60 Minutes correspondent Morley Safer died Thursday in New York City at age 84, CBS News announced Thursday.

The award-winning journalist worked on the program for 46 years, the longest-serving correspondent in the history of the program. Safer joined 60 Minutes as a full-time correspondent in 1970, two years after the show premiered.

Jeff Fager, executive producer of 60 Minutes, called Safer “a masterful storyteller, inspiration to many of us and a wonderful friend.”

Safer, who won numerous awards, including 12 Emmys and three Peabody Awards, retired earlier this month. His career retrospective aired Sunday.

Safer’s retirement was timed partly due to health issues, according to CNN.

“It’s been a wonderful run, but the time has come to say goodbye to all of my friends at CBS and the dozens of people who kept me on the air,” Safer said in his retirement statement.

Safer filed 919 reports over the years, the last one in March, according to CNN. Subjects ran the gamut, from the health benefits of red wine to more recent reports on drones.

One of his most important reports, Lenell Geter’s in Jail in 1983, detailed a rush to justice in Texas that led a young black man to be sentenced to life in prison for armed robbery. The report led to the overturn of Geter’s conviction 10 days later.

– Newschannel 6