Don Hewitt: Creator of '60 Minutes' dies at 86

Don Hewitt: Creator of '60 Minutes' dies at 86

Don Hewitt , the creater of the the enduring CBS television newsmagazine '60 Minutes', passes away at eighty six. He was also the sole producer of the programme for thirty five years.

It has been reported that he died of pancreatic cancer on Wednesday at his home in Bridgehampton.

Though Hewitt wished to die at his desk, he relinquished his '60 Minutes' post in June 2004 in exchange for a ten-year contract to serve as a producer-at-large for CBS News, giving him a say in the network’s news programming.

At the time of the announcement of the deal, he told Broadcasting & Cable magazine: “I’m going to be the resident pain in the ass.”

In 1948, even before owning his first television set, Hewitt joined CBS’s fledgling news operation. He oversaw the 15-minute newscast by Douglas Edwards until it was replaced by Walter Cronkite’s half-hour program in 1963.

Hewitt was the first producer to televise debates between presidential candidates Richard Nixon and John Kennedy in 1960.

Hewitt claimed credit for many innovations — superimposing names on TV images and coining the term “anchorman,” to name two — but he was most proud of “60 Minutes.” By his estimate, the program generated at least two billion dollars in profits in its long run, which began when Lyndon Johnson was in the White House and has continued through eight other presidencies.

At '60 Minutes,' Hewitt approved story ideas, oversaw the editing and wrote the on-air promotions and teases at the beginning of the broadcast. His greatest talent was to spot and shape a compelling story.

Andy Rooney, the veteran '60 Minutes' commentator had told: “Basically, Don is an editor with cold, hard judgment about what works and what will appeal to people, I’m always surprised at how he can look at a piece once and remember every element of it.”