Goodbye Andy
Andy Rooney died this past week at the age of 92. I had a feeling that this was coming. About a month ago he did his last commentary on 60 Minutes. Maybe he knew what was coming and decided he wanted to be able to write his last commentary knowing it was his last. We'll never know.
I remember Andy Rooney from a long time ago. My mother watched 60 Minutes every week. Since there was only one TV in the house, we all watched with her. I didn't care much about the featured stories back then, but I would watch them because there would be Andy Rooney.
Every Sunday night he would do his commentary. Most of the time he would be sitting in his cluttered office. There would be a typewriter on one of the desks. Most of the flat surfaces would be covered with papers or books. He commented on everyday topics. Things that people could relate to. He also used plain language,straight and to the point.
As I got older I started to pay more attention to the rest of the show. I began to like it instead of just tolerating it. When I moved away, I would watch 60 Minutes whenever I was able to. I like the way the journalists put their stories together. It was interesting to watch. Then at the end, like the treat after the meal, was Andy Rooney.
Andy Rooney, in a way, introduced me to Molly Ivins. Molly was a commentator on 60 Minutes for a short time. If I hadn't already been in the habit of watching the entire show, I would never have seen her and become interested in her writing. This led me to read other columnists. I started to read editorials and political columns which I had never done before. I saw that it was possible to write about serious things and still make it entertaining, sometimes even humorous.
Andy Rooney did not escape controversy during his years as a writer and journalist. In 1990 made a made a derogatory comment about homosexuals that got him a three month suspension from CBS news. The suspension lasted about four weeks when the ratings for 60 Minutes dropped leading CBS to reinstate him. He didn't claim he was misquoted or misunderstood. He didn't duck or disown his comment. Instead after his reinstatement he said that all writers hope to do a little bit of good. Now he was going to be known as a "racist bigot" something that he felt bad about. He also said that he had learned a lot from what had happened. I like how he handled that and other times when his opinion was unpopular.
What I liked most about him is that he was a writer. A writer who learned his craft back in the days when writing was an art and writers carefully crafted their work. He was a journalist of what would be called the "old school" who could record history as it happened in a clear manner. His career lasted 62 years, 33 of them with CBS. Not a bad run, not a bad run at all.
I remember Andy Rooney from a long time ago. My mother watched 60 Minutes every week. Since there was only one TV in the house, we all watched with her. I didn't care much about the featured stories back then, but I would watch them because there would be Andy Rooney.
Every Sunday night he would do his commentary. Most of the time he would be sitting in his cluttered office. There would be a typewriter on one of the desks. Most of the flat surfaces would be covered with papers or books. He commented on everyday topics. Things that people could relate to. He also used plain language,straight and to the point.
As I got older I started to pay more attention to the rest of the show. I began to like it instead of just tolerating it. When I moved away, I would watch 60 Minutes whenever I was able to. I like the way the journalists put their stories together. It was interesting to watch. Then at the end, like the treat after the meal, was Andy Rooney.
Andy Rooney, in a way, introduced me to Molly Ivins. Molly was a commentator on 60 Minutes for a short time. If I hadn't already been in the habit of watching the entire show, I would never have seen her and become interested in her writing. This led me to read other columnists. I started to read editorials and political columns which I had never done before. I saw that it was possible to write about serious things and still make it entertaining, sometimes even humorous.
Andy Rooney did not escape controversy during his years as a writer and journalist. In 1990 made a made a derogatory comment about homosexuals that got him a three month suspension from CBS news. The suspension lasted about four weeks when the ratings for 60 Minutes dropped leading CBS to reinstate him. He didn't claim he was misquoted or misunderstood. He didn't duck or disown his comment. Instead after his reinstatement he said that all writers hope to do a little bit of good. Now he was going to be known as a "racist bigot" something that he felt bad about. He also said that he had learned a lot from what had happened. I like how he handled that and other times when his opinion was unpopular.
What I liked most about him is that he was a writer. A writer who learned his craft back in the days when writing was an art and writers carefully crafted their work. He was a journalist of what would be called the "old school" who could record history as it happened in a clear manner. His career lasted 62 years, 33 of them with CBS. Not a bad run, not a bad run at all.
Goodbye Andy Rooney and thank you.
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Information for this column was taken from Wikipedia.
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