WASHINGTON -- It's Sunday and it was still "Meet the Press," only without Tim Russert.

The show offered a special tribute to the man who was so proud of the enormously popular program. Russert, NBC's Washington bureau chief and the moderator of "Meet the Press," collapsed and died Friday at his NBC office while preparing for the Sunday show.

Tom Brokaw was at the NBC Washington bureau to host the special edition highlighting Russert's life and career. He began the show by saying simply, "His voice has been stilled."

Brokaw was joined in the conversation by a half-dozen others who remembered Russert as a tough but fair journalist. Guests included Former Sen. Bob Dole, journalist Gwen Ifill and political commentators James Carville and Mary Matalin.

The show's executive producer, Betsey Fischer, remarked that Russert would spend all week preparing for the hour-long Sunday program.

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MSNBC commentator Mike Barnicle added that Russert's son, Luke, told him Saturday that "Meet the Press" was Russert's "second son."

Russert took over Meet the Press back in 1991. He was the longest serving moderator in the program's history.

Of course, Russert was famous for putting political leaders from both sides of the aisle on the hot seat. The moderator's chair was kept empty during the show.

NBC News Chief White House Correspondent David Gregory said the show will never be the same.

On Sunday, the halls of the Washington bureau in Northwest D.C. took on the feeling of a funeral as colleagues and political leaders gathered to remembered an iconic journalist and devoted family man on Father's Day.