FACTBOX: Tim Russert, host of NBC's 'Meet the Press'

(Reuters) - Tim Russert, the host of NBC's Sunday talk show "Meet the Press" and one of the best-known political reporters on U.S. television, died on Friday of a heart attack, NBC announced. He was 58.

Following are some facts about Russert.

* Russert was the managing editor and moderator of "Meet the Press" and political analyst for "NBC Nightly News" and the "Today" program. He was also senior vice president and Washington bureau chief of NBC News. He had joined the network in 1984.

* In 2005, he was awarded an Emmy for his role in the coverage of the funeral of former president Ronald Reagan.

* Russert's two books -- "Big Russ and Me" in 2004, which focused on his relationship with his father, and "Wisdom of Our Fathers" in 2006 -- were New York Times No. 1 best-sellers.

* He received 48 honorary doctorate degrees from U.S. colleges and universities and lectured at the Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Reagan presidential libraries.

* Russert was born in Buffalo, New York, on May 7, 1950. He was a graduate of Canisius High School, John Carroll University and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He was an avid fan of the Buffalo Bills football team, and frequently made references to them on his show.

* He was a counselor in the New York state governor's office in Albany in 1983 and 1984 and a special counsel in the U.S. Senate from 1977 to 1982.

Source: MSNBC

(Writing by Paul Grant, Washington Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by David Storey)