Don Hewitt, The Ringmaster

(CBS)  This has not been a happy summer for those of us who work at CBS News: last month Walter Cronkite died, and this past week we lost Don Hewitt, the man who created 60 Minutes 41 years ago.

Don was 86, but in his head and in his heart he was a kid. Words like "passion" and "enthusiasm" are too weak to describe this human dynamo.

As correspondent Morley Safer explains, Don was his boss for most of the 45 years he has worked at the network and he was not an easy man to please. But when you did please him, you were on top of the world. And so was he.

He was also a thorn in the side of his corporate bosses, though he liked to describe himself as a pain in the ass.

And he was madly in love with broadcast journalism.

We take a look at Don Hewitt - this founder, producer and above all, ringmaster of what he regarded as the greatest show on earth.

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"I once said to CBS, 'In my next contract I want a gun, and a whip and a chair,' because it's like being in a cage full of tigers. And there are temperaments. Not the least of which is mine," Don Hewitt once said.

Ringmaster and lion tamer - Don became a show unto himself. Since the very beginning of television news more than six decades ago, he lived by a deceptively simple motto: "It's four little words. Tell me a story. And that's all we do. Tell 'em a story," he explained.

Photo Gallery: Don Hewitt 1922 - 2009

Photo Gallery: Reaction

Don Hewitt, The Ringmaster

The Secret of Don Hewitt's Success

Don Hewitt's Favorite 60 Minutes Moments

Timeline: Hewitt's Life and Career

Years before 60 Minutes, he was at Edward R. Murrow's side as television expanded its reach to broadcast live, from coast to coast.

He produced the very first televised presidential debate, Kennedy vs. Nixon, in 1960.

He was with Walter Cronkite the day John F. Kennedy was shot.

1963: JFK Is Assassinated



And with 60 Minutes, he revolutionized broadcast news, dispatching what he called his "team of tigers" to the four corners of the globe to carry out that four-word mandate: Tell me a story.

"There is no place on Earth that you haven't been," Hewitt said when the broadcast turned 25. "And there's nobody on Earth that you haven't met. …And that is the great value of what we do, I think."

He was, in fact, the boy wonder of CBS News, and remained the awestruck kid well past retirement age. He was opinionated, outrageous, with a quick wit and a short fuse.

"The only problem is that when you've been around as long as I have, you get to be kind of a pain in the ass," Hewitt once said.

And as his friends and colleagues will tell you, on balance, the pleasure of Don's company was mostly worth the pain.

"I mean, he put on a show in the control room. And it was just wonderful. It was hypnotic," Phil Scheffler remembered, who worked at Don's side for over half a century.

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[johnlopez649]

we REALLY missed Dan Rather in this story and noted that he has been decisively cut from all CBS stories. What a shame. Makes CBS look like a sore loser who holds a grudge. You can't deny how much he contributed to this show and the network..............

[wilket]

As a very long time fan of 60 min I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Mr. Hewitt. After watching last nights show paying tribute to Mr Hewitt, I think the producers missed the key element of 'telling the story'. You all covered his attributes and contributions to 60 min, but I would think the most important part about the story was what happens to 60 minutes now that Don is not around. Who will take the reins? From what I saw last night, Don Hewitt was 60 Minutes. Who is qualified to keep this show up to par?
Also, I have always been curious to know who came up with the idea of the stop watch at the beginning of the show? Was it Mr. Hewitt?

Looking forward to the 'new' 60 Minutes.

Mitchell (Toronto, Canada)

[Donlpk]

60 Minutes tonight was Don Hewitt's crowning production.

[SanFranacisco]

I would like to comment about 60 minutes. Ever since I graduated from High school, 26 years ago. I always tuned into 60 minutes every sunday! Don Hewitt will be missed....

[RachelonCBS]

Agreed! My memories of Don Hewitt and what his legacy means to me:

It was May 1984 and I was a 16 year-old fresh faced high school journalism student with the daunting task of interviewing on camera Arthur Bloom, then the director of 60 Minutes.

