Irv Weinstein, a longtime television news anchor in Buffalo, New York, known for his "rapid-fire delivery and famous

alliteration" has died at the age of 87.

WKBW-TV, where Weinstein had worked for 34 years, says he died Tuesday in Costa Mesa, California, after a long battle with Lou Gehrig's disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.

The television station says Weinstein was hired by WKBW-Radio as a newscaster and news director in 1958.

Six years later, he became an anchor and news director at WKBW-TV.

He retired on Dec. 31, 1998, a day that was proclaimed "Irv Weinstein Day" in Erie County.

Weinstein -- who was also well known to a generation of television viewers across southern Ontario -- was inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1998, and the New York State Broadcasters Association in 2006.

He moved to California after his retirement.

News of Weinstein's death prompted an outpouring of reaction online: