Legendary broadcaster and 60 Minutes reporter Mike Wallace has died at the age of 93, a spokesperson has revealed.
Wallace died Saturday night, CBS network spokesman Kevin Tedesco said. On Face the Nation this morning host Bob Schieffer said Wallace passed away at a care facility in New Haven, Connecticut, where he had been living for the past several years.
Famous for his often aggressive form of interviewing, he was a familiar part of the journalism scene for almost seventy years. He interviewed countless politicians and celebrities over the decades, and once famously asked the deceased Iranian religious leader the Ayatollah Khamenei if he "was crazy". He also brought superstar singer Barbra Streisand to tears during an interview, criticizing her for being "totally self-absorbed" and for her years of psycho-analysis.
He was one of the original reporters hired to host an ensemble news show titled 60 Minutes in 1968. The show would go on to become a Top 10 ratings staple for several decades, and was still rated in the Top 15 as of last year. He continued reporting for the hard-hitting news program until he announced his retirement in 2006, a year after undergoing delicate heart surgery.
Wallace received 21 Emmy awards during his long, storied career, as well as five DuPont-Columbia journalism awards and five presitious Peabody awards.
He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Mary Yates Wallace, his son, Chris, a stepdaughter, Pauline Dora, and stepson Eames Yates.
No comments:
Post a Comment