And now we remember Dr. Ted Diethrich, who has died in the Valley from complications related to a brain tumor.
Diethrich rose to great international fame in the 1980s when one of his open heart surgeries became the first ever broadcast on live television.
It was carried by 97 PBS stations in 33 states, and it took viewers inside the operating room.
Diethrich told me in 2016 that the televised surgery helped the public get more comfortable with heart operations and how they worked.
Diethrich was the founder of the Arizona Heart Institute and even owned the USFL’s Arizona Wranglers for a time. He was 81 years old.
