Rooney retiring from '60 Minutes'

NEW YORK, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Veteran broadcast journalist Andy Rooney is retiring as a regular contributor to the U.S. newsmagazine "60 Minutes" at the age of 92, CBS said Tuesday.

Rooney, who has worked on the program since 1978, is expected to make this Sunday's edition his last, The Hollywood Reporter said.

CBS plans to air a career retrospective interview with Rooney, conducted by correspondent Morley Safer, before Rooney's final show.

"There's nobody like Andy and there never will be," Jeff Fager, CBS News chairman and "60 Minutes" executive producer, told the entertainment industry trade newspaper. "He'll hate hearing this, but he's an American original. His contributions to '60 Minutes' are immeasurable; he's also a great friend."

Fager went on to say the bushy-browed Rooney, whose "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney" segments come at the end of each "60 Minutes" program and typically put a satirical or whimsical twist on mundane experiences or touch on political topics, will always be welcome to appear on the program.

The Hollywood Reporter said Rooney, who began his news career in 1942 as a correspondent for the U.S. Defense Department newspaper Stars and Stripes, is not likely to be permanently replaced.