( CNN ) -- Veteran British broadcaster David Frost , best known for his series of interviews with disgraced U.S. President Richard Nixon , has died . He was 74 . His death was reported by the BBC , which aired many of his shows , and by Al Jazeera English , where he also worked . The BBC published a statement from Frost 's family asking for privacy `` at this difficult time . '' The family said Frost spent Saturday evening giving a speech on a cruise ship , where he suffered a heart attack . He 's survived by his wife of 30 years and three children . `` My heart goes out to David Frost 's family , '' British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted Sunday morning . `` He could be -- and certainly was with me -- both a friend and a fearsome interviewer . '' Frost 's interviews with Nixon , and the story behind them , were portrayed in the play and film `` Frost/Nixon , '' written by Peter Morgan . In a 2009 interview , Frost told CNN he did not see the interviews as `` an intellectual 'Rocky , ' '' as Morgan called them . Nixon at one point let down his guard , telling Frost , `` I 'm saying when the president does it , that means it 's not illegal . '' For many viewers , that moment cemented Nixon 's infamy . More than 30 years later , Frost remembered Nixon as a surprisingly awkward figure who , while once discussing what they 'd done the previous evening , asked the host , `` Did you do any fornicating ? '' `` It was amazing to discover how ... hopeless he was at small talk , '' Frost told CNN . `` I mean , here was this incredible professional politician , a great pro . And he 'd never learned small talk . '' Watch a 2009 CNN interview with David Frost . In a 2011 interview with CNN , Frost praised former U.S. President George H.W . Bush . `` He was wise , '' Frost said . `` He was cautious , he knew what he was determined to do . '' But it was n't all serious interviews with politicians . Charlie Courtauld worked with Frost in his later years at Al Jazeera English . `` What was remarkable about Sir David was his ability to put any interviewee at ease , from the most high and mighty to an ordinary person in the street , '' Courtauld said in a statement . `` He found interest in anybody . Whoever he was interviewing would realise that Sir David was genuinely interested in them and their lives . He was very much a people person . '' In his early days as a presenter , Frost also dabbled in satire . In the early 1960s he hosted a program on the BBC called `` That Was the Week That Was . '' The short-lived show included luminaries like John Cleese and marked the beginning of a broadcast career that mixed news and entertainment . Born in southern England , Frost considered following in the footsteps of his Methodist minister father . That ambition did n't last . Before entering university , Frost also ruled out professional soccer , turning down an offer from a team in Nottingham . Frost married in 1981 . The union with actress Lynne Frederick was brief , just 18 months . In 1994 , Frederick committed suicide . Frost later said of Frederick , `` Life was very unfair to her . '' Frost 's second marriage would last . In 1983 he wed Lady Carina Fitzalan-Howard . The couple had three sons . The late Princess Diana was godmother to the youngest . Although Frost came from humble beginnings , later in life he lived quite well . He was knighted in 1993 . His annual summer fete drew A-listers and headlines . This year , for example , Pippa Middleton drew attention for the red lace number she wore . Frost 's lengthy career led to many accolades , but in 2011 Frost described himself as an `` OK father . '' Still , in comments to the Daily Mail , Frost said he loved being a father and he simply tried not to impose on his sons . `` It 's terribly important not to be too ambitious for them , just to be ambitious for their happiness , '' he said . People we lost in 2013 .
David Frost was journalist . He 's best known for interviews with former US president Richard Nixon . The interviews were dramatized in the play and film ` ` Frost / Nixon ''