CBS News has notified that the venerable reporter and commentator Andy Rooney died today. He recently had routine, simple surgery but it complicated requiring readmission to the hospital.

Andrew Aitken "Andy" Rooney (January 14, 1919- November 5, 2011) is an American radio and television writer. He is most notable for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program 60 Minutes from 1978 to 2011. His final regular appearance on 60 Minutes aired October 2, 2011.

He was a fairly controversial person. He made racist comments on baseball players, which though insensitive, he always told the truth as he saw it… the comment should be balanced with the fact that he was arrested in the 1940’s (!) for protesting segregation by sitting in the back of a bus in the south. He was also quite regretful for the prejudicial statement made about homosexuals. As a master of the art of words, he could have balanced his better at times. We all can, and should.

The public largely viewed him as a curmudgeon, but this was a pose he adopted. Acquaintances and long term friends characterized him as ‘the nicest guy in the world’.

Whatever your view, he lived 92 years and made mistakes and missteps as well as having done great journalism as well: He was human. He is survived by his four children and their families. His wife of 62 years passed away in 2004, which caused him great pain as evidenced by his not writing about her as much as earlier in his career, through today... the day of his passing.