History Creator / WalterCronkite

A TropeCodifier for GlassesPull, as seen in the famous clip where he takes off his glasses and looks into the camera to announce the death of John F. Kennedy (while clearly [[ManlyTears trying not to cry]]). He did the same in a much happier momeht when announcing Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon in 1969.

A TropeCodifier for GlassesPull, as seen in the famous clip where he takes off his glasses and looks into the camera to announce the death of John F. Kennedy (while clearly [[ManlyTears trying not to cry]]), or when he did the same on announcing Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon.

Cronkite ended every one of his news broadcasts with his SigningOffCatchPhrase, "And that's the way it is..." followed by the date on which the appearance was aired. He died of cerebrovascular disease in 2009 at age 92, still atop the list of most trusted people in America.

Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, but grew up in Houston, Texas. He graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Texas (where he was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity, along with his good friend, actor Creator/EliWallach). He met his wife, Mary, in 1940, and the two were together until her death in 2005. He retired from CBS news in 1981, and afterward was a part-time actor, a sailor (he favored sailboats, and was even given the chance to take the helm of the USS ''Constitution'' when she was under sail), a voice-over artist (''[[WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story]]'', ''WesternAnimation/LibertysKids''), and a political activist (he was a confirmed liberal, and supported many humanitarian causes worldwide). He loved music and reading, and was a wargamer (he enjoyed ''Axis and Allies'' and ''Diplomacy''). Late in life he became a friend of Music/TheGratefulDead's Mickey Hart and learned drumming from him, actually getting pretty good.

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[[caption-width-right:282:''[[SigningOffCatchPhrase "And that's the way it is..."]]'']]

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->''[[SigningOffCatchPhrase "And that's the way it is..."]]''

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) is best remembered as the anchorman for ''The Series/CBSEveningNews'' from 1962 to 1981. During that time, he was the man America turned to for the news of some of the most important news stories in the history of the country. At the peak of his popularity, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" (and even today, years after his death, he ''still'' appears in the top ten listing of individuals whom the people trust the most). Oddly enough, Cronkite feuded bitterly with the other news anchor that is often held up as a paragon of journalistic integrity, Edward R. Murrow. Cronkite and Murrow didn't so much feud over the other's integrity or skill as journalists, but rather over a series of misunderstandings and accidental snubs that turned into downright enmity.

The stories on which he reported truly shaped modern America: first-person accounts of Allied bombing runs over Germany in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, the Nuremberg trials, front-line combat in the UsefulNotes/VietnamWar, the assassinations of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr, the Watergate scandal and the subsequent resignation of UsefulNotes/RichardNixon, and the Iran Hostage Crisis. His reporting on the U.S. space program, from Project Mercury to the Moon landings to the Space Shuttle, earned him the Moon Rock Award (the only recipient who was not a member of NASA). The Lyndon Johnson quote above was in response to an op/ed piece he did on the pointlessness of the Vietnam War after personally touring the American lines, which did indeed turn a lot of people against the war.

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) is best remembered as the anchorman for ''The CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During that time, he was the man America turned to for the news of some of the most important news stories in the history of the country. At the peak of his popularity, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" (and even today, years after his death, he ''still'' appears in the top ten listing of individuals whom the people trust the most). Oddly enough, Cronkite feuded bitterly with the other news anchor that is often held up as a paragon of journalistic integrity, Edward R. Murrow. Cronkite and Murrow didn't so much feud over the other's integrity or skill as journalists, but rather over a series of misunderstandings and accidental snubs that turned into downright enmity.

Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, but grew up in Houston, Texas. He graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Texas (where he was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity, along with his good friend, actor Creator/EliWallach). He met his wife, Mary, in 1940, and the two were together until her death in 2005. He retired from CBS news in 1981, and afterward was a part-time actor, a sailor (he favored sailboats), a voice-over artist (''[[WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story]]'', ''WesternAnimation/LibertysKids''), and a political activist (he was a confirmed liberal, and supported many humanitarian causes worldwide). He loved music and reading, and was a wargamer (he enjoyed ''Axis and Allies'' and ''Diplomacy''). Late in life he became a friend of Music/TheGratefulDead's Mickey Hart and learned drumming from him, actually getting pretty good.

-->''[[SigningOffCatchPhrase "And that's the way it is..."]]''

-->''"If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America!"''\\
-- '''UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson''', [[LampshadeHanging hanging a lampshade]] on Walter Cronkite's popularity

Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, but grew up in Houston, Texas. He graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of Texas (where he was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity, along with his good friend, actor Creator/EliWallach). He met his wife, Mary, in 1940, and the two were together until her death in 2005. He retired from CBS news in 1981, and afterward was a part-time actor, a sailor (he favored sailboats), a voice-over artist (''[[WesternAnimation/WereBackADinosaursStory We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story]]'', ''WesternAnimation/LibertysKids''), and a political activist (he was a confirmed liberal, and supported many humanitarian causes worldwide). He loved music and reading, and was a wargamer (he enjoyed ''Axis and Allies'' and ''Diplomacy'').

Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) is best remembered as the anchorman for ''The CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During that time, he was the man America turned to for the news of some of the most important news stories in the history of the country. At the peak of his popularity, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" (and even today, years after his death, he ''still'' appears in the top ten listing of individuals whom the people trust the most).

* AsHimself: Provided the opening narration to {{Film/Apollo13}} to set the stage. Director Creator/RonHoward noted that Cronkite rewrote the script's original wording to put it in "Cronkitese".

A TropeCodifier for GlassesPull, as seen in the famous clip where he takes off his glasses and looks into the camera to announce the death of John F. Kennedy, or when he did the same on announcing Neil Armstrong setting foot on the Moon.

A TropeCodifier for GlassesPull, as seen in the famous clip where he takes off his glasses and looks into the camera to announce the death of John F. Kennedy.

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http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/waltercronkite_4813.jpg

!!Tropes exhibited by Walter Cronkite:

* GlassesPull:
** Go to the video streaming service of your choice, and watch Cronkite take off his glasses as he announces official word of the death of UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy, Nov. 22, 1963.
** He did this again, in a far happier moment, when broadcasting the moon landing in 1969.
* ManlyTears: Barely averted, as he is shown trying to hide his tears when he gives the official word that President Kennedy had died. The moment is iconic in television.

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* AsHimself: Provided the opening narration to Film/Apollo13 to set the stage. Director Creator/RonHoward noted that Cronkite rewrote the script's original wording to put it in "Cronkitese".