August 19, 2009 – If you’ve ever watched “60 Minutes” on CBS, you have Don Hewitt to thank. The newsman was responsible for inventing the popular news program AND kept it up and running for over 36 years. Hewitt succumbed to his long battle with pancreatic cancer on Wednesday at the age of 86, his death following fellow CBS legend Walter Cronkite, who died a month prior.

Hewitt joined the CBS News at the program’s inception back in 1948, and was in charge of producing the first televised presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. The 1960s were an important time for Hewitt, when he continued to make his mark on prime-time broadcasting. In the late 60’s, the CBS executives agreed to try his idea of an hour-long broadcast that combined hard news and anecdotal-type stories.

“The formula is simple,” he wrote in a memoir in 2001, “and it’s reduced to four words every kid in the world knows: Tell me a story. It’s that easy.” Hewitt dreamed of creating a television program that combined interviews with popular entertainers with police investigations. On September 24, 1968, “60 Minutes” was born, and the news was never the same!

Hewitt’s first hire was reporter Mike Wallace, who was infamous for his hard-line reporting and investigation of political scandals. Other famous names who got their start on “60 Minutes” include the likes of Harry Reasoner, Morley Safer, Ed Bradley and Diane Sawyer. During Hewbitt’s leadership, the show won 73 Emmy Awards, 13 DuPont/Columbia University Awards and nine Peabody Awards. “60 Minutes” became the Sunday evening fixture in millions of homes across the country, frequently rated in the top ten television shows.

Have you noticed that news anchors frequently read from cue cards or electronic readers? That was Hewitt’s idea. He is also famous for his role in the Kennedy-Nixon debate. Before the candidates headed on stage, Hewitt asked the politicians if they wanted makeup. The tan and fit JFK declined, and Nixon followed suit. This proved to be a big mistake.

“As every student of politics knows, that debate — like a Miss America contest — turned on who made the better appearance, not with what he said but with how he looked,” Hewitt recalled later. “Kennedy won hands down.”

“60 Minutes” was definitely known for broadcasting the most controversial and hot-topics. Presidential hopeful Bill Clinton discussed questions of infidelity in 1992, and Al Gore used the show as a venue to announce that he wouldn’t be running for president in 2004. When “60 Minutes” aired a segment that featured a tape of Dr. Jack Kevorkian lethally injecting a patient back in 1998, the country erupted in debate.

Hewitt retired from “60 Minutes” back in 2004, but he still continued to be a strong influence on television. In 2007, he produced the televised version of the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular,” thereby bringing the popular holiday performance to the masses.

Hewitt is survived by his wife, Marilyn, and four children. Thanks for the memories, Don!