R.I.P. Walter Cronkite, America's Most Trusted Man

Above: The actual first episode of the "CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite," from 1962! At the start, Cronkite trumpets that this represented the first-ever half-hour network newscast. (Until then, the network news lasted only 15 minutes.) The first newscast includes a one-on-one between Cronkite and President Kennedy. (This clip comes from 1992, when CBS reaired it as a portion of "Up to the Minute.")



Here's live, as-it-happened coverage of Man's first steps on the moon, as covered live by Cronkite on CBS. Indeed, it's rather poetic that Cronkite just passed on during the 40th anniversary of a story that was so identified with him.



And of course, the moment when he reported the death of President Kennedy. That simple gesture -- Cronkite taking his thick glasses off while announcing the news -- has become iconic.

And for something fun: Here, Walter Cronkite and other legendary CBS newsmen -- Charles Collingwood, Douglas Edwards, Eric Sevareid, and Robert Trout -- are guests on "What's My Line" in 1956:

Retro Friday: Martin Luther King Jr., 1968

Forty years ago, April 4: Martin Luther King Jr. is gunned down in Memphis. Here, Walter Cronkite informs a stunned America of the tragic news. Below, Robert Kennedy Jr. breaks the news during a speech in Indianapolis. RFK, of course, would meet a similar fate justa few months later.

Retro Friday: Johnny Carson

Dan Rather is back in the spotlight, having just hit former employer CBS with a megabucks lawsuit. Rather argues that his departure from the network represented a breach of contract.

In 1981, the transition between Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather went much smoother -- even though behind the scenes Cronkite was fuming over the loss of his chair.

Here's a classic clip of Johnny Carson, doing a pretty good Cronkite impression as he re-enacts how the newsman's final night on the "CBS Evening News" shoulda gone. If anything, it's a reminder of how great Carson was, and why, even after his passing, he's still the late night gold standard.