John Filo/CBS
Andy Rooney might have been the only person who didn't think of himself first and foremost as a curmudgeon.
Rooney, whose trenchant commentaries on war, clutter and Lady Gaga were part of 60 Minutes for 33 years, died Friday in a New York City hospital due to complications following minor surgery, according to CBS.
He was 92.
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The prime-time fixture retired from the newsmagazine in October 2011. Weeks later, he was hospitalized for complications related to unspecified surgery.
Before joining 60 Minutes in 1978, Rooney served in and covered World War II, worked in Hollywood, wrote for radio and produced network-news documentaries. He moved in front of the camera in the mid-1970s for a series of prime-time specials that, more than anything, starred his point of view.
"My knack is for observing something everyone knows about," he told the Associated Press in 1978, "but from different angles."
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Rooney became known, and mocked for, musing aloud about the mundane, but he addressed weightier subjects too, such as the Iraq War. ("So far almost 2,800 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq," Rooney said in a 2006 piece. "And for what?")
In 1990, Rooney served a one-month suspension from 60 Minutes for an alleged racist remark made as he defended a homophobic remark. In 1994, he took Kurt Cobain to task days after the Nirvana rocker was found dead: "This picture shows him in a pair of jeans with a hole in the knee. I doubt that Kurt Cobain ever did enough work to wear a hole in his pants." In 2004, he called Mel Gibson and televangelist Pat Robertson "wackos."
Rooney withstood both controversy and competition, including 60 Minutes' brief flirtation in the 1990s with a trio of rival commentators.
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"There's nobody like Andy, and there never will be," CBS News chairman and 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager said upon Rooney's retirement.
In his final commentary, aired Oct. 2, 2011, Rooney conceded that he'd done "a lot of complaining."
"But of all the things I've complained about," he said, "I can't complain about my life."
As for what Rooney thought of himself as? He thought of himself as a writer.
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Following news of Rooney's death, his colleagues shared their condolences over the loss of the cultural icon.
"It's a sad day at 60 Minutes and for everybody here at CBS News," Fager said in a statement. "It's hard to imagine not having Andy around. He loved his life and he lived it on his own terms. We will miss him very much."
And that wasn't all.
"Words cannot adequately express Andy's contribution to the world of journalism and the impact he made--as a colleague and friend--upon everyone at CBS," Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation said.
"His wry wit, his unique ability to capture the essence of any issue, and his larger-than-life personality made him an icon, not only within the industry but among readers and viewers around the globe. Andy was not just a member of the CBS family; he was a member of the world's family. We treasure the legacy he has left, and his presence will be sorely missed by those of us at CBS and by his fans around the world."