Walter Cronkite 1916 – 2009 “The Way It Was”

In 1996,  I interviewed Walter Cronkite and learned the true meaning of his nickname “OLD IRON PANTS” (see below). He had just completed a new CD-ROM entitled “American Presidents — The Most Powerful Man on Earth.”   Here is an excerpt from that interview, and a photograph he graciously autographed for me.

Walter Cronkite

Born on November 4, 1916, Walter Cronkite started out as a correspondent at the Houston Post, later became a radio sports announcer and in 1937, joined United Press where he remained for 11 years.  During World War II he witnessed the devastation, was among the first newsmen to participate in the B-17 raids over Germany, and joined the 101st Airborne in Holland.

Cronkite joined CBS in 1950 and began his long tenure with the Evening News in 1962, which in 1963 became network television’s first half-hour weeknight news broadcast.  The debut featured Cronkite’s historic interview with President John F. Kennedy.

The career of Walter Cronkite parallels the evolution of modern media — from newspapers and radio to TV and the emergence of digital news gathering and distribution.  Perhaps the most respected and identifiable newsman of the 20th Century, Cronkite embodied credibility when many of today’s newscasters are personalities rather than reporters.

BONZAI:  Is there one particular president with whom you had the closest or deepest relationship?
CRONKITE:  I suppose I’d say there were two that I did, both Eisenhower and Johnson.  Eisenhower, because we did his memoirs, a total of 13 hours that we recorded and cut down to a 2 or 3 hour presentation on the air.  That gave me a week at Gettsyburg at his side, and then we did the trip to Normandy, “D-Day Revisited,” for the 20th Anniversary of D-Day.  There I was at his side as he, for the first time really, had an opportunity to spend some time back in his old English headquarters and on the Continent on the battlefields. It was a very revealing experience with Eisenhower.
With Johnson, I had actually met him first when I was covering the Texas legislature way back in the mid-30s.  I touched base with him throughout his career at various times so that we had kind of a friendship there that was interesting.

BONZAI: I’m curious about something.  Can you tell us when and why you got the nickname “Old Iron Pants?”
CRONKITE: (chuckles) Well, I know when it occurred but I don’t know exactly what they meant by it.  I think partly what they meant was that I never went to the bathroom .  It was kind of a phrase that came out of World War II — “Iron Pants” was applied to commanders and to pilots and others who stayed right in there, right in the command role and wouldn’t leave.  They didn’t want to yield up a minute of time directing the troops and running things.  I think that’s part of it.  It comes from long election nights and long space shot coverage, and situations where I stayed at the desk for hour upon hour without leaving.

You can see more of this interview at my Berkleemusic Blog.  Feel free to make a comment here or there.