Meredith Vieira's Husband, Who Has M.S., Refuses To Accept `Victim' Tag

Richard Cohen really does not mind his shadow-of-the-limelight role as Mr. Meredith Vieira.

What he can't stand is the description that almost always follows his name in profiles of the new "Today" show co-anchor. She is married to Richard Cohen, the stories seem always to say, who has struggled with multiple sclerosis and two bouts of colon cancer. Eventually, the writers usually get around to mentioning that Cohen spent 25 years as a TV producer, made documentaries for public television, taught journalism at Columbia University and published a memoir.

But from the outside, Cohen's life has largely been defined by his illness. And it makes him mad.....