Oct 19, 2009 1:12 pm US/Eastern
CBS Holds Memorial For Don Hewitt
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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TV news pioneer Don Hewitt, creator and longtime executive producer of "60 Minutes," has a chuckle in his office in 2001. Hewitt, who retired in 2004, died of pancreatic cancer Aug. 19, 2009, at the age of 86.
CBS Photo Archive
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"60 Minutes" creator and executive producer Don Hewitt, right, poses with the newsmagazine's on-air staff in 1993. They are, l-r, Mike Wallace, Andy Rooney, Morley Safer, Steve Kroft, Ed Bradley and Leslie Stahl.
Bob Strong/AFP/Getty Images
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Ed Bradley and Executive Producer Don Hewitt work on a "60 Minutes" story in 1985. (CBS)
CBS
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TV news pioneer Don Hewitt, the creator of the CBS News program "60 Minutes" and producer of the first televised presidential debate in 1960, died Aug. 19, 2009, at age 86. Hewitt is pictured here in 2004.
Evan Agostini/Getty Images
A memorial service was held Monday morning in Manhattan for the creator and long-time executive producer of CBS' "60 Minutes," Don Hewitt, who died in August.
The event took place at the Lincoln Center at 11 a.m. and drew a crowd of many of the TV news industry's biggest names including colleagues Morley Safer, Leslie Stahl, Andy Rooney, and Charlie Gibson.
When it came to broadcast journalism, Hewitt was a pioneer, helping create the blueprint for television news. His illustrious career began in 1948. That's when he became a director of the first CBS Evening News show. He directed many other programs including Edward R. Murrow's signature show, "See It Now."
Hewitt took on producing duties as well, directing and producing the famous presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
"I felt like a referee at a fight," Hewitt said of the debate in 2000. "I was giving them their last minute instructions before they went to their corners and came out swinging."
Hewitt advised Nixon to use makeup, but he declined, losing the debate when he appeared tired and pale on television, and eventually losing the election.
A couple years later, Hewitt became the first executive producer of the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. He's credited with coining the term "anchorman" and creating the look that for decades defined how television news was presented. In fact, Hewitt's most recent public appearance was in July, when he attended Cronkite's memorial service in Manhattan.
His greatest creation, no doubt, was "60 Minutes." It's the show that changed the face of broadcast journalism. As Harry Reasoner described it during its first episode in 1967, "It's kind of a magazine for television."
"60 Minutes" was the first news program to become a top-ten television show. It regularly made headlines with stories ranging from hard-hitting investigative pieces to interviews with the famous and notorious. The show won every award in the book.
"Tell me a story," Hewitt would demand. He had an instinct for knowing what the average American likes to watch and carefully scrutinized every script. The show remained on top for more than 30 years.
Hewitt had already celebrated his 80th birthday when in 2004 he officially stepped down as head of "60 Minutes."
Still, he remained with the CBS family, lending his experience and expertise to the search for new ways to cover TV news in the 21st century.
He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Marilyn Berger; two sons, Steven and Jeffrey and his wife Nancy; daughter Lisa Cassara and her husband, William; stepdaughter Jilian Childers Hewitt, adopted by Hewitt, who was the daughter of his second wife, Frankie (nee Teague) Hewitt by her first husband Bob Childers.; three grandchildren: Balin Hewitt, Connor and Jack Cassara. Frankie Hewitt and Hewitt's first wife, Mary Weaver, both predeceased him.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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