American journalist and news anchor, one of the original anchors on the popular TV news shows, “60 Minutes.”
Reasoner joined CBS News as a reporter and correspondent in 1956. When “60 Minutes” began in 1968, his handsome face and debonair look added to his reports.He stayed until 1970 when he switched to ABC News as an anchor. There he worked with Howard K. Smith and Barbara Walters. He went back to CBS in 1978, rejoining the cast of “60 Minutes,” staying until his retirement. He was known for his compelling, his direct manner of speaking and his realistic delivery in front of the camera.
Reasoner grew up in the Midwest. His family moved to Minnesota from Iowa when he was in his early teen years; the Midwestern culture that was a part of his work ethic and attitude was often noted in a positive light by his colleagues. His dad was a superintendent of schools and his mother was a teacher. Well-read and intelligent, he was admitted to Stanford University and the University of Minnesota where he studied journalism. WWII intervened and in 1943 he joined the Army. The following year he won an essay contest sponsored by the Republican Party and after the war landed a job with a newspaper , the Minneapolis Times, as its drama critic. He laughingly admitted that he was fired because he panned a performance. He produced his first and only novel as well. Reprinted in 1964, “Tell Me About Women” was not a best-seller. In the 1950s he found broadcasting, working for a Minneapolis affiliate of CBS radio, followed by a stint with the .United States Information Agency. In 1956 he joined CBS in New York as a reporter but climbed the ladder to a more public position. In 1961 he was co-host of a television show, “Calendar.” His aspirations to be an anchor of a nightly newscast were denied and he moved to ABC, a network that granted his wish. He became the anchor for the ABC Nightly News. He returned to CBS in 1978. In his career, Reasoner was awarded two Emmys, a George Foster Peabody Award and many citations. He produced non-fiction books, the first in 1966, entitled “The Reasoner Report.” That book was followed by two others, “The World Today” (1975) and “Before the Colors Fade” (1981).
Reasoner was married twice. His first marriage to Kathleen Ann Carroll ended in divorce after having produced seven children. In 1988 he married Lois Webber.
Reasoner was diagnosed with lung cancer and had operations in 1987 and 1989. In declining health, he bade farewell to “60 Minutes” on May 19, 1991. Three weeks later, on June 12, 1991 he underwent surgery for removal of a blood clot on the brain, and later developed pneumonia. He died on August 6, 1991 in Norwalk, CT of cardiopulmonary arrest. He was 68.
Link to Wikipedia biography