Andy Rooney of ’60 Minutes’ Dead at 92
Broadcasting legend and Veteran CBS “60 Minutes” television essayist Andy Rooney died Friday night in a hospital in New York City. Rooney was 92.
“It’s a sad day at ’60 Minutes’ and for everybody here at CBS News,” said Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News and the executive producer of “60 Minutes.” “It’s hard to imagine not having Andy around. He loved his life and he lived it on his own terms. We will miss him very much.”
Rooney, who officially announced his retirement from his 60 Minutes role just over a month ago, delivered his final televised commentary – number 1,097 – for the show on October 2, 2011.
“When I went on television it was as a writer,” Rooney said during his final 60 minutes appearance. “I don’t think of myself as a television persona. I am a writer who reads what he has written.”
CBS reports Rooney’s cause of death was due to complications following a minor surgery he underwent in late October.
Over the course of his iconic career as a journalist, Rooney spent more than 60 years working at CBS, earning six Writers Guild of America awards, one Peabody and four Emmys along the way.
Rooney is survived by four children: Brian, a former ABC correspondent; Emily, who hosts a public-TV talk show in Boston; Martha, who works at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Md.; and Ellen, a photographer in London. Andy’s wife of 62 years, Marguerite died of a heart attack in 2004.
Watch Andy Rooney’s final commentary below via 60 Minutes:
via USA Today
