If you've noticed that you're not seeing Andy Rooney as often on "60 Minutes" or that his syndicated column is no longer published every Saturday in the Times Union, there's a good reason: He's 92 years old and even a curmudgeon starts to slow down at that age.
But don't expect the famously opinionated wordsmith and one of the oldest working journalists to be put out to pasture without a fight.
"No, I'm not," he said, when asked if he was retiring. "Why would I do that? This is what I do. I don't need the money, but I love the work."
"Retirement is a dirty word to him," said Susie Bieber, his longtime producer at "60 Minutes."
Rooney, an Albany native and alumnus of Albany Academy, spoke by phone Friday from his office at CBS News. He still goes to the office each weekday -- and Saturdays, too, as has long been his habit. He stopped driving into the city from his home in Connecticut and now takes a cab from a Manhattan apartment, a begrudging concession to being a nonagenarian.
"I wish you wouldn't mention it," he said in response to a question about having turned 92 in January.
"He doesn't plan to stop," said his son Brian. "He's still doing his job. Longevity runs in his side of the family. And that side is also a pain in the ass."
CBS has fielded calls from concerned fans in recent months, when Rooney was missing in action. He's something of a national landmark to viewers of a certain age with his popular two-minute segments of observations ranging from whimsical to cranky on life's minor annoyances and cosmic absurdities at the end of "60 Minutes" each Sunday night.
He's been doing those signature commentaries since 1978 and has won three Emmys for them.
But Rooney's appearance on the TV newsmagazine has been erratic of late due to illness, being bumped by major news stories and issues arising from the sensitive topic he doesn't want to discuss.
"It's realistic to say he's slowing down," Bieber said. "People call and ask why he's not on every week and I say, 'He's 92.' I don't know of anyone else who's doing what he's doing at 92."
Bieber said they continue to tape a Rooney commentary each week, without assurances that it will make it on the air.
"We did a piece this week and hopefully it will be on next week, but we don't know," Bieber said.
She said that she does not sense there is any pressure yet from CBS executives to ease Rooney to the sidelines. "I believe he should be allowed to do what he wants to do until he can't do it anymore," she said. "But eventually, it might be out of his hands."
Rooney also continues to write a weekly newspaper column, which has been syndicated by Tribune Media Services since 1979. It has been published nearly that long locally, first in the Knickerbocker News and then in the Times Union after Hearst's two Albany dailies merged in 1988.
There has been no discussion of retirement with Rooney, said Jan Guszynski, director of marketing for Tribune Media Services. "It's business as usual with Andy," she said. "To my knowledge, he's meeting his deadlines."
Guszynski could not say how many newspapers carry Rooney's column today, but it which was more than 200 at its peak. He is still published in several metro dailies across the U.S. and his popularity with clients has remained consistent, she said.
Joann Crupi, opinion pages editor of the Times Union, has decided not to run some of his columns in recent months for a variety of reasons.
"We're using the column on a more occasional basis, depending on the subject," said Crupi, who did not publish Rooney's column this Saturday -- a list of things that make him mad -- because she deemed it repetitive. "There's always a lot of competition on the commentary page and we want to give readers a wide range of material."
Rooney is one of the most decorated and durable writers of all time in radio and TV. After working as a correspondent for the Army newspaper "Stars and Stripes" during World War II, he started at CBS in 1949 with the show "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts." He has worked for CBS as a correspondent, writer and producer and has won best script of the year honors a record six times by the Writers Guild. He is also a best-selling author of 15 books, including a memoir about the war and collections of his columns.
"He doesn't want to quit. He doesn't know what he would do with himself," said Stacy Deibler, who has edited Rooney's column for Tribune Media Services for more than 15 years. "He's very determined that he's going to continue. He wants to keep his boots on."
Rooney's wife of 62 years, Marguerite, known as "Margie," died in 2004 at age 84 due to heart failure. Rooney continues to maintain her family's summer home in Rensselaerville, although he has stayed there less frequently in recent years. They have four children, two of whom made careers in TV.
"I still tell my dad that if he stops coming in on Saturday, don't even bother coming in on Sunday," quipped his son, Brian, a freelance correspondent for "Nightline" who lives in California. He stopped to see his dad at work Friday after making an East Coast tour of college campuses with his daughter, Emma, a high school junior. They visited Colgate University, his and his father's alma mater.
In an introduction to his father's book "60 Years of Wisdom and Wit," published in 2009, Brian Rooney wrote:
"My father made his living by the only thing he knew how to do, which was putting words on paper. He was blunt, outspoken, and opinionated. He believes in thought, the written word, and that a person should stand for something more than his own good. His gruffness hides sentimentality. He clings to life and the people he loves like that old stuff in his garage."
