He told viewers that Calvin Coolidge’s 1925 swearing-in was the first to be broadcast on radio, adding, “That may have been the most interesting thing Coolidge ever did.” In early 2009, as he was about to turn 90, Rooney looked ahead to President Barack Obama’s upcoming inauguration with a look at past inaugurations. “We’ll pick a week next year and we’ll all agree not to go anywhere for seven days.” “Let’s make a statement to the airlines just to get their attention,” he said. More than three decades later, he was railing about how unpleasant air travel had become. Rooney won one of his four Emmy Awards for a piece on whether there was a real Mrs. But he was just as likely to discuss the old clothes in his closet, why air travel had become unpleasant and why banks needed to have important-sounding names. Rooney talked on “60 Minutes” about what was in the news, and his opinions occasionally got him in trouble. “Andy always said he wanted to work until the day he died, and he managed to do it, save the last few weeks in the hospital,” said his “60 Minutes” colleague, correspondent Steve Kroft. Rooney had gone to the hospital for an undisclosed surgery, but major complications developed and he never recovered. But his life after the end of “A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney” was short: He died Friday night, according to CBS, only a month after delivering his 1,097th and final televised commentary. He wrote several books about his experiences during the war, during which he earned a bronze star.NEW YORK – Andy Rooney so dreaded the day he had to end his signature “60 Minutes” commentaries about life’s large and small absurdities that he kept going until he was 92 years old.Įven then, he said he wasn’t retiring. Rooney, a great-grandfather, was born in Albany in 1919 and first worked as a copy boy for the Albany Knickerbocker News, according to the AP.ĭuring World War II, Rooney, who lived in Manhattan, but maintained homes in upstate New York and Connecticut, served in artillery unit and then was a correspondent at the military's Stars and Stripes, CBS said. Never one to hold back his feelings, his weekly segment on '60 Minutes' was watched across the world by viewers who admired his honesty and straightforwardness." "Andy Rooney was known for his strong opinions, wit, and love of life. "Today we mourn the passing of a great journalist and American icon," said Gov. In 1990, Rooney was suspended from the network for three months because of racial remarks he made in an interview, a charge that he denied and that deeply affected him, the AP said.Īnd he also drew ire for comments about homosexuality, Native Americans and the suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, the reports said. Occasionally, his words - delivered from behind a desk that he fashioned himself, according to CBS - got him into trouble. Over the years, he complained about everything from those who track of the number of people who die in car accidents over holiday weekend, as in his debut commentary on July 2, 1978, to the unpleasantness of airline travel, the AP said. The four-time Emmy Award winner got his start at CBS in 1949 when he bumped into radio star Arthur Godfrey and told him that the show could be written better, the Associated Press said. 2, after appearing every week since 1978, the New York Times said.
Rooney, imitated by comedian Joe Piscopo on "Saturday Night Live," made his last regular appearance on the show on Oct. He loved his life and he lived it on his own terms. "It's hard to imagine not having Andy around. "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." Rooney, who had delivered nearly 1,100 essays for the popular television program and spent more than 60 years at CBS, died of complications from minor surgery, the network said. MANHATTAN - Andy Rooney, a cantankerous, controversial and comedic fixture of journalism on "60 Minutes" for generations, died Friday night at 92. Crown Heights, Prospect Heights & Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens & Red Hook.
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