Saying farewell to the extraordinary Mike Wallace

Porn peddlers, scammers, confidence men...

[Man: I don't know, he put over there. These is my films... ]

[Man: You're contemptible. I mean this, not for the camera, I'd like you to get outta here.]

For a few years, they were staples on "60 Minutes."

[Man: I hope you got it and I hope you have the guts to use it.]

Steve Kroft: If you had so much fun, and the audience loved it, why did you stop doing it?

Mike Wallace: Because it became a caricature of itself. And we realized we weren't getting information, we were getting drama.

Steve Kroft: Mike, you have something against drama?

Mike Wallace: Oh, no. But if it is legitimate drama, if you really are after, by asking a tough question, or a difficult question, nothing wrong with it. Because you're in search of the truth, you hope. Accuracy, understanding. But to do it just to make somebody look like a fool or embarrass them or whatever, after a while, uh-uh.

[Mike Wallace: Alright...]

Over the years, Mike developed his own special shorthand vocabulary for dragging information out of people.

Steve Kroft: You have a couple of stock phrases. Come on.

[Mike Wallace, montage: Come on. Come on. Come on. Oh, come on! Come on!]

Steve Kroft: Look. Like, "Look!"

[Mike Wallace, montage: Look. Look. Look.]

Mike Wallace: You don't do it on purpose, it's in conversation.

Steve Kroft: Forgive me.

[Mike Wallace, montage: Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me.]

In Mike-speak, "forgive me" always meant a really nasty question was coming. Here's the famous encounter during the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979 when Mike asked the Ayatollah Khomeini if he was nuts.

[Mike Wallace: Imam, President Sadat of Egypt says what you are doing is quote a disgrace to Islam. And he calls you, Imam, forgive me, his words, not mine, "a lunatic."]

Mike Wallace: I figured, what the hell are they going to do, make me a hostage too, if I ask -

Steve Kroft: Put you in prison.

Mike Wallace: Yeah.

[Mike Wallace, translator: That's, yes, that's what I heard President Sadat say...]

Mike Wallace: The guy that was translating, he looked over at me and said, "You're the lunatic if you think I'm gonna translate that question to the Ayatollah."

[Mike Wallace, to translator: And he used the word, a lunatic.

Ayatollah Khomeini: Sadat...]

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[allthatisnecessary]

Really found your recent airing of the Mike Wallace tribute highly offensive. I found your failure to censor his blasphemous language extremely insensitive. If you can mask racial and sexual orientation slurs, (as you should), certainly you could do the same for those us who find the use of this type of language disgusting, nauseating and absolutely reprehensible.

[Htos1]

Why is this still on the front page?

[sixshtr56]

I just watched your episode reflecting back on Mike Wallace's life and career. I don't think it was necessary for the producers to allow the language ( G-D ) to be heard. It should have been bleeped, it just wasn't necessary and I don't appreciate it. I'm a Christian and find it very offensive. You should be as sensitive to Christians as you are to atheist, the Jewish community, Muslims or any other religion.

[RocDoc86]

Will you talking heads PLEASE stop try to glorify each other. You are talking heads - very over paid for what you - which none of you do honestly & unobjectively - compaired to our killed & wounded warriors you are nothing - but you sure don't talk about them alot - when one of you dies - how about just announce it - read the obit - move on - believe me - the only people that really give a crap you of you has died is you people - don't waste a lot of air time on it PLEASE - Mike Wallace died - Rest In Peace - Move ON!- get over yourselves!