The Interrogator

Mike Wallace, who died earlier this month, was a unique success story. Starting out as what we would now call an "infotainer" - first as a radio announcer, than as a game show host - he only became a full-time newsman after his son Peter died in an accident in 1962.  Mike Wallace subsequently felt the need to commit himself to more meaningful work as a result. For the next four decades and change - mostly as a "60 Minutes" correspondent - Wallace did just that, doing probing interviews and serious investigative journalism.  His "60 Minutes" reports left people talking every Monday morning about (and probably inspiring a few to do something about) the scandals and scams Wallace uncovered.

Wallace's interviews with prominent figures could also be revealing, from his interview with Johnny Carson about his personal life to his interview with Shirley MacLaine about pre-existence. Ever the skeptic, Wallace would humanize his subjects and divine the attitudes of world leaders as diverse as Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. You could see the burning hatred, for example, in the Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's eyes when Wallace quoted Egyptian President Anwar Sadat as calling the Supreme Leader of Iran a "lunatic."

For my money, the most deftly handled interview Wallace ever conducted on "60 Minutes" was with Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints President Gordon Hinckley, which aired in April 1996. Wallace asked Hinckley, the Mormon equivalent of the pope, some fair and tough questions about the Mormon church without sounding oft-putting or disrespectful. The interview, as well as the story on the Mormons that included it, was a major feat for both men; Wallace proved that religion could be handled in a dignified manner, and Hinckley was able to present a contemporary image of a once fringe-based church still working its way into the mainstream in 1996 (and Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has pretty much completed the transition, whether he wins in November or not).

Wallace did have his share of embarrassments - notably the libel suit brought by General William Westmoreland as a result of Wallace's special report on the Vietnam  War after it ended - but he was mostly on target with his reporting.  A couple of today's "60 Minutes" correspondents - especially Steve Kroft - have tried to follow in Wallace's footsteps with their own investigative reporting, and they've done a good job at it, but there will never be another Mike Wallace. R.I.P.