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IMDbPro

Walter Cronkite(1916-2009)

  • Actor
  • Editorial Department
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Walter Cronkite
It's Thanksgiving Day, 1970, the Atlantic Ocean. A US patrol boat meets a Soviet fishing vessel. A Soviet sailor jumps across the icy water onto the American boat in a frantic bid for freedom. To his horror, and to the outcry of the world media, the Americans return him to the Soviets. Through rare archival footage and a dramatic, first-person re-enactment by the would-be defector, 86-year-old Simas Kudirka, we relive one of the most unpredictable Cold War muddles.
Play trailer1:44
The Jump (2020)
63 Videos
39 Photos
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the only child of Helen Lena (Fritsche) and Walter Leland Cronkite, a doctor. Throughout his early career, Cronkite worked with newspapers. During World War II, he served as a news reporter. In 1950, Cronkite became a journalist. He signed up with CBS News in 1962 and retired in 1981. Cronkite remained active throughout retirement. He died on July 17, 2009 in New York City. He was 92 years old.
BornNovember 4, 1916
DiedJuly 17, 2009(92)
BornNovember 4, 1916
DiedJuly 17, 2009(92)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Won 1 Primetime Emmy
    • 12 wins & 10 nominations total

Photos39

Walter Cronkite and Ronald DeFeo in Amityville: An Origin Story (2023)
Walter Cronkite and John J. McCloy in JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass (2021)
Walter Cronkite in Television (1988)
Walter Cronkite in Television (1988)
Walter Cronkite in American Experience (1987)
Walter Cronkite
Kevin Bacon and Walter Cronkite in Apollo 13 (1995)
Walter Cronkite in Apollo 13 (1995)
Walter Cronkite in Timeless (2016)
Walter Cronkite in CBS News Extra: Project Mercury flight of Frienship 7 (1962)
Walter Cronkite in CBS News Extra: Project Mercury flight of Frienship 7 (1962)
Walter Cronkite and Grant Holcomb

Known for

Liberty's Kids (2002)
Liberty's Kids
7.9
TV Series
  • Benjamin Franklin(voice)
Cronkite Remembers (1997)
Cronkite Remembers
8.4
TV Mini Series
  • Producer
  • 1997
Edward Asner, Valerie Harper, and Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
8.2
TV Series
  • Walter Cronkite
Elvis Presley in The Twentieth Century (1957)
The Twentieth Century
8.1
TV Series
  • Narrator
  • Self - Host
  • Self - Narrator
  • Self - Reporter
  • Self - Host and Narrator
  • Narrator (voice)

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Tom Sizemore in 21 and a Wake-Up (2009)
    21 and a Wake-Up
    • Narration
    • 2009
  • Liberty's Kids (2002)
    Liberty's Kids
    • Benjamin Franklin (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2002–2003
  • Candice Bergen in Murphy Brown (1988)
    Murphy Brown
    • Walter Cronkite
    • TV Series
    • 1989–1997
  • John Goodman, Jay Leno, Charles Fleischer, Felicity Kendal, René Le Vant, Kenneth Mars, Yeardley Smith, and Joey Shea in We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993)
    We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
    • Captain Neweyes (voice)
    • 1993
  • Spaceship Earth (1982)
    Spaceship Earth
    • 2nd Edition Narrator - 1986-1994 (voice)
    • Short
    • 1982
  • Edward Asner, Valerie Harper, and Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
    The Mary Tyler Moore Show
    • Walter Cronkite
    • TV Series
    • 1974
  • Armstrong Circle Theatre (1950)
    Armstrong Circle Theatre
    • Narrator
    • TV Series
    • 1959
  • You Are There (1953)
    You Are There
    • Narrator
    • Narrated by
    • Host
    • TV Series
    • 1954–1956

Editorial Department

  • Great Books (1993)
    Great Books
    • executive editor
    • TV Series
    • 1993–2002
  • Understanding (1995)
    Understanding
    • executive editor
    • TV Series
    • 1997–2002
  • The War of the Worlds: Great Books (1994)
    The War of the Worlds: Great Books
    • executive editor
    • Video
    • 1994
  • Douglas Edwards in CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite (1962)
    CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite
    • managing editor
    • TV Series
    • 1970

Producer

  • Great Books (1993)
    Great Books
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 1994–2000
  • Understanding (1995)
    Understanding
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 1998
  • Cronkite Remembers (1997)
    Cronkite Remembers
    • executive producer
    • TV Mini Series
    • 1997
  • Outer Space: Can We Afford to Go?
    • executive producer
    • TV Movie
    • 1994
  • The Cronkite Report: The Faltering Dream
    • executive producer
    • TV Movie
    • 1993
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos63

Breaking News: the Collision of Journalism and Consumerism in a Democracy
Full Movie 56:42
Breaking News: the Collision of Journalism and Consumerism in a Democracy
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:44
Official Trailer
The Seventies
Trailer 1:01
The Seventies
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:19
Official Trailer
Fail Safe
Trailer 1:21
Fail Safe
Liberty's Kids: The Complete Series
Trailer 1:48
Liberty's Kids: The Complete Series
Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony
Trailer 1:48
Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony
Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony
Trailer 1:44
Amandla: A Revolution in Four Part Harmony
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Royal Albert Hall Celebration
Trailer 0:42
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Royal Albert Hall Celebration
War And Civilization
Trailer 1:10
War And Civilization
k.d. lang: Landmarks Live in Concert: A Great Performances Special
Trailer 3:44
k.d. lang: Landmarks Live in Concert: A Great Performances Special
Great Performances
Trailer 0:17
Great Performances

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 11½″ (1.82 m)
  • Born
    • November 4, 1916
    • St. Joseph, Missouri, USA
  • Died
    • July 17, 2009
    • Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA(cerebrovascular disease)
  • Spouse
    • Mary Elizabeth "Betsy" MaxwellMarch 27, 1940 - March 16, 2005 (her death, 3 children)
  • Other works
    Narration for Spaceship Earth ride at EPCOT Center, Walt Disney World; used until 1994.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 2 Print Biographies
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 2 Interviews
    • 18 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    In 1969 when Apollo XI was going to the Moon, Cronkite was on the air 27 of the 30 hours that it took for the flight, which many in the profession called "Walter to Walter" coverage. At the moment that Neil Armstrong stepped off the ladder of the Lunar Module onto the Moon surface, Cronkite was speechless for the first time in his career. All he could say was "Wow!" and "Oh Boy!". Famous words that will live in history.
  • Quotes
    It is increasingly clear that the only rational way out will be to negotiate, not as victors but as an honorable people who lived up to the pledge to defend democracy." (Cronkite's famous quote after the disastrous North Vietnamese Tet Offensive, which many say was the turning point in the Vietnam Conflict. President Lyndon Johnson, upon hearing Cronkite pull his support for further military involvement, is quoted as saying, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost Middle America.
  • Trademarks
      Always closed his newscasts by saying "And that's the way it is"
  • Nicknames
    • Uncle Walter
    • Walter Wilcox
    • The Most Trusted Man in America

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