Charles Osgood, ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ Anchor and Radio Host, Dead at 91

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 10: Charles Osgood attends the 5th annual WFUV Radio Spring Gala at Gotham Hall on May 10, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage)

Charles Osgood, an award-winning journalist known for anchoring CBS Sunday Morning for over two decades, has died. He was 91.

The network announced his death on Jan. 23, sharing that he passed away earlier the same day at his home in New Jersey. His family noted Osgood's cause was dementia.

Osgood spent a total of 45 years at CBS News before his retirement in September 2016. He spent the last 22 of those years with CBS Sunday Morning, which he began anchoring in 1994. The network reported that his tenure on the series brought in its highest ratings in three decades, during which the show won three Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Morning Program.

At CBS News, Osgood was known as the poet-in-residence, frequently showing off his love of poetry and music on the weekend broadcast and tinkling out Christmas tunes on the piano during holiday broadcasts. He also knew how to play the organ, banjo and violin, in addition to singing along to music he sometimes composed himself. Aside from CBS, Osgood also performed with The New York Pops, The Boston Pops and The Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

"To say there's no one like Charles Osgood is an understatement," Sunday Morning executive producer Rand Morrison said in a statement. "He embodied the heart and soul of Sunday Morning. His signature bow tie, his poetry… just his presence was special for the audience, and for those of us who worked with him. At the piano, Charlie put our lives to music. Truly, he was one of a kind—in every sense."

Osgood's successor and current Sunday Morning host Jane Pauley called the late journalist a "masterclass in communicating" and "one of the best broadcast stylists," sharing, "I'll still think to myself, 'How would Charlie say it?', trying to capture the elusive warmth and intelligence of his voice and delivery."

CBS News' current president Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews also spoke on the loss of "the legendary journalist," whom she said "made CBS News what it is today" and whose "impact will be felt on CBS News for decades to come."

He was also the host of his long-running radio program "The Osgood File."

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