Obituary: Walter Cronkite: Mastered Art of Delivering News Phonetically

WalterCronkiteCBSNEW YORK - Walter Cronkite, who had no idea what he was saying when he read the news to millions of Americans every night and yet was regarded as truth’s most trusted custodian, is dead at 92.

Cronkite fled the Netherlands and came to New York during World War II, and for several years eked out a living hawking Italian Ice in Times Square.  He couldn’t speak English but parroted the words of people he saw on television.  One day, while Cronkite was waiting on one of his regular customers, CBS founder William S. Paley, he blurted out, “Larry! Shemp! Get me outa this pipe!” Cronkite delivered the line with such authority that  Paley knew instantly not only that Cronkite would be his network’s first anchorman, but also its most beloved cultural icon. Paley hired him on the spot.

Cronkite never bothered to learn English and read the news phonetically until the day he retired. He was able to deliver with passion his signature sign-off – “And that’s the way it is” – because Mr. Paley convinced him the words meant “I want to make love to all the beautiful women in your country.”

On November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Paley knew he needed to elicit sadness from Cronkite, so before he handed Cronkite the announcement of Kennedy’s death, he told Cronkite the following in Dutch: “Sad news, Walter: the Troll has toppled all the windmills in Amsterdam, and now he’s stealing the little children’s wooden shoes.” On the air, Cronkite instinctively shed a tear, and his announcement of Kennedy’s death became one of television’s most memorable moments.

Cronkite is survived by three toupees and a roomful of Hooked on Phonics.

Jul 18