Richard D. Heffner, Host of ‘The Open Mind,’ Dies at 88

Richard D. Heffner, a historian, educator and broadcaster who was the longtime host of “The Open Mind,” the venerable current-affairs program on public television, and who also spent two decades as chairman of the motion picture industry’s film-ratings board, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. He was 88.

The cause was a cerebral hemorrhage, his wife, Elaine, said.

As a historian, Professor Heffner was widely known for his book “A Documentary History of the United States.” First published in 1952 and now in its eighth edition, it presents many of the seminal documents of American history, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Marshall Plan, with Professor Heffner’s commentary....