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‘60 Minutes’ creator Don Hewitt dead at age 86
Television newsmagazine pioneer Don Hewitt has died at age 86. CBS said Hewitt died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Bridgehampton, N.Y.
Here are some facts culled from Hewitt’s “60 Minutes” biography page:
Hewitt created CBS’ “60 Minutes” in 1968 and stepped down as its executive producer in June 2004.
He was the recipient of numerous awards over his television and journalism career, including the Edward R. Murrow Award from Washington State University in 2007 and the second annual Lifetime Achievement Emmy presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in September 2003.
For his groundbreaking work on and continued stewardship of “60 Minutes,” Hewitt was awarded the Founders Emmy by the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1995. Presenting this award to Hewitt, then-ABC News President Roone Arledge said, “His real monument is 60 Minutes. He is truly an innovator in this business. I still believe Don deserves the credit for it (the idea of the newsmagazine format); it is an innovative format no one had done before. It’s been copied all over the world, including several times by us. He’s been a leader in our industry. He has inspired all sorts of people.”
Like many veteran television journalists, Hewitt began his career in newspapers. He was a copyboy for the New York Herald Tribune and, during World War II, served as a war correspondent in the European and Pacific theaters.
Hewitt is survived by his wife, Marilyn Berger, three children from two marriages, and an adopted daughter.
You can read the Associated Press story here.
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