Andy Rooney officially signed off of “60 Minutes” last night.
“Not many people in this world are not as lucky as I have been, when I was in high school I had an english teacher who told me I was a good writer, so I set out ot become a writer myself,” said Rooney, during his final farewell.”I made my living as a writer for 70 years now, been pretty good.”
The 92-year-old signed off the show that made him famous, something Rooney says he didn’t want, “I spent my first 50 years trying to become well known as a writer and the next 30, trying to avoid being famous.”
Last night marked the end of Rooney’s “60 Minutes” reign that lasted 33 years and included over 1,000 broadcasts—His final essay was his 1,097th.
“I don’t think of myself as a television personality, I am a writer who reads what he’s written,” said Rooney.
As we previously reported, Rooney first started with “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney” in 1978, reported ABC, but had been a contributor for “60 Minutes” since its inception in 1968. He first joined CBS in 1949 as a writer for “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts.”
“All this time, I’ve been paid to say what’s on my mind on television. You don’t get any luckier than that,” said Rooney.”This is a moment I’ve dreaded. I wish I could do this forever. I can’t, though.”
News of his retirement came last week when CBS announced Rooney would end his regular appearances Sunday. According to CBS, although he will leave his position as a regular, he will still be able to make occasional appearances.
“There’s nobody like Andy and there never will be. He’ll hate hearing this, but he’s an American original,” said Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News and the executive producer of “60 Minutes,” in statement. “His contributions to ‘60 Minutes’ are immeasurable.”
Fager went on, “It’s harder for him to do it every week, but he will always have the ability to speak his mind on ’60 Minutes’ when the urge hits him.”
Check out his farewell on last night’s “60 Minutes.”
