Andy Rooney, who has been
featured on 60 Minutes since 1978,
will step down from his role on the CBS Sunday night program, the network said
Tuesday. Rooney's last regular appearance on the broadcast will be Sunday.
The 92-year-old Rooney will
make the announcement in his regular essay, his 1,097th for 60 Minutes, on Sunday, after a segment
looking back at his career in an interview with Morley Safer.
"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 CBS News and the executive producer of 60 Minutes. "His contributions to 60 Minutes are immeasurable; he's also a
great friend. 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."
Rooney had been a contributor
to 60 Minutes since the program's
beginning in 1968 before taking over solo control of the program's ending
segment in 1979. He first joined CBS in 1949 as a writer for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts.