I waited in the dim lobby of the 60 Minutes Manhattan office, sitting anxiously on the couch underneath the silver-framed picture of the newsmagazine?s iconic stop-watch when correspondent Morley Safer passed by, deep in thought.

Then, seemingly out of no where, a blur of a man zoomed past and I realized it was Don Hewitt.

Hewitt was a part of the generation of news journalists who helped shape my earliest memories with his various roles in the CBS News division and at 60 Minutes. His work also shaped dinner table discussions at my home in upstate New York.

We didn?t miss an episode of 60 Minutes, unless we had to. I?d stay home on Sundays if a particularly good interview was coming up, foregoing a fancy dinner at the local steakhouse in Swan Lake.

I idolized Don Hewitt, Arthur Bloom and Walter Cronkite, who finished reporting the CBS Nightly News just three years before my visit to 60 Minutes. Of course, that morning I was wishing Cronkite would walk by too.

These were the big boys, and I wanted to become just like them. They were journeyman journalists who were never afraid to ask tough questions, report the news and put a complex story in historical context without losing the public or demeaning their ability to understand and, if necessary, act.

For that brief moment in the 60 Minutes lobby, I was in the presence of walking history. Hewitt participated in so many historic events, including the White House broadcast of President John Kennedy?s appraisal of his first two years in office.

I stood up as fast as I could to introduce myself ? and take my best shot: ?Hello, Mr. Hewitt. I?m Rachel Cunningham here to interview Arthur Bloom.?

Hewitt stopped and swirled around with his arms, shoulders and flat shock of silver hair moving as one. He leaned forward, eyed me closely and quipped, ?Hey, that?s good kid.?

Then, as if to give me an insider?s scoop, he smiled and rolled his eyes, ?Have fun.?

I understood his kind gesture to mean: Bloom would be a tough interview (he wasn?t) and that I was not to waste anyone?s time, including Hewitt?s (I didn?t).

It was a wonderful moment which stays with me. I remain a fan of 60 Minutes but long for the gritty, factual news reporting of Cronkite?s time at CBS Nightly News.

Meeting Hewitt for that brief moment is something I cherish because it was then when I first realized I could do it too. I could tell stories for a reason ? to connect with humanity. Hewitt connected with me that day ? and throughout his career. And for that, I am grateful.

Both Hewitt and Bloom, who passed away in 2006, enriched my life and how I cover the news and see the world. They also taught me about the power of journalism and its ever changing industry.

In our interview Bloom described the reporting style of 60 Minutes as one of ?edu-tainment,? a term that has since morphed into ?info-tainment.? Cronkite remained unimpressed with this unfortunate news trend, and said so on many occasions.

Cronkite, Hewitt, Bloom and their respective work at CBS Nightly News and 60 Minutes helped re-energize our democracy in powerful ways by reporting facts, holding leaders accountable and rejoicing in the uniqueness of America.

I hope with the recent passing of Hewitt and Cronkite, and that of Bloom, Ed Bradley and Tim Russert, journeymen journalists will continue to ask the tough questions, challenge doctrine and share the news without bias and commentary ? no matter how complex and troubling the news.

It?s the least we can do to honor the great ones.

Rachel Cunningham
Guizhou Province, China

[briefmickey]

Here is a man who ate and slept journalism all of his adult life. Revealed as almost totally implacable by those who worked under him. Most astounding, as shown on "60 Minutes" special on his life----He never learned how to "touch type"! He was one of those "3 fingers guys" on the keyboard.
Truth is Stranger than Fiction someone once said!

[lporcaro]

Where was Dan Rather in this story?

[gladman911]

Tonight's tribute to Don was fantastic. What a dynamo the man was. This show has been my favorite for all my adult years. The question that all us fans have is, of course, is Mike Wallace too ill/old to comment? He was clearly a major partner in the 60 Minutes enterprise. Is there any way to get a comment from him on Don's passing?