BOSTON -- Boston broadcast legend John Henning died Wednesday night, according to a spokesman for his family. He was 73.

Henning, a veteran news reporter and political analyst, worked at three Boston television stations during his long career.

Henning worked for WCVB-TV during the 1970s, before leaving to work at Channel 7 in Boston.

Henning anchored the first newscast on WCVB-TV in 1972 with Jack Hynes.

In 1982, he went to work for WBZ-TV, where he worked until his retirement in 2003.

"Some people think I'm boring, that I don't smile enough," Henning told the Boston Globe in 1981, after he announced his resignation from Channel 7. "But my philosophy is that anything that takes away from the job of presenting the news, that is distractive to the viewer, is bad. I'm talking about things like hairstyle and clothes and mannerisms."

In his retirement, he continued as a political commentator for WBZ Radio.

Henning, known for his no-nonsense delivery as an anchor, covered some of the biggest stories in the state, including the search for the Boston Strangler and court-ordered school busing, but his strength lay in political coverage.

"I can’t imagine an election night in Boston without John Henning. He was the media’s esteemed elder statesman, a gentle giant for sure but equally a giant news force in every major Boston political story of the last four decades," Sen. John Kerry said in a statement.

Henning was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2009.

Henning died at Massachusetts General Hospital after treatment for cancer.

"He was admitted to the hospital on July 4 for an infection," a statement from his sons Matt and Greg said. "We were with him. He was very comfortable in the end."

Henning's wife preceded him in death.