NEWS ICON WALTER CRONKITE DEAD AT 92

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WALTER CRONKITE
THE MAN WHO RAISED AMERICA
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Walter Cronkite With Wife Betsy

Andy Rooney With Dan Rather And Walter Cronkite

Television news icon Walter Cronkite has died at 92 years old. The man who reassured and guided the nation during the tumultuous 1960s and '70s and who was still regarded as "the most trusted man in America", passed away today after a long illness. As anchor and managing editor of the "CBS Evening News" from 1962 to 1981, Cronkite's helped television the television news programs come of age. He was one of the most respected and recognizable news figure of his time. "Walter was truly the father of television news," Morley Safer, a correspondent for CBS' " 60 Minutes," said in a statement. "The trust that viewers placed in him was based on the recognition of his fairness, honesty and strict objectivity." For over twenty years, Cronkite told us the news, the way it was. His most remembered news program was when he was almost crying while announcing the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The most famous television footage of Cronkite shows him delivering the news on the 1963 presidential assassination. After he is handed a wire report, Cronkite pauses to gaze at it, then says, "From Dallas, Texas, the flash -- apparently official -- President Kennedy died at 1 p.m. Central Standard time . . . some 38 minutes ago." When Cronkite recalled the scene on a 2007 CBS special in honor of his 90th year, Cronkite choked back tears as he said softly, "Anchormen shouldn't cry."

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EDITORS EXTRA: Having met Walter Cronkite many, many times, this guy had class. He always had a smile on his face and always posed for photos. He loved talking to the regular person on the street, and seemed confused at how famous he really was. He never rode around in Limos, that he could well afford. You would always see him flag a taxi and go on his way. The last time I saw him, he was at a party with old time legend and movie star Celeste Holm along with Honeymooners star Joyce Randolph. There were many old time celebrities there. He posed for photos with everyone and was the hit of the party. I could sense a sadness though, as a while before he had lost his wife Betsy who died in 2005. Walter went everywhere with beloved Betsy, and she was a gem as well. When they made Walter Cronkite, they made one of a kind. I will miss seeing Walter around New York City, He was the city, he was the world !
Photos By: RD/Leon/Walter McBride/Retna