Jay Monahan; Legal Analyst on Television

NEW YORK â€”  Jay Monahan, a lawyer and legal analyst for NBC News and the husband of “Todayâ€� show host Katie Couric, died of cancer Saturday. He was 42.

“We are deeply saddened by his death,� NBC said in a statement. “He was a valued member of the NBC News family and will be missed. Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife Katie Couric and their children.�

Monahan, who had worked for the network for the past two years--often appearing on MSNBC--underwent surgery for colon cancer on June 6.

Couric and Monahan married in 1989, a year after meeting in Washington. They have two daughters, Elinor, 6 1/2, and Caroline, 2.

“He was a great lawyer,� said Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz. “He was extremely perceptive. He had a blend of experience and real common sense. . . . He’ll be missed both in the practice of law and in the analysis of law.�

Former O.J. Simpson defense attorney Barry Scheck said Monahan was always well prepared for his television appearances.

“He never made a gratuitous or ill-informed comment,� Scheck said. “He really was a good model.�

A graduate of Washington and Lee University and Georgetown Law School, Monahan worked as a judicial clerk before joining the Washington firm of Williams and Connolly. Recently, Monahan worked for the New York office of Hunton and Williams.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete.