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News anchor Larry Stogner tearfully reveals he is losing his job and his life on air

'I'm sure in recent months you've noticed a change in my voice...'

Christopher Hooton

Wednesday 28 January 2015 11:48 GMT

Long-serving ABC11 news anchor Larry Stogner bid an emotional farewell to viewers on Friday, revealing that he had been diagnosed with ALS, a disease for which "there is no cure".

Stogner, who has been with the North Carolina station since 1976, made the admission after viewers started to notice that his voice was changing.

"Some of you may remember me taking the ALS ice bucket challenge back in the summer," he said with a wavering voice.

"Little did I know, it was about to change my life. There is no cure. My career in broadcast journalism is coming to an end."

He explained that he will be taking some vacation time with his wife Bobbi, returning one final time on February 6 for a "more personal" goodbye.

Stogner's fellow newscasters clapped him on the shoulder supportively as his speech came to a close.

The average life expectancy for ALS patients is two to five years, though some live on longer with the help of medication.

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

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1/17In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Dave Grohl

Potentially the best one so far: Dave Grohl and the guys from Foo Fighters recreated the infamous scene from Carrie

YouTube/Foo Fighters

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga managed to keep an admirably straight face as she poured what looked like a solid silver bowl of cold water over herself

HipHopForever/Youtube

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Homer Simpson

Fans were overjoyed when their favourite yellow cartoon character got involved in the campaign to raise money to help those suffering from ALS. As per usual with Homer Simpson, things escalated quickly

YouTube/Fox

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Reece Witherspoon

One of those who have arrived slightly late on the scene, actress Reece Witherspoon looks nervous but resolute as she has a bucket of ice-cold water chucked over her head

Instagram/Reece Witherspoon

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Lily Allen

Lily wore a bikini as she self-administered her bucket of icy water. She thanked Jess Glynne for the nomination, and passed the challenge onto Mark Ronson, Millie Mackintosh and rapper Giggs

Instagram/lilyallen

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Daisy Lowe

Celebrity ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos seem to be coming in faster than we can watch them - model Daisy Lowe is one of the most recent to get involved. She was nominated by Sun journalist Dan Wooton, and passed it on to radio presenter Nick Grimshaw and Abbey Clancy

YouTube

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Bill Gates

One of the first to go viral on YouTube, Bill Gates had freezing water tipped over him in a bid to raise millions of dollars to fight the illness ALS

thegatesnotes/YouTube

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

George W. Bush

It felt like quite an important moment when the former President of the United States accepted nominations from his daughter Jenna Bush Hager, golfing champion Rory McIlroy, Woody Johnson, and Jim Harbaugh. He nominated 'my friend Bill Clinton'

George W.Bush/Facebook

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Jimmy Fallon

In an official letter this week, the ALS Association said: 'Never before have been in a better position to fuel our fight against this disease.'

NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Tom Hiddleston

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis affects the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons degenerate and die which makes it increasingly difficult to move muscles

YouTube

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Rita Ora

There is no known cause of ALS, though there is a proven hereditary factor in some cases

REX/Broadimage

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Taylor Swift

There is also no known cure, though the millions being raised by the ALS association will go towards researching these great unknowns

TUBEBREAKINGNEWS/YouTube

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Oprah Winfrey

The illness is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, named after the all-time great baseball player from the early 20th Century whose time at the top ended when he was stricken with the illness in 1939

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Mark Zuckerberg

The Facebook founder is unarguably the master of the challenge, who – following his drenching – saunters off

TV iGosu/YouTube

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Justin Bieber

Bieber's first attempt was pretty naff: he didn’t quite get it and decided not to use ice or a bucket to complete the challenge. Obviously, the internet moaned at him and he was brilliantly peer pressured into having another go

Swaggy Bieber/Youtube

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Justin Timberlake

Celebrities have been nominating one another to do the challenge

In pictures: The famous do the ice bucket challenge

Christiano Ronaldo and Marcelo

The challenge is now making its way over to this side of the Atlantic, former Manchester United players Paul Scholes and Gary Neville both doused themselves in cold water for a terminally ill fan

MaximumFootballHD/YouTube

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised over £100 million last year, with hundreds of celebrities getting involved.

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