This is Andy Rooney‘s Final Weekly ’60 Minutes’ Essay: ‘Just Let Me Eat My Dinner’
- Posted on October 3, 2011 at 10:26am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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NEW YORK (AP) — Andy Rooney insisted he’s not retiring. He’s a writer, and a writer never stops being a writer.
Even so, he delivered his final weekly essay on “60 Minutes” Sunday night, his last in his 33 years with the newsmagazine. It was a moment, he said he has dreaded.
“I wish I could do this forever. I can’t, though,” he said.
CBS News announced last week that the 92-year-old Rooney would be stepping down from his well-entrenched berth on “60 Minutes” after delivering his 1,097th commentary.
“I probably haven‘t said anything here that you didn’t already know or have already thought,” he said. “That’s what a writer does. A writer’s job is to tell the truth.”
Rooney began his long career by writing the words for people to say who were on TV or radio. Then when he began his weekly “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney” in 1978, he began saying them on camera himself, though not as a television personality, but as “a writer who reads what he’s written.”
Rooney said in his farewell piece that he has lived a lucky life, luckier than most. But befitting his trademark crotchety nature, he voiced one parting complaint: He doesn’t like being famous, nor does he like being bothered by fans.
“I spent my first 50 years trying to become well known as a writer, and the next 30 trying to avoid being famous,” he said. “I walk down the street now or go to a football game and people shout, `Hey, Andy!’ And I hate that.”
So if you see him in a restaurant, Rooney said as he signed off, “please, just let me eat my dinner.”
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Comments (51)
randy
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 4:20pmC ya ANDY!
Don’t let the door hit you in the A$$ on the way out you commie ba$tard!
Cynic-clinic
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 7:42pmRooney may dread leaving after 33 years but I dreaded listening to him for 33 minutes.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on October 4, 2011 at 1:21amGood BYE!
Report Post »Pigpen
Posted on October 5, 2011 at 7:11amWell said, Randy. But I bet Mr Seidl is “ambivalent” about Mr Rooney’s career, and that is why we have an uncritical “puff” piece about the communist puke bag here on theBlaze. To me, Mr Rooney was just another commie pinko who used his position of influence to turn the country I loved into the “Proposition Nation” formerly known as America. But just being a “Nation of Laws” is probably pretty cool for a media type like Mr Seidl. So what’s next Jonathon? A 360 rememberance of Armand Hammer and his contribution to American Society? Well, maybe not a FULL 360, we wouldn’t want to remind the Crackers here on theBlaze that a commie was responsible for Love Canal, now would we?
Report Post »9635kari
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 3:59pm“A writer is always a writer” and a liberal is always a liberal. Another dinosaur of the commie-lib media goes away. Thank you.
Report Post »ZaphodsPlanet
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 3:51pmI never found the bitching of a bitter old liberal (how he’s been since day one, before he was really chronologically old)…. at all noteworthy. Haven’t watched him but maybe once over the past two decades…. and that was enough.
Trim those damn hob goblin eyebrows!…. and I hope you’re able to pull your head out of your a$$ at least once before you meet the big guy Andy.
elihu
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 3:49pmGrouchy old pain in the a$$ – he finally retires!!! Good Riddance…
atrain
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 3:44pmI do not agree with some of what Andy says, still I do not find any reason to have hard feelings or disrespect for who he is. Take care Andy. I will let you eat your dinner undisturbed.
Report Post »Forward
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 3:34pmOh for Pete’s Sake. The man was engaging, wrote humorous and occassionally pithy essays and delivered them in an accessible manner. While a liberal he almost invariably made his points with tongue firmly in cheek, a rarity amongst those of that persuasion
. If we truly believe what we say, over and over, we must wish him well in his well deserved retirement and I for one want to thank him for not revelling in fame but rejecting it. Sometimes the best reward for a job well done is knowing that it is, indeed, well done. He is not using his “fame” to persuade us as to any particular viewpoint. He just wants to eat his dinner. Bon appetit.
Report Post »Buddyc
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 3:40pmI have a different view. I have no problem with media types like Olberman, Maddow, Schultz, Rhodes and the like who are left leaning media commentators becasue they do NOT pretend to be impartial.
People like Rooney, Schieffer, Lauer, Couric, Roberts, Williams and the like are criminals to me. They have violated all the code of ethics set up for journalists. The pretend to be impartial obeservers and commentators but they are not impartial. They are frauds, deceivers and liars.
They should be punished for the tens of thousands of suicides, the millions of unemployed, the millions of homeless caused by Obama, a man they are personally responsbile for electing. They are criminals to me. They need to be arrested and properly punished.
