Mike Wallace (journalist)
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Template:Cleanup-date Image:MikewallaceCBS.jpg Michael Wallace (born May 9, 1918 as Myron Leon Wallace) is an American journalist with a long-running career. He is best known today as a television correspondent for CBS's 60 Minutes. He has been with that program since it first aired in 1968. During his career at 60 Minutes he has interviewed a wide range of newsmakers including Johnny Carson, Deng Xiaoping, Ayatollah Khomeini, Kurt Waldheim, Jeffrey Wigand, Yasser Arafat, Ayn Rand, Menachem Begin, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Anwar Sadat, and Manuel Noriega.
He has also hosted a number of other talk shows including Night Beat and The Mike Wallace Interview.
Wallace was born in Brookline, Massachusetts to Russian-Jewish parents, and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1939 with a B.A. degree.
Early in his career Wallace announced for the radio action shows Ned Jordan, Secret Agent and The Green Hornet. It is sometimes reported that Wallace announced for the The Lone Ranger, but Wallace has denied that he ever had that particular job. [1]
He has been married multiple times and had two sons. His oldest son, Peter, died in a mountain climbing accident in 1962. Another son, Chris Wallace, is the moderator of "Fox News Sunday," a syndicated television show that runs throughout Fox's network of affiliates.
On March 14, 2006, Wallace announced his retirement from 60 Minutes after 37 years with the program. He will continue working for CBS News as a "Correspondent Emeritus." [2]
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Career Highlights
Interviewed General William Westmoreland for the CBS special The Uncounted Enemy: A Vietnam Deception.[3] Westmoreland sued Wallace and CBS for libel. In February 1985, while the case was still in court, CBS settled with Westmoreland after their internal investigation determined that the producers of the show had not used the proper standards of fairness.
Wallace has been criticized for his tactics, which include conducting interviews under deceptive or "ambush" circumstances in order to embarrass his quarry. Jailed former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega calls Wallace "the epitome of sabotage journalism."
Wallace was played by actor Christopher Plummer in the 1999 feature film, The Insider. The screenplay was based on the Vanity Fair article "The Man Who Knew Too Much" by Marie Brenner and accused Wallace of capitulating to corporate pressure to kill a story by 60 Minutes about Jeffrey Wigand, a whistle-blower trying to expose the activity of "big tobacco". Wallace, for his part disliked his on-screen portrayal, and maintains he was in fact very eager to have Wigand's story aired in full.
In 2004, Mike Wallace, then 86, made headlines following a dispute with New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission inspectors. Upon finding the two inspectors interviewing his driver, who they alleged was double-parked, Wallace allegedly lunged at one of them and was subsequently arrested. He was released after receiving a court summons to answer charges for disorderly conduct. A restaurant manager who witnessed the scene said the officers "manhandled" Wallace.
Wallace was interviewed by his son, Chris Wallace on the November 6, 2005 edition of FOX News Sunday.
Depression
Wallace suffered from major depression triggered by accusations of libel and a related lawsuit. He has seen a professional and taken different drugs to treat his illness.
He explains: "At first I couldn't sleep, then I couldn't eat. I felt hopeless and I just couldn't cope… and then I just lost all perspective on things. You know, you become crazy. I had done a story for 60 Minutes on depression previously, but I had no idea that I was now experiencing it. Finally, I collapsed and just went to bed." (Source: CBS Cares interview below) He has confessed that he often contemplated suicide during this period.
In recent years, Wallace has gone public with his long-standing battle against depression testifying in Senate hearings on the topic as well as being interviewed on the illness on Larry King Live and for various documentaries. He urges those who suffer depression to seek treatment.
Family background
Wallace's parents (Frank and Zina) are listed in the 1930 census of Brookline with son Myron, their birthplace is Russia and language Yiddish. The original family name was changed to Wallace. On the 1920 census Frank Wallace (born Friedan Wallick) was listed as a proprietor of a grocery. Frank is shown to have immigrated in 1893 and was naturalized in 1906 while his wife, Zina immigrated in 1897 and was naturalized in 1903. Their children were listed in 1920 as Ruth M., age 11 yrs, Helen R., age 8 yrs., Irving, age 5 yrs., and Myron (Mike Wallace) age 1 yr and 5 months. One servant is listed as Mrs. Kate Randall, age 48 yrs, having immigrated from England in 1892 and was naturalized the same year. The family lived at 18 Osbourne Rd., Brookline, Norfolk, MA.