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Perhaps the best interviewer this side of the ponds, it was often said that the most fearsome words a politician etc. could hear were "Mike Wallace wants an interview," following in the tradition of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.
A total bulldog he won 21 Emmy and 3 Peabody Awards for his reporting. His son, Chris Wallace, continues the tough interview tradition as the anchor of Fox News Sunday, winning 3 Emmy's and a Peabody Award.
60 Minutes icon Mike Wallace dies at 93
April 08, 2012 by CBNews.com
CBS News legend Mike Wallace, the 60 Minutes' pit-bull reporter whose probing, brazen style made his name synonymous with the tough interview -- a style he practically invented for television more than half a century ago -- died last night. He was 93 and passed peacefully surrounded by family members at Waveny Care Center in New Canaan, Conn., where he spent the past few years. He also had a home in Manhattan.
"It is with tremendous sadness that we mark the passing of Mike Wallace. His extraordinary contribution as a broadcaster is immeasurable and he has been a force within the television industry throughout its existence. His loss will be felt by all of us at CBS," said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO, CBS Corporation.
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A special program dedicated to Wallace will be broadcast on 60 Minutes next Sunday, April 15.
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He announced he would step down to become a "correspondent emeritus" in the spring of 2006, but Wallace continued to land big interviews for 60 Minutes. His last appearance on television, on January 6, 2008, was a sit-down on 60 Minutes with accused steroid user Roger Clemens that made front-page news. His August 2006 interview of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won him his 21st Emmy at the age of 89. He was also granted the first post-prison interview with assisted suicide advocate-and convicted killer Dr. Jack Kevorkian for a June 2007 60 Minutes broadcast. After a successful triple bypass operation in late January 2008, he retired from public life.
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....Years later, CBS News producer Don Hewitt remembered that hard-charging style when creating his pioneering news magazine, 60 Minutes; he picked Wallace to be a counterweight to the avuncular Harry Reasoner. On September 24, 1968, Wallace and Reasoner introduced 60 Minutes to the 10:00 PM timeslot, where it ran every other Tuesday but failed to draw large audiences. But critics praised it, awards followed, and after seven years on various nights, 60 Minutes went to 7:00 PM Sunday and began its rise. It made the top 20 in 1977 and the top 10 in 1978, then became the number-one program in 1980 -- all with a tough-talking Wallace center stage.
April 08, 2012 by CBNews.com
CBS News legend Mike Wallace, the 60 Minutes' pit-bull reporter whose probing, brazen style made his name synonymous with the tough interview -- a style he practically invented for television more than half a century ago -- died last night. He was 93 and passed peacefully surrounded by family members at Waveny Care Center in New Canaan, Conn., where he spent the past few years. He also had a home in Manhattan.
"It is with tremendous sadness that we mark the passing of Mike Wallace. His extraordinary contribution as a broadcaster is immeasurable and he has been a force within the television industry throughout its existence. His loss will be felt by all of us at CBS," said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO, CBS Corporation.
>
A special program dedicated to Wallace will be broadcast on 60 Minutes next Sunday, April 15.
>
He announced he would step down to become a "correspondent emeritus" in the spring of 2006, but Wallace continued to land big interviews for 60 Minutes. His last appearance on television, on January 6, 2008, was a sit-down on 60 Minutes with accused steroid user Roger Clemens that made front-page news. His August 2006 interview of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won him his 21st Emmy at the age of 89. He was also granted the first post-prison interview with assisted suicide advocate-and convicted killer Dr. Jack Kevorkian for a June 2007 60 Minutes broadcast. After a successful triple bypass operation in late January 2008, he retired from public life.
>
....Years later, CBS News producer Don Hewitt remembered that hard-charging style when creating his pioneering news magazine, 60 Minutes; he picked Wallace to be a counterweight to the avuncular Harry Reasoner. On September 24, 1968, Wallace and Reasoner introduced 60 Minutes to the 10:00 PM timeslot, where it ran every other Tuesday but failed to draw large audiences. But critics praised it, awards followed, and after seven years on various nights, 60 Minutes went to 7:00 PM Sunday and began its rise. It made the top 20 in 1977 and the top 10 in 1978, then became the number-one program in 1980 -- all with a tough-talking Wallace center stage.