The Resume

(December 14, 1922-August 19, 2009)
Born in New York City, New York
CBS news director/producer/executive
Created 60 Minutes (1968)
Wrote 'Minute by Minute' (1985) and 'Tell Me a Story: Fifty Years and 60 Minutes in Television' (2001)
Received the Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Broadcast Journalism (2008)

Why he might be annoying:

He was married three times, divorced twice.
He was fired as executive producer of the CBS Evening News because Fred Friendly disliked his emphasis on 'lots of dazzle, lots of pace.'
He got into legendary screaming matches with '60 Minutes' correspondent Mike Wallace.
Under network pressure, he killed a '60 Minutes' story on tobacco industry malpractice (1995).
Noting that '60 Minutes' inspired a flood of newsmagazines and reality shows, he said 'We started a trend and we ruined television, because we made it profitable to do this kind of thing.' (2003)

Why he might not be annoying:

He won eight Emmys and a Peabody Award.
In '60 Minutes' he created one of television's biggest and most enduring successes.
His earlier innovations included putting headsets on reporters so they could be interviewed by remote; displaying type, such as a subject's name, on screen; and coining the term 'anchorman.'
Reporter Steve Kroft said, 'Most people think of Don as the creator of 60 Minutes. In fact, he was one of the inventors of broadcast journalism. There isn't a news show on television that doesn't have Don's DNA in it.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 23]
• College Drop Outs
• Entertainment Weekly's 101 Most Influential People [1990] (Ranked: 70)
• Entertainment Weekly's 101 Most Influential People [1991] (Ranked: 76)
• I Attended NYU
• I Died in 2009 (Ranked: 86)
• I Have Pancreatic Cancer
• Look at Me, I Got My Arms Folded
• Look at the Time
• Members of the Television Hall of Fame (Ranked: 6)
• News
• Profiles 26501-26750 (Ranked: 26647)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 14 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 14 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 19 Votes: 68.42% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 58 Votes: 56.90% Annoying