Andy Rooney Leaving '60 Minutes'

Thirty-three years:

With 1,096 essays for "60 Minutes" under his belt, Andy Rooney will deliver his 1,097th on Sunday's broadcast. And it will be his last as a regular contributor.

The 92-year-old Rooney will announce his departure at the end of the program, where he has been featured since 1978, CBS News announced on Tuesday. It will be preceded by a segment in which Rooney looks back on his career with "60 Minutes" correspondent Morley Safer.

"There's nobody like Andy and there never will be," said Jeff Fager, chairman of CBS News and "60 Minutes" executive producer.

He called Rooney's contributions to the program "immeasurable," and added, "It's harder for him to do it every week, but he will always have the ability to speak his mind on '60 Minutes' when the urge hits him."

Rooney began speaking his mind on "60 Minutes" in July 1978 with an essay about misleading reporting of automobile fatalities on the Independence Day weekend.

"Car for car," argued Rooney, "it's one of the safest weekends of the year to be going someplace." In fact, fewer people die of all causes on that weekend than at most other times, his research told him. And since "fewer people are watching television over the Fourth," he added, "I suppose fewer die of boredom."

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