Former CBS News anchor Charles Osgood died Tuesday at the age of 91.
The long-time anchor died at his home in New Jersey from dementia, CBS News announced.
Osgood anchored “CBS Sunday Morning” for 22 years and hosted the radio show, “The Osgood File,” CBS News said. He spent 45 years at the network before retiring in September 2016.
While at the network, “CBS Sunday Morning” reached its highest ratings levels in three decades, according to CBS News. He received the Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Morning Program on three separate occasions.
Our beloved former ‘Sunday Morning” host, colleague and friend, award-winning journalist Charles Osgood, has passed away at age 91. During a career that spanned nearly 50 years, Osgood worked on virtually every broadcast within CBS News. Here’s a look back at his storied career. pic.twitter.com/KwgsYaMxK1
— CBS Sunday Morning 🌞 (@CBSSunday) January 23, 2024
“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 was referred to as “one of the last great broadcast writers” by Charles Kuralt, who preceded Osgood on “CBS Sunday Morning,” according to CBS. He was known for his poetic and musical talent, as he could play several instruments including the piano, the organ and the violin.
“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.”