60 Minutes began running “A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney” in 1978. 33 years is a long run for a TV personality, especially one who has hit 92. Still, audiences were shocked and somewhat saddened when Rooney announced his bittersweet retirement from 60 Minutes, last week.
When Rooney signed off Sunday, a whole lot of people watched. Ratings for 60 Minutes on October 2nd were the highest they have been in October since 2007. According to THR, 17.11 million viewers tuned in, making Sunday’s program the 4th highest ranked of the week. It was a nice sendoff for the reporter who, I hope, was taping the episode.
Highlights of the episode included an interview between Morley Safer and Rooney discussing Rooney's career, among other things. Other news in the episode included a crazy segment highlighting Alex Honnold, a free solo climber who’s into pulling some Mission Impossible 2 stuff. You can catch the full episode over at CBS. Things might move forward with 60 Minutes even though Rooney is gone; however, one thing is certain: Andy Rooney will not, nor will he ever be up for signing autographs. Not even retirement will change that.
I wouldn’t expect anything less.
