September 28, 2011

Andy Rooney to retire (TVN, VAR, THR, LAT)

By Nancy Tartaglione-Moore

Sam Wilson / WENN

"60 Minutes" resident curmudgeon, Andy Rooney, is stepping down from his weekly spot on the news program. The 92-year-old newscaster and his famous rants have been a fixture on the show since 1978. His final original essay will air on Sunday's telecast, preceded by a look back at his career with correspondent Morley Safer. Rooney has contributed to over 1000 broadcasts of the show.

"There's nobody like Andy and there never will be. He'll hate hearing this, but he's an American original," said CBS News chairman and show producer Jeff Fager. "His contributions to '60 Minutes' are immeasurable; he's also a great friend. It's harder for him to do it every week, but he will always have the ability to speak his mind on '60 Minutes' when the urge hits him."

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Rooney still goes to work every day, although he's slowed down in recent years. Last season, he appeared on 18 of "60 Minutes" 36 installments.

He is not likely to be replaced. The Los Angeles Times reports that a CBS spokesman said neither network executives nor Rooney would elaborate until the commentator has his say on Sunday's program.

Rick Kaplan, executive producer of the "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric," whose own career began at CBS News in the Walter Cronkite era, said Rooney was "never shy about standing up for what he thought was right no matter the consequences. Unlike so many voices today who know how to make noise, Andy made people think...about things that were on their minds or should have been."

Per a CBS press release, Rooney was born Jan. 14, 1919, in Albany, N.Y. He attended Colgate University until he was drafted into the Army in 1941. In February 1943, he was one of six correspondents who flew with the Eighth Air Force on the first American bombing raid over Germany.

He joined CBS in 1949 as a writer for "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts" and wrote for "The Garry Moore Show" (1959-65). At the same time, he wrote for CBS News public-affairs broadcasts such as "The Twentieth Century," "News of America," "Adventure," "Calendar" and "The Morning Show with Will Rogers, Jr."

In addition to magazine articles he wrote earlier in his career, Rooney is the author of 16 books.

"Andy Rooney's retirement from CBS shows how much television has evolved since the glory days of network television decades ago," Fordham media professor Paul Levinson told The LAT. "It was a time of sage and piquant commentary from Eric Sevareid, John Chancellor and, since 1978, from Andy Rooney. Nowadays you have to go to cable to find commentary, where's there's lots of it, but often petty, carping, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

(On a personal note, I worked for "60 Minutes" in the old Paris bureau for six months during 1995 and met Rooney and his wife on one of their visits through town. He was a charmer in person.)

TVNewser, which first reported Rooney's departure, has CBS' full press release here and THR has gathered video of five memorable Rooney rants here.