Tom Snyder, whose smoke-filled interviews were a staple of late night television, has died after a struggle with leukemia. He was 71.

San Francisco ? Tom Snyder, who pioneered the late-late network TV talk show with a personal yet abrasive style, robust laugh and trademark cloud of cigarette smoke billowing around his head, has died from complications associated with leukemia. He was 71.

Snyder died Sunday in San Francisco, his longtime producer and friend Mike Horowicz told The Associated Press on Monday.

“Tom was a fighter,” Horowicz said. “I know he had tried many different treatments.”

Prickly and ego-driven, Snyder conducted numerous memorable interviews as host of NBC’s “Tomorrow,” which followed Johnny Carson’s “Tonight” show from 1973-82.

Snyder’s style, his show’s set and the show itself marked an abrupt change from Carson’s program. Snyder might joke with the crew in the sparsely appointed studio, but he was more likely to joust with guests.

Snyder gained fame in his heyday when Dan Aykroyd spoofed him in the early days of “Saturday Night Live.” His chain-smoking, black beetle brows (contrasting with his mostly gray hair), mercurial manner and self-indulgent, digressive way of asking questions as well as his clipped speech pattern made for a distinctive sendup.

Snyder announced on his Web site in 2005 that he had chronic lymphocytic leukemia.