Last night was Andy Rooney’s last regular appearance on 60 Minutes – an event that caused me to watch the show for the first time in years – but, after 33 years and 1097 essays, the 92 year old insisted that he was not retiring.
His exit generated tons of copy for TV, print and internet media. One of the best of those articles was by the CBC. The two quotes below came from their article:
I've always said that ideas are overrated. I'm more apt to collect information on the obvious, which we all have but haven't bothered to put together. We're so busy analyzing the obscure that we haven't realized that we haven't really mastered the commonplace.
Associated Press, 1981
I just wish insignificance had more stature.
New York Times, 1967
Whether you agreed with his opinions or not, you had to appreciate the way in which they were presented. Rooney represents the last of a dying breed – a TV journalist with an almost religious appreciation for the importance of the written word.
He became an icon by being the best there was at just being himself.
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