Report Post »glockomatic
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 2:31pmGood riddance, Andy. I stopped listening to your Leftie, senility-induced rants two decades ago and won’t miss you a bit. To think you had such a platform and wasted it spewing Liberal garbage. Don’t worry about me bothering you in restaurants, either. I wouldn’t waste my breath speaking to you.
Report Post »texanpatriot
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 3:38pmI don’t think that Andy or 60 minutes realize how little they are regarded in “fly over” country!
Report Post »Where he lives everyone thinks a lot of everyone and that is all they know.
I haven’t watched 60 minutes since Mike Wallace was its star. It is just a liberal pulpit to trash everything American.
elihu
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 3:51pmI couldn’t have stated it better – see my post. Also, I like your choice of handguns!
Report Post »fande3rls
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 6:39pmDarn you beat me to it .
Report Post »froggy19510
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 2:28pmYaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaY!
Report Post »Andy Rooney bitter old man who hates this country and would gladly subjugate it to the UN in a heart beat.
piper60
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 2:00pmAndy will missed. Despite his liberal point of view. He made me laugh more times than I can count.
Report Post »Islesfordian
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 2:45pmI used to tune into 60 Minutes at the end just to catch him. But I stopped bothering after he went on some atheistic rant 6 or 7 years ago mocking people who think God speaks to them.
Report Post »Coonrapids
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:59pmThank you for your WW 2 service. Glad to see you and your left wing views go. Saw you once in NYC when I paid a visit and I would never think of asking you to sign anything, you think too much of your self.
Report Post »PunditPawn
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:53pmYes, don‘t talk to Andy because he doesn’t want to hear back after spouting off for 70 years.
Report Post »faithfullistener
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:49pmAndy,
Goodbye and thank you! Years ago I looked forward to your Sixty Minutes comments. At age 70, I can’t remember the last time that I even bothered listening to you! You made me laugh, You brought tears to my eyes. You gave me food for thought. But your day has long passed! Actually, that was quite some time ago. Enjoy retirement! God-knows CBS will take good care of you!
Report Post »right-wing-waco
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:46pmI read a book once about 20 years ago about Andy and you would not believe what he makes on 60 minutes. I don’t recall the actual amount but in was about $250,000. He is only on for 5 minutes a week.
Report Post »fande3rls
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 6:41pmyes and its about 250,000 too much
Report Post »FASTCOMPANY
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:30pmI’m going to miss seeing this guys Oscar the Grouch eyebrows.
Report Post »Uechi
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:20pmSenile left wing looney tune. I’m glad we are finally done with this POS!
Report Post »lillymckim
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:30pmHe and Ron Paul would make great company for each other they could just growl over dinner and call it conversation.
Curmudgeons comes to mind
Report Post »maiorelle
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:18pmYou all sound like pathetic liberals yourselves. Try taking the high road. The country might actually get somewhere. GaryInTheMiddle tell us the difference between a liberal and a libertarian genius…
Report Post »Deckle
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:13pmThank you God that he is done. This was the biggest waste of time in media ever!
Report Post »GaryInTheMiddle
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:06pmPlease don’t the door hit your old liberal a$$ on the way out.
Report Post »mikee1
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 12:59pmAnd I thought the old liberal mofo was dead.
Report Post »motonutt
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 2:20pmHe is that was a prop……Good ridence to the old coot.
Report Post »Maji
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 12:59pmNo prob.!!!
Can’t stand the butt monkey!
This guy has always made more of himself than most as far as opinon!!
Report Post »I think he’s a“ nut”…that is one“ grumpy old man to another”!!
Go……away!!
DrFrost
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 12:57pmAndy has always had a knack for saying things in an interesting and entertaining way so that even when I disagreed with what he was saying, I always appreciated the way he said it. I’m going to miss that and I wish him well.
Report Post »Freebird
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 12:40pmWould have went for the 2000 mark myself.Although I don’t care much for Andy,I wish him well in his non-retirement.
Report Post »txblaze
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 12:37pmDon’t worry, Andy. I found it easy to ignore you when you were on tv so it should be easy to ignore you out in public.
Report Post »AlmostaCowboy
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:01pmGood one, TX.
Report Post »fireyogi
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 12:32pmWe’ll miss you
Report Post »willbedone
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:23pmLike missing a headache
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 12:31pmNot a big fan of Rooney, but his statement “A writer’s job is to tell the truth” is something that should be tattooed on the foreheads of all the writers at the NY Times, Washington Post, and all the liberal networks.
Report Post »willbedone
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 1:25pmI would be better if those words were tattoed on the back of their hands so they could read it as they type.
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