Charles Osgood
| Charles Osgood | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Charles Osgood Wood, III |
| Born |
January 8, 1933 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Show | The Osgood File |
| Network | Dial Global |
| Time slot | Varies |
| Show | CBS News Sunday Morning |
| Network | CBS |
| Time slot | Sunday morning, 9:00-10:30 |
| Spouse(s) | Jean Osgood |
| Children | 5 |
| Website | http://www.osgoodfile.com/ |
Charles Osgood (born Charles Osgood Wood, III on January 8, 1933) is an American radio and television commentator and writer. His daily program, The Osgood File, has been broadcast on the CBS Radio Network since 1971. Osgood hosts CBS News Sunday Morning.
In the 1960s he collaborated with composer John Cacavas; their work in US Senator Everett Dirksen's recording of Gallant Men, won a Grammy Award for spoken word performance.[1] He is also known for being the voice of the narrator of Horton Hears a Who!, an animated film released in 2008, based on the book of the same name by Dr. Seuss. He published a memoir of his boyhood in 2004.
Early life and education
Osgood was born in the Bronx, New York City in 1933. As a child, he moved with his family to the Liberty Heights neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic school. His memoir about growing up in Baltimore during World War II is called Defending Baltimore Against Enemy Attack (2004) and he recounts his perspective from age nine.
Osgood graduated from Fordham University in 1954 with a bachelor of science degree in economics. While at Fordham, Osgood worked at the university's FM radio station, WFUV. He made his career in radio and television.
Military service
Charles Osgood was in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1959, when he served as a member of The United States Army Band (Pershing's Own) in Washington, D.C. His duties included performing with The United States Army Chorus and as master of ceremonies for the U.S. Army Concert Band.[2] He is also an accomplished pianist. During this period, he met composer John Cacavas, who was also serving in the Army and was an arranger for the military band. In the 1960s they collaborated on some work together; with US Senator Everett Dirksen, they won a Grammy Award for spoken word performance for his single Gallant Men (1967), with his lyrics.[1]
Radio and television
In August 1967, Osgood anchored the first morning drive shift for WCBS after its conversion to an all-news format. The first day of all-news programming aired on WCBS-FM after an airplane crashed into the AM station's antenna tower on New York's High Island, keeping WCBS off air until a temporary tower could be erected.
Osgood is host of Westwood One's The Osgood File, heard four times each weekday morning drive time on radio stations nationwide. Each three-minute Osgood File focuses on a single story, ranging from a breaking development of national importance to a whimsical human-interest vignette. Some of these he does in rhyme, which is why he is known as CBS's "Poet in Residence."
On television, Osgood has been hosting CBS News Sunday Morning since 1994, having succeeded former host Charles Kuralt. Osgood's tenure as host has now exceeded that of Kuralt. He has also anchored the CBS Afternoon News and the CBS Morning News.
Among his personal trademarks are his bow-tie, his weekly TV signoff "Until then, I'll see you on the radio," and his propensity for delivering his commentaries in whimsical verse. Example: When the Census Bureau invented a designation for cohabitant(s) as "Person(s) of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", or "POSSLQ", Osgood turned it into a pronounceable three-syllable word and composed a prospective love poem that included these lines, which he later used as the title of one of his books:
- "There's nothing that I wouldn't do"
- "If you would be my POSSLQ."
Osgood regularly pronounced the 21st-century years 2001, 2002, etc., as "twenty oh one, twenty oh two..." as opposed to the more common "two thousand one, two thousand two", etc.
Author and journalism
He writes a biweekly syndicated newspaper column. He is the author of six books: Nothing Could Be Finer Than a Crisis That Is Minor in the Morning (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1979); There's Nothing That I Wouldn't Do If You Would Be My POSSLQ (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1981); Osgood on Speaking: How to Think on Your Feet Without Falling on Your Face (William Morrow and Company, 1988); The Osgood Files (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1991); See You on the Radio (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1999); and the most recent, Defending Baltimore Against Enemy Attack (Hyperion, 2004).
Family
Osgood's family is composed of his wife Jean and their five children: Kathleen, Winston, Anne-E., Emily J., and Jamie.[3]
Osgood's nephew, Emmy Award-winning composer Christopher Mangum, composes film scores, including themes for National Geographic specials and The Discovery Channel.
Honors
- 1990: National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, radio division[4]
- 2005: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association[5]
References
- 1 2 Harris M. Lentz III, Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2014, McFarland, 2015, pp. 57-58
- ↑ Parisi, Albert J., "New Jersey Q & A: Charles Osgood; A New Face at CBS 'Sunday Morning'", The New York Times, April 24, 1994
- ↑ Parisi, Albert J. " Q & A: Charles Osgood; A New Face at CBS 'Sunday Morning'", The New York Times, April 24, 1994. Accessed October 19, 2007. "Charles Osgood will be saying a lot more than that in his new, high-visibility television assignment, one he says fills him with pride, joy, and a bit of anxiety about long hours at work and responsibilities at home in Englewood."
- ↑ "NAB Hall of Fame". National Association of Broadcasters. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
- ↑ "Paul White Award". Radio Television Digital News Association. Retrieved 2014-05-27.
External links
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