Still You'd Think the Grand Old Man of "60 Minutes" Could Have Come Up With a Better Sign-Off
The "60 Minutes" crew offered up a nifty valentine last night to Mike Wallace, who is leaving ship where he's been the chief cook and bottle washer since the show got off to a quiet, innocuous start in 1968.
All of his long-time colleagues, Bradley, Kroft, Stahl and sparring partner/friend Safer got the chance to interview Wallace, who was at once chastened and relieved when Safer asked him if he ever tried to kill himself.
Wallace answered in the affirmative, without reflection or tears. In fact, the only time he came close to being emotional about anything besides his work was when Safer asked about the death of one of his sons. But he moved on. After all, Barbara Walters wasn't in the room.
Wallace got the last word after Andy Rooney told us that "60 Minutes" wasn't going to be as good anymore now that Wallace was leaving, which I'm sure warmed the heart of Executive Producer Jeff Fager.
But as Wallace closed out his valedictory, he decided to go with a sawhorse, rather than his own unique goosebump moment.
"As for the last word, I cannot improve on those spoken for many years by a true legend who preceded me at CBS News. He would say simply, 'good night and good luck.'"
Well, I guess, it's better than "Courage."
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