Wallace is known for his prickly son-of-a-bitch interview style where he'd ask pointed & explosive questions to get a raw glance at the subject being interviewed.
Watch this episode of the Mike Wallace Interview (1957-60) with 20th century artist, icon & mystery: Salvador Dali. At one point in the interview, Wallace admits: "Dali, you lost me about halfway through.."
Wallace originated the ambush interview & the television news magazine show with CBS' Don Hewitt in 1968. Watch Wallace berate CBS news execs for censoring a story on tobacco companies in 2000's the Informant.
60 Minutes is the longest running TV show in history - currently airing it's 44th season - is one of the top rated broadcasts of all time.
This new news magazine format changed how the world gets it's news today. Turning the broadcast news model of the day into long-form in-depth journalism mixing hard news & entertainment. It originated the model of television broadcast news for profit.
Watch Wallace take on black power advocate Louis Farahkan. Wallace asks Farakhan to explain why the nation of Islam is the most corrupt nation on Earth. When Farakhan apologizes for his ad hominem response, Wallace in turn, responds with a "no, no that was great, ha ha."
Wallace often played the devil's advocate - probably for ratings or maybe fame - but his passion of the news & for the spread of ideas is undeniable.
Wallace interviews are iconic and hold up to this day - it's impossible to find another news man who has filled his shoes. Maybe Tim Russert - but he's dead - and that's a shame because Ryan Seacrest ain't gonna cut it.
Wallace understood the art of news at a level unmatched by anyone before or since his time.
More Wallace Interviews
author & philosopher Ayn Rand
Chris Wallace interviews his daddy
birth control advocate Margaret Sanger
American puppet Shah Pahlavi of Iran
Civil Rights activist Malcom X
author & philosopher Aldous Huxley
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