Gary Gershoff/Getty
Aaron Latham, journalist, author and screenwriter, has died. He was 78 years old.
The Urban cowboy The writer, who had been married to CBS News’ Lesley Stahl since 1977, died Saturday at Bryn Mawr Hospital in Pennsylvania, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Latham had Parkinson’s disease and her health deteriorated after contracting COVID-19 in 2020. Stahl, 80, previously opened up to PEOPLE after she and her husband tested positive for coronavirus” at the same time”.
“I had it much worse than him. I ended up getting pneumonia and had to go to the hospital,” she said last year. “Then I recovered 100%.”
The 60 minutes correspondent explained that Latham had the opposite reaction. “My husband had a very mild case, but he has Parkinson’s disease and it unfortunately took its toll on his disease. It seems the virus has accelerated his Parkinson’s disease,” Stahl added.
RELATED: 60 minutesLesley Stahl talks about the fight against COVID-19 with her husband
Robin Platzer/FilmMagic
Stahl also recounted her first encounter with her husband when they were both reporting on the Watergate scandal in 1972, when Latham wrote for New York magazine.
“He called me out of the blue,” she recalls. “I think I slammed the phone on him. We dated during the hearings and the trials. Then eventually Nixon quit, and we looked at each other and said, ‘What are we going to talk about now?'”
In 1977, the then newly married couple spoke to PEOPLE about their romance, as Latham recalled seeing Stahl on the news before meeting in person.
RELATED VIDEO: Prolific Goodfellas Actor and Tony Nominee Paul Sorvino Dead at 83
“I said, ‘God, I better turn on the TV and see what this person looks like,'” he said, adding that he “was terrified. I thought, ‘She is so beautiful.’ My heart stopped, my mouth went dry and I said, ‘What did I get myself into?'”
Latham said of their first date, “I found I didn’t have to worry about whether or not I could talk because I never had the chance.”
He laughed when Stahl replied, “Oooh, cruel.”
RELATED: Mickey Gilley, Country Singer Who Inspired Urban Cowboy, Dead at 86
The couple married in 1977 and they shared daughter Taylor Stahl Latham, 44.
Born October 3, 1943, in Spur, Texas, Latham graduated from Amherst College in 1966, where he served as editor of the school newspaper. He then obtained his doctorate. from Princeton.
As a journalist, he contributed to The New York Times, The Washington Post, rolling stone and Squire. He also co-wrote the films Urban cowboy (1980) and Perfect (1985) with director James Bridges, both starring John Travolta from articles by Latham.
As information on the coronavirus pandemic changes quickly, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most up-to-date data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest news on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use the online resources of the CDC, WHO and local public health departments.