Veteran CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace died Saturday night (4/7) at age 93. Wallace had been a part of “60 Minutes” from its debut in 1968. He retired from regular contributions to the newsmagazine program in 2006, but had contributed occasional pieces after that.
A native of Massachusetts, Wallace graduated from the University of Michigan and began his broadcasting career at WOOD-AM Grand Rapids in 1939. He went on to Detroit and Chicago before a World War II stint in the Navy, after which he returned to radio in Chicago. He did announcing for the CBS Radio Network and hosted game shows as he added TV duties as well.
Even as he did various types of programs, and even commercials, Wallace became known for his interviewing skills. He anchored a morning news program on CBS in the 1960s and then became a correspondent when the new program 60 Minutes was introduced in 1968.
Wallace won numerous Emmy Awards. Some of his most notable interviews were of Malcolm X, the Ayatollah Khomeini, Yasser Arafat, Louis Farrakhan and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. His last interview on 60 Minutes, which aired in 2008, was of baseball great Roger Clemens.
Mike Wallace’s son, Chris Wallace, followed in his father’s professional footsteps and is currently host of “Fox News Sunday.”
