of television as a national force and the emergence of cultural populism as a key feature of the Republican Party.

He brought us Rush Limbaugh and Fox News. Unfortunately, he also brought us Megyn Kelly and Shepard Smith. Mr. Ailes resigned last year amid sexual harassment allegations.

Fox News’ Fox & Friends discussed Mr. Ailes this morning:

Mr. Ailes began his career in the early days of television as a property assistant and production assistant.

He will be missed.