Andy Rooney Biography

Andrew Aitken “Andy” Rooney was an award winning journalist and television writer who was one of the first American journalists to visit and report on the Nazi concentration camps. His journalistic career began while he was serving in the army during the World War II when he started writing for the ‘Stars and Stripes’. As a correspondent for the newspaper he even flew in bombing missions over Germany. He later stated that being a pacifist he was opposed to the war, and whatever he witnessed at the concentration camps affected him profoundly both as a human being and as a writer. His first book, ‘Air Gunner’ was released even as the war was going on. He worked as a freelance writer after the war before landing a job as a writer for the CBS show ‘Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts’. A lifelong friendship between Rooney and Godfrey ensued which enabled him to establish himself as a television writer. Eventually he moved on to write public affairs programs for the CBS News department before he was asked to produce essays for Harry Reasoner. Rooney wrote humorous essays on mundane, daily life objects like chairs, doors, and bridges which made him hugely popular among the viewers, and led to his gig on ‘60 Minutes’.