Walter Cronkite 1916 - 2009
Celebrated newsman Walter Cronkite, died today at age 92. Recruited for CBS in 1950 by Edward R. Murrow himself, Cronkite’s long career spanned the Cuban missile crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and Watergate. VIEW OUR GALLERY and WATCH VIDEO from his powerhouse career.
AP Photo
Cronkite made his radio debut as a football announcer in 1937. This 1958 photo shows him with Sandra Nemser broadcasting CBS Radio's Answer Please.
AP Photo
Walter Cronkite on The Morning Show in 1954.
CBS / Landov
President Truman gives Cronkite a televised tour of a newly renovated White House in 1952. They stand in the Diplomatic Reception Room, Cronkite tethered by microphone to his off-screen crew.
AP Photo
A cameraman sports 1957's most high-tech equipment as Cronkite announces the inauguration of President Eisenhower.
CBS / Landov
Then-Vice President Richard Nixon shares a sofa with Cronkite in 1960.
CBS / Landov
Cronkite traveled to Normandy to commemorate D-Day with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1963.
CBS / Landov
New Hampshire was a big primary, then, too: ca. 1965, Cronkite stands with CBS producer Bill Leonard, executive producer of the CBS News Election Unit, in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Hulton Archive / Getty Images
John F. Kennedy talks to Cronkite in a segment for the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite in Hyannis Port, Mass.
CBS / Landov
Cronkite reports the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Friday, November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.
CBS / Landov
Cronkite delivers news from Vietnam in 1968.
CBS / Landov
Former astronaut Wally Schirra talks to Cronkite—who holds a copy of the New York Daily News—about Apollo 11 on July 20, 1969, the day of the famed lunar landing.
CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images
In pinstripes and cufflinks at the 1974 CBS anchor desk.
CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images
Ted Kennedy and Walter Cronkite at the 1976 Democratic National Convention.
CBS / Landov
Cronkite broadcasts the CBS Evening News while in a low orbit space test of weightlessness.
CBS / Landov
In 1979, the newsman was awarded the Governor's Award at the Emmy's.
AP Photo
Cronkite talks with George Lucas about the science behind science fiction on Universe in 1980.
CBS / Landov
In 1981, Cronkite retired after 31 years at CBS. The anchor desk went to Dan Rather, who stuck around CBS until 2006, ultimately departing to produce and report for his own network.
CBS / Landov
A pensive Cronkite sits at the CBS News anchor desk before his final broadcast on March 6, 1981.
CBS Photo Archive / Getty Images
Walter Cronkite and his wife, Betty, aboard their 42-foot yawl.
CBS / Landov
As chairman of the Free TV for Straight Talk Coalition, Cronkite worked with President Clinton to call on broadcasters to give free TV time to political candidates in 1997.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP Photo
Cronkite attends the International Radio And Television Society Foundation's 2004 Gold Medal Dinner with Brian Williams, Dan Rather, and Tom Brokaw.
Evan Agostini / Getty Images
Among Cronkite's most sober moments was announcing the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. At a 2005 forum at Boston's John F. Kennedy Library, the newsman met with Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg.
Steven Senne / AP Photo
The retired newsman inspects a gun position on a B17 bomber at an air museum in England in 2005. Cronkite flew in a B17 over Normandy while covering the D-Day landings in 1944.
Chris Young / AP Photo
Hailed as the "most trusted man in America" during his 18-year stint at the CBS Evening News anchor desk, Cronkite sits under a projected image during a forum at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston in 2005.
Steven Senne / AP Photo
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.