George Page, whose rich voice and infectious enthusiasm for the natural world made him one of public television's most popular personalities as on-air host of the weekly series Nature, succumbed to cancer on June 28, in Equinunk, PA. He was 71.

Mr. Page's journalism and broadcasting career spanned more than 50 years, but he was best known as the creator and voice of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning wildlife and natural history series, produced for PBS by Thirteen/WNET New York. The series debuted in 1982 and will mark its 25th season on the air this coming fall.

Mr. Page introduced and narrated each episode of Nature, until an illness prompted his retirement from television in 1998. He then devoted his time to the completion of a book, "Inside the Animal Mind," which explored the latest research and findings about animal intelligence and self-awareness. The well-received book became the basis of a three-part miniseries of the same name, broadcast on Nature in January of 2000.

During his 26 years at Thirteen/WNET, Mr. Page also served as director of science and natural history programming, and was responsible for such notable series as Travels, The Brain (also a Peabody winner), The Mind, and Medicine at the Crossroads.