Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years (1962–81). During the heyday of CBS News in the 1970s and 1980s, he was often cited in viewer opinion polls as “the most trusted man in America” because of his professional experience and kindly demeanor. Cronkite died on July 17, 2009 at the age of 92 from cerebrovascular disease, described by his son as complications from dementia.
Born Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr.
November 4, 1916(1916-11-04)
St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Died July 17, 2009 (aged 92)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation Television and Radio Broadcaster
Title CBS Evening News Anchor
Religious belief(s) Episcopal
Notable credit(s) CBS Evening News
Early life
Cronkite was born in Saint Joseph, Missouri, the son of Helen Lena (née Fritsche) and Dr. Walter Leland Cronkite, a dentist.He had remote Dutch ancestry on his father’s side, the family surname originally being Krankheyt.
Cronkite lived in Kansas City, Missouri until he was ten, when his family moved to Houston, Texas. He attended junior high school at Lanier Junior High School (now Lanier Middle School) and high school at San Jacinto High School where he edited the high school newspaper.[1] He was a member of the Boy Scouts. He attended college at The University of Texas at Austin, where he worked on The Daily Texan, and became a member of the Nu chapter of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He also was a member of the Houston chapter of DeMolay, a Masonic fraternal organization for boys. It was while attending the University of Texas that Cronkite had his first taste of performance appearing in a play with fellow students Eli Wallach and Ann Sheridan.
Personal life
Cronkite was married for nearly sixty-five years to Betsy Maxwell Cronkite, whom he married on March 30, 1940. They remained together until her death on March 16, 2005. They had three children: Nancy Cronkite, Kathy Cronkite, and Walter (Chip) Cronkite III (who is married to actress Deborah Rush). Cronkite also had four grandchildren, two of whom, Peter Cronkite and Walter Cronkite IV, are alumni of St. Bernard’s School. Peter Cronkite is currently attending Horace Mann School. Walter attends Hamilton College, having graduated from The Horace Mann School.
Cronkite at the helm of the USS Constitution in July 1997.In late 2005 Cronkite began dating opera singer Joanna Simon, Carly Simon’s older sister. Of their relationship Cronkite stated in an interview for the New York Post in January 2006: “We are keeping company, as the old phrase used to be.”
Cronkite’s family was Protestant and changed their denomination three times while he was a child. Cronkite himself joined the Episcopal church as a youth explaining in a 1994 interview:
“I got into a Boy Scout troop that met in an Episcopal church. The church had a wonderful minister who was also the scoutmaster. And I suppose you can say he proselytized me. At any rate, I was much involved with the church, and became Episcopalian – and an acolyte. Later, when I worked for a paper in Houston, I was church editor for a while. The Episcopal House of Bishops met in Houston one year, and I became intrigued by the leaders of the church – fascinated by their discussions and their erudition.”

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