The CBS Family and the U.S. Has Lost Mike Wallace at 93

CBS News legend Mike Wallace, the "60 Minutes" reporter whose probing, no holds barred style, died last peacefully, surrounded by family at Waveny Care Center in New Canaan, Conn night. He was 93.

Wallace played a huge role in "60 Minutes"' rise to the top of the ratings to become the number-one program of all time, with an astounding 23 seasons on the Nielsen annual top 10 list - five as the number-one program.

Besides his 21 Emmy Awards, Wallace was the recipient of five DuPont-Columbia journalism and five Peabody Awards, and was the Paul White Award winner in 1991, the highest honor given by the Radio and Television News Directors Association. He won the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award grand prize and television first prize in 1996. In June of 1991, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hallof Fame.

Wallace and "60 Minutes" grew partly out of the Watergate scandal. Wallace's interrogations of John Erlichman, G. Gordon Liddy and H.R. whetted the appetites of news junkies. Before long, he was a household name.

Wallace was as famous as the leaders, newsmakers and celebrities who he interviewed, winning awards and a reputation forgetting to the truth on Sunday nights in front of audiences that approached 40
million viewers.

A special program dedicated to Wallace will be broadcast on "60 Minutes" next Sunday, April 15.

Read full story and retrospective at CBSNews.com.