Despite his departure from his news anchor duties, Lester won’t be leaving the NBC family for good. In his touching statement, the legacy newscaster shared that he’s moving to a full-time role at Dateline, where he’s been a principal anchor for nearly 15 years.  

“As a 20-year-old radio reporter on the police beat chasing breaking news around San Francisco, I could never have imagined my career path would unfold in the way it has,” Lester said of his storied career journey, adding his signature sign-off, “Please take care of yourself and each other.”  

Keep reading for more stars who left their hit shows….