Veteran newsman Dan Rather opens up about his favorite interviews and why he’ll never retire.
The veteran journalist opens up about his marriage, kids and one amazing career
Few newscasters in history have had as distinguished a career as Dan Rather, who spent 44 years at CBS News and is starting the eighth season of The Big Interview With Dan Rather, his AXS TV show. Now 88, he laughs when asked about retirement. “I can’t say I never think about it, but I don’t think about it very long,” Dan tells Closer from New York, where he lives with Jean, his wife of 63 years. “My parents and their parents were hardworking people, and I love journalism,” he says. “So long as I have my health, I’d like to go full-throttle forward. I would much rather wear out than rust out.”
Congratulations on eight seasons of The Big Interview. Any highlights for you?
I think we’ve done 155 interviews — that number staggers me. Willie Nelson is an old friend, and he’s very intelligent with a wide range of interests. Dolly Parton is direct and candid with a wonderful sense of humor. This season I thought Debbie Harry from Blondie would be very standoffish, but she gave very intelligent answers and got pretty deep about serving as a muse for Andy Warhol.
Which interview surprised you most?
Ringo Starr — so approachable, but he had an airplane to catch. The lady in charge said, “He’s only got 12 minutes.” I said, “We can’t.” She was nice, but it was her way or the highway, so we agreed. After about 20 minutes, I changed the subject to a charity he’s very interested in. So it was kind of a struggle to keep him in the chair, but he was so good-humored about it, and I think we got an hour!
You interviewed members of R.E.M., whose 1994 song “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?” paraphrased a man who attacked you on the street in 1986. What are your feelings about that now?
Pretty much what they were in 1986. A lot of water has crossed under bridges, but R.E.M. couldn’t have been better to me. When the song came out, I didn’t quite know what to make of it at first. But we stayed friends.
What other interviews are highlights?
Martin Luther King Jr. in the early ’60s.
Dr. Nelson Mandela on the night that he was released after 27 years in prison. I’ve talked to every president since Harry Truman. And when I interviewed Saddam Hussein during the first Gulf War in [the Republican] Palace in Baghdad, I didn’t have anyone with me. That was a tense and anxious time.
Any moment that set you on your path?
I had rheumatic fever from roughly age 11-and-a-half to 14. It was almost as bad as polio — it could cripple you and there was no known cure. So I was bedridden for the better part of those years and the radio became my constant companion. It was World War II. I heard great correspondents — Edward R. Murrow, Eric Sevareid — from faraway places, leading what seemed to be adventurous lives doing meaningful work.