Farewell to Andy Rooney from one of your fans

Farewell to Andy Rooney from one of your fans


I’ll admit that when I was growing up my “heroes” were not the ones that occupied the upper echelon of the sports or entertainment world. While there were some in that arena that I admired, I ranked those who expressed themselves with pen and ink or had voices that commanded attention when they even read a single word who were the ones that I aspired to be most like.

No one could craft a tale like H.G. Wells or Edgar Allen Poe in my book. No one could speak the “King’s English like Richard Burton, Orson Welles, Israeli Prime Minister Abba Eban, or frequent National Geographic narrator Alexander Scourby.
As I got older, others took their places; best-selling author’s Stephen King and Dean Koontz became my favorites and every time I heard James Earl Jones or Roscoe Lee Browne, I got chills hearing their magnificent diction.

This past week saw the death of one of my heroes of the written word: Andy Rooney. With his wit, his sarcasm, and his occasional eye-opening look at everyday life in Americat, the nationally-syndicated columnist put the stamp on the end of 60 Minutes for over three decades.

Rooney had a long career at CBS, starting in 1949 as a writer for Arthur Godfrey.
For a short period, he left the network in 1970 after a brief controversy over a commentary written about the Vietnam War. However, he returned shortly thereafter and joined 60 Minutes in 1978.

The columnist was bold and straightforward, occasionally getting the dander up of others. However, I always admired his style, his ingenuity, and his honesty.

His last 60 Minutes appearance was about a month ago. It that broadcast, which would turn out to be “swan song,” Rooney seemed to sum up his career.

“I've done a lot of complaining here, but of all the things I've complained about, I can't complain about my life. My wife Margie and I had four good kids...now there are grandchildren. I have two great grand children although they're a little young for me to know how great they are. And all this time I've been paid to say what is on my mind on television. You don't get any luckier in life than that.”

No, Mr. Rooney, you weren’t the lucky one. All of us who had the privilege to experience your writing were the beneficiaries of what you had to say.

To paraphrase somewhat from the song from the James Bond film, “Nobody DID it better.”