Yes, the end of the era - 92 year old Andy is bidding farewell to 60 Minutes this Sunday - although they have left open the option for him to return on a less regular basis.
Oh no, now who is Frank Calliendo going to poorly imitate now?
I liked Rooney years and years ago when I was a kid and my dad used to watch 60 Minutes. He was a bit of a curmudgeon then, but he was also pretty witty. I haven’t seen in a long, long time, but I’m under the impression that his curmudegeoness factor went up and the witty factor went down.
I always liked Andy Rooney, and I have several of his books of essays from the early 80s. When I read about his leaving 60 Minutes, I was surprised to learn he’s 92, although I knew he served in WWII, so his age really isn’t all that surprising.
He had some awfully good commentaries over the years.
Thank god, not a moment too soon. In fact, several moments too late.
You misspelled “decades”.
Is he going to clean out his office on camera? If he does, they could easily get a couple of two-hour specials out of it.
“Look at this – mucilage. I remember when every kid had a bottle of mucilage on his desk. Why don’t they still use it? Nowadays they’ve got Elmer’s Glue-All and Krazy Glue. and look here…”
Adam Carolla did a really, really funny bit about Rooney in which Rooney keeps putting off his weekly segment until, napping, the producer tells him through the door that he’s up in 5 minutes. Rooney then looks around him and his office and grabs something…
So what’s with…
I laughed hard at that bit. I wish I could quote it, but I really can’t remember all of it.
Is he going to go out in a blaze of glory, cutting down Morley Safer and Mike Wallace in a hail of gunfire while dragging a swooning Lesley Stahl and/or Anderson Cooper into his office to be ravished?
Too little, too late.
Andy became a caricature of himself, it’s true. I still wish him well and thank him for many enjoyable closing moments on the 60 Minutes show back in the day.
I read his book “My War” and it was quite good. It’s been a good decade since I read it, but I recall him giving personal observations that you really don’t get too much of about WWII. I recall it being a better WWII history I read back then.
If there was any doubt that Rooney had evolved into a condescending curmudgeon, his “interview” with Ali G eliminated it. What a humorless ass.
Yeah, and Andy Rooney isn’t funny either.
Nailed it. My favorites are when fans send him free gifts and insults the gifts and the givers on air. “I only have so much time, why would I want to read your book?”
I’ll admit it–I like Andy Rooney. His memoir 60 Years of Wisdom and Wit is a really good read.
ETA: I noticed his name wasn’t mentioned and he wasn’t on the season premiere of 60 Minutes Sunday.
I haven’t watched 60 Minutes in years but I found Andy’s pieces mildly amusing. At least if he retires the right wingers won’t be making shit up and slapping his name on it and forwarding it to their entire mailing list. So with Andy and Carlin both gone, who are the right wingers going to falsely attribute their glurge to?
Oscar Wilde?
At last, I don’t have to make sure I’m ready to change channels when AR comes on at the end of 60 Minutes. Never liked a single thing he said on that show. In fact, I found him irritating to no end.
He was so popular, years ago, and had some good segments. Too much, too long, though, and he kind of petered out. I can’t help but notice all those books he wrote show up on a regular basis at library book sales, thrift stores, used book stores (right next to the Frugal Gourmet doorstops). There are as many old Andy Rooney books around as there are National Geographics!
Yeah next to the Erma Bombeck books too…
This is about ten years to late… shit I remember when Don Hewitt wanted to replace Andy about 15 years ago with Molly Ivins…