Charles Osgood, the beloved host of CBS Sunday Morning and The Osgood File, died from dementia on Tuesday at his home in New Jersey, his family said. He was 91.
Osgood was a gifted writer, musician, and CBS’s unofficial poet-in-residence for his 50 year career.
He began working at CBS in 1967, hosting The Osgood File, where he provided exacting, often rhyming, commentary on the day’s news up to four times a day, five days a week for 46 years. It was there that he coined the catchphrase, “I’ll see you on the radio.”
ADVERTISEMENT
He began anchoring CBS Sunday Morning in 1994, bringing the show its highest ratings in three decades and earning three Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Morning Program. He retired in 2016.
To Osgood, brevity was integral to strong writing. “Short words, short sentences, short paragraphs,” Osgood said. “There’s nothing that can’t be improved by making it shorter and better.”
Osgood received many accolades in his career, including four Emmy Awards, as well as a Lifetime Achievement award, and was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1990. A year later, he was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame.
In a statement, Osgood’s family said that he “absolutely loved being part of the Sunday Morning community.”
“We’ll miss him terribly, but there is comfort in knowing his life was charmed, in large part thanks to you. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for welcoming him into your homes on Sundays to share stories, and to highlight the better parts of humanity,” the statement said. “He’ll see you on the radio.”
