Walter Cronkite Biography, Wiki, Net Worth, Cause Of Death, Facts

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Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr., popularly known as Walter Cronkite was an American broadcast journalist best known as anchorman for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) Evening News. 

Having worked with newspapers for 19 years, the journalist was regarded as the most trusted man in the U.S. he was a pioneer of television news programming and served in the broadcaster until he retired in 1981.

Biography And Wiki

Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri on November 4, 1916. His mother’s name is Helen Lena (née Fritsche) while his father’s name is Walter Leland Cronkite. They died in November 1993 and May 1973 respectively. But before then, Cronkite had lived with them first in Kansas City, Missouri before the family moved to Houston, Texas where he began his elementary education at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School. After this, he furthered his education at Lanier Junior High School (now Lanier Middle School) and San Jacinto High School.

 

While at school, Cronkite who was an avid reader of books, magazines, and newspapers, became an editor for his school’s newspapers. In 1933, the young journalist was admitted at the University of Texas, Austin to study political science, economics, and journalism. To help pay his tuition fee, Cronkite took up a job as a correspondent for a Houston newspaper while engaging himself in other school activities like Boys scout and the Social Fraternity Chi Phi. In 1939, after he had dropped out of the University, Cronkite became a news editor for United Press. From there, the young journalist’s career stepped up as he was awarded a higher position as a war correspondent, where he was assigned to cover the U.S involvement in the World War II of 1941, in Europe.

In 1950, he became a full-time journalist and was moved to London where he was assigned a new job to report the German bombing raids on the city and cover the invasion of North Africa. All through the rest of the 1950s, Cronkite hosted lots of TV shows, including the CBS’ You Are There, an imaginary broadcast of historical events; The Morning Show; a documentary series, The Twentieth Century; and the CBS news-discussion series Pick the Winner; among many others. However, one of Cronkite’s famous broadcast was the assassination of the 35th President of the US, John F. Kennedy, in November 1963. This was a very controversial moment for the American citizens who remained hooked up to Walter Cronkite as he unfolded information about the president’s killing. Other broadcasts which he was famous for include the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal. Following his activeness, he was numbered among the few journalists of his time who helped shape the face of television news. He, however, retained his position as the CBS Evening News anchor until his retirement in 1981.

Walter Cronkite’s Net Worth

Before his retirement in March 6, 1981, Cronkite had won numerous awards including the Carr Van Anda Award for enduring contributions to journalism offered to him in 1968 by the faculty of the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University; the Paul White Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981. Cronkite received the prestigious Peabody Award twice, but the News World International Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 and the Harry S Truman Good Neighbor Award from the Truman Foundation in 2004 were the most recent awards he won before his death on Jul 17, 2009. At the time of his death, the American broadcast journalist had a net worth of $20 million. One of his biggest contracts was in 1981 when he signed a 7-year deal with the CBS which offered him $1 million per year. When he was hired as a consultant for the network, he was paid $150,000 per year. His Net worth has continuously dropped since his demise.

 

 Cause Of Walter Cronkite’s Death

Cronkite died on July 17, 2009, at the age of 92. The reported cause of his death was cerebrovascular disease- a health condition that affects blood supply to the brain. He died four years after the demise of his beloved wife, Mary Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Maxwell Cronkite who died of cancer on March 15, 2005. The couple married on March 30, 1940, and they had three kids including the American actress and mental health professional, Kathy Cronkite, Nancy Cronkite and Walter Leland (Chip) Cronkite III who is married to popular actress Deborah Rush.

Walter Cronkite died at his home in New York City and was buried next to his wife at their family cemetery plot in Kansas City, Missouri.

Quick Facts About Walter Cronkite Jr.

Real Name: Walter Leland Cronkite Jr.
Birth Date:November 4, 1916
Birth Place:Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Death Date And Age:July 17, 2009, at age 92
Occupation:Television and radio broadcaster, news anchor
Height:1.82m
Net Worth At the time of Death:$20 Million
Current Net Worth:N/A
Spouse:  Mary Elizabeth “Betsy” Maxwell
Children:Nancy Elizabeth Cronkite, Walter Cronkite III

 

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