Harry Reasoner (April 17, 1923 – August 6, 1991) was an American journalist for CBS and ABC News, known for his adroit use of language as a television commentator and as one of the original hosts of the news magazine 60 Minutes (1968–1970, 1978–1991). Over the course of his career, Reasoner won three Emmy Awards and a George Foster Peabody Award in 1967. Early life Reasoner was born on First Street North in Dakota City, Iowa; he and his older sister, Esther, were the children of Eunice (Nicholl) and Harry Ray Reasoner, who married in 1911. Harry Reasoner was taught to read by his parents before entering school, gaining a broad vocabulary from his mother. Reasoner attended West High School in Minneapolis, where he developed an interest in journalism. He authored a story titled "The Wench of the Week," which garnered the attention of the principal, who expelled Reasoner, but later let him return following a plea from a fellow student. Reasoner graduated in January 1940, having missed the 1939 class graduation ceremony. He studied journalism at Stanford University and the University of Minnesota, receiving a journalism degree from the latter's School of Journalism in 1989 at the age of 66. Reasoner served in the Army during World War II and after the war, he resumed his journalism career with The Minneapolis Times. His novel Tell Me About Women, about a fading marriage, was written partly during his war service and was first published in 1946. Journalism After beginning to work in radio with CBS in 1948, Reasoner worked for the United States Information Agency in the Philippines. When he returned to the US, he transitioned into working in television while at station KEYD (later KMSP) in Minneapolis. He ran for city council in Minneapolis as a Republican in 1949 receiving 381 votes (4.4 percent). In 1956, Reasoner joined CBS News in New York. There in addition to commentator and special news narration duties, he eventually hosted a morning news program, Calendar, from 1961 to 1963. JFK assassination Reasoner took part in covering the John F. Kennedy assassination on Friday, November 22, 1963. Walter Cronkite and Charles Collingwood had been switching back and forth to report on the incident for about four hours after Cronkite broke the news at 1:40 p.m. EST. Reasoner took over the anchor chair after Collingwood tossed it to him at 5:49 p.m. EST and opened