# RIP Andy Rooney: D'yever notice how many people retire and then die right away? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 5, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948 "2011-11-05T13:05:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/21 "2011-11-05T16:40:31Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > “Complicatons from surgery” is useless as a cause of death. What kind of surgery was it? Why was the surgery necessary? Was the cause of the surgery something that was going to kill him soon? the story i saw did not identify the surgery or the complication, it stated that these were not disclosed. ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/22 "2011-11-05T17:03:08Z")
Aww, I feel kind of sad. I thought he was hysterical and picked the funniest, most absurd topics to curmudgeon about. Why is riboflavin in Girl Scout Cookies? Why do we carry so much stuff? What is on his desk? All morning my husband has been doing Andy Rooney in heaven impressions. “They say the gates are supposed to be pearly- they don’t look very pearly to me, more like metal.” ---
**Author:** ![BTEzra04](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9f8e36/32.png) [@BTEzra04](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BTEzra04)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/23 "2011-11-05T17:10:41Z")
Damnit. I loved his writings. I hope he’s in a place where there isn’t much to complain about, even though that’s what he did best. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/24 "2011-11-05T17:28:02Z")
Yes, I know that the news story didn’t identify the surgery, the complication, or what prompted the surgery. That was my point. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/25 "2011-11-05T17:40:03Z")
[25 October](http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=678005&_p=aec1dc73-138b-4c8d-819d-653fc66b7ba5&wa=wsignin1.0): > [@](#): > > NEW YORK (AP) – Andy Rooney, who delivered his last essay on “60 Minutes” three weeks ago, was in the hospital Tuesday after developing serious complications following minor surgery. > > CBS said the 92-year-old writer’s condition was stable and, at the request of his family, offered no other information about his medical problems or where he was hospitalized. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/26 "2011-11-05T20:25:11Z")
> [@Zjestika](#): > > All morning my husband has been doing Andy Rooney in heaven impressions. “They say the gates are supposed to be pearly- they don’t look very pearly to me, more like metal.” At meal time, why does Gabriel have to play his harp so loud? Can’t someone who just got here sit and enjoy his meal without having to… ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/27 "2011-11-05T20:32:01Z")
And what’s with St. Peter? Does the guy ever get a bathroom break, or do saint not need to pee? Does he ever get tired of handing out harps and welcoming people to Heaven, or does he just really have the patience of a saint? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/28 "2011-11-05T20:54:27Z")
Andy’s book _My War_ is the among the best I’ve read on WWII. Once in awhile he took the curmudgeon stuff too far. He did lead a very cushy and well paid life. His sour deposition seemed a little silly. I did enjoy most of his 60 minutes essays. He had a knack for pointing out the absurdities in life. R.I.P. Andy ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/29 "2011-11-05T21:58:20Z")
Did ya ever notice that when you’re born, people always want to know how much you weigh, but no one ever wants to know that when you die? You’re never going to hear, “Anderson Cooper died today. He weighed 172 pounds.” Why is that? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/30 "2011-11-05T22:05:01Z")
The big sadness of the retirement/death for me is that he was among the last WWII reporters still working. He flew on a bomber mission, covered the capture of the bridge at Remagen for _Stars and Stripes_, etc. Even wrote a bunch of stuff about the dark side of the occupation. (And I’m sick already of the “eyebrows at half-staff” quips. Instantly trite.) ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/31 "2011-11-05T22:05:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Now if we can just get rid of Mickey. . . That evil lawn gnome will never die. I was never in favor of elder abuse till I heard Mickey Rooney testifying about it in front of Congress–he won me over. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/32 "2011-11-05T22:06:56Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > That evil lawn gnome will never die. I was never in favor of elder abuse till I heard Mickey Rooney testifying about it in front of Congress–he won me over. [OT] It’s so great to have you back, **Eve**! [/OT] ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/33 "2011-11-06T00:03:42Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Just a WAG. If you are doing something you truly love, you don’t want to retire. So you keep doing it until your body is simply physically unable to continue…which is usually right before you die. Bear Bryant and Charles Schulz are who sprang to my mind regarding “retire and then die right away”. In January of 1994, when FSU coach Bobby Bowden was asked if he would now retire having just finally won the national championship, he said “once you retire, there ain’t but one big event left”. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/34 "2011-11-06T18:27:56Z")
I just plain liked Andy Rooney. And his memoir _60 Years of Wit and Wisdom_ is an excellent read. Trivia time: His wife Marge worked at the same exclusive girls’ school as “Scarsdale diet doctor killer” Jean Harris. ETA: 60 Minutes will do a special on Andy today. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/35 "2011-11-06T19:34:54Z")
The police chief for the municipality that I used to work for died the night before his big retirement party. Some of us who knew all about him and how many lives he’d destroyed in his zeal to get ahead politically, felt that it was a small bit of justice. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948/36 "2011-11-07T13:23:03Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > **I am fighting the urge to say something irreverent here really hard.** [emphasis added] > > RIP, Andy. Surely, Andy Rooney would approve. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-andy-rooney-dyever-notice-how-many-people-retire-and-then-die-right-away/601948.md?page=1)