Charles Osgood Passed Away!

On Wednesday, CBS News announced the passing of former CBS Sunday Morning host Charles Osgood.

Osgood, who anchored "CBS Sunday Morning" for 22 years and was host of the long-running radio program "The Osgood File," died Tuesday at home in New Jersey.  He was 91. 

The cause of death was dementia, his family said.

Osgood, a gifted news writer, poet and author, spent 45 years at CBS News before retiring in September 2016. Osgood began anchoring "CBS Sunday Morning" in 1994. During his run on the show it reached its highest ratings levels in three decades, and three times earned the Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Morning Program.

"For years now people — even friends and family — have been asking me why I keep doing this considering my age," Osgood said when he retired in 2016 at 84. "It's just that it's been such a joy doing it! Who wouldn't want to be the one who gets to introduce these terrific storytellers and the producers and writers and others who put this wonderful show together."

Osgood said then it has "been a great run."

He interviewed such luminaries as chef Julia Child, graffiti artist-turned-gallery star Keith Haring, painter Andrew Wyeth, sculptor Louise Nevelson, and singer-songwriter Sting.

Osgood's love of poetry and music were also on display in "Sunday Morning," whether it was his playful prose, or playing Christmas carols on the piano during the show's holiday broadcasts.  

Often referred to as CBS News' poet-in-residence, Osgood was called "one of the last great broadcast writers" by Charles Kuralt, whom Osgood succeeded as host of the Sunday morning magazine program in 1994. But he did more than carry on a great American oral tradition; he could also play piano, organ, banjo, violin, and was an accomplished composer and lyricist who could also sing along. He employed his many talents inside and outside CBS, sometimes performing with professional orchestras such as The New York Pops, The Boston Pops and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 

"To say there's no one like Charles Osgood is an understatement," said "Sunday Morning" executive producer Rand Morrison. "He embodied the heart and soul of 'Sunday Morning.' His signature bow tie, his poetry … just his presence was special for the audience, and for those of us who worked with him. At the piano, Charlie put our lives to music. Truly, he was one of a kind – in every sense." 

Veteran broadcaster Jane Pauley, who succeeded Osgood as host of "Sunday Morning" in 2016, said, "Watching him at work was a masterclass in communicating. I'll still think to myself, 'How would Charlie say it?', trying to capture the elusive warmth and intelligence of his voice and delivery. I expect I'll go on trying. He was one of the best broadcast stylists and one of the last. His style was so natural and unaffected it communicated his authenticity. He connected with people. Watching him  on TV, or listening on the radio, as I did for years, was to feel like you knew him, and he knew you. He brought a unique sensibility, curiosity and his trademark whimsy to 'Sunday Morning,' and it endures."