Reducing the role of Wayne Rooney on "60 Minutes"
Andy Rooney, folk, and often mean essays have been a staple of "60 Minutes" for more than three decades, will end his regular weekly performances on the program CBS said Tuesday.

Mr. Rooney, 92, set in 1096 comments to the magazine became a regular contributor in 1978, according to CBS. He will formally announce his reduced role in 1097 in an essay room on Sunday night.

His essay will be "preceded by a segment in which Rooney looks back at his career in an interview with Morley's safe," the network said in a statement.

"It's harder to do this every week, but he will always have the opportunity to voice their opinions on '60 Minutes», when the urge hits him, "said Jeff Fager, the chairman of CBS News and executive producer of the show.

But people close to Mr. Rooney said it was unlikely that he will make many appearances, if any, and in the future. The man who did not want to be named, said the plan is for him to withdraw from the program has been in the works for some time. Because he took the place of honor on display, move, Mr. Rooney not be characterized in terms of formal retirement, they said.

"There's no one like Andy and never will," the statement g-Fager said. "He will hate hearing this, but he was an American original."

After CBS, Mr. Rooney declined to comment.

Mr. Rooney was obvious when there is no political magazine started a new season on Sunday night, and he was not listed on the announcement CBS.

The change was first reported by TVNewser. In an interview with the Web site last year, Mr. Rooney said that he planned to work on "60 Minutes" until he "dropped dead" and he added: "Until someone tells me different, I'm not going to go . "

For many viewers, Mr. Rooney's weekly comments on the weakness of life, commerce and politics has become a favorite feature of the program, which was for years the most popular on television. But even when his popularity soared, he sometimes ran counter to several groups, including Hispanics, American Indians and gays and lesbians because of his comments.

War correspondent during World War II, Mr. Rooney joined the network in 1949 as a writer for a show called "Arthur Godfrey's Talent." In 1960 he wrote and produced the television feature stories for the reporter Harry Reasoner, and when CBS was created "60 Minutes" in 1968, he produced some of the segments, Mr. Reasoner for the program. Ten years later he became a regular commentator.

"60 Minutes" remains by far the most popular magazine on American television. Show survived any number of changes over the years, including the death of Ed Bradley, correspondent in 2006. Another veteran correspondent, Mike Wallace, retired from full-time this year.