Roger Mudd has just passed away at 93, living so long after his days as a newscaster, journalist and political pundit that I'm sure there will those who ask themselves, "he was alive yesterday?"
I remember Roger Mudd on CBS News, and eventually on NBC and PBS. He obviously had a brain, and was a thoughtful interviewer, not someone who is paid to get a rise out of people or complete an agenda. He was a sober, not somber journalist.
I didn't know he was hoping to the heir to Walter Cronkite, and when he didn't it he left the network for NBC. When you get passed over, you leave.
I love that his obit fell to Robert McFadden, who writes: "Mr. Mudd was an exception: an experienced reporter who covered Congress and politics and delivered award-winning reports in a smooth mid-Atlantic baritone with erudition, authority and touches of sardonic humor." He made you want to pay attention.
I don't particularly remember the interview with Ted Kennedy in 1979 that apparently help sink Ted's hopes to follow in his brothers' footsteps and seek the Democratic nomination for president.
Ted Kennedy was always sticking his toe in the presidential waters after the assassination of Robert in 1968. Will he, won't he seek the nomination? Ted Kennedy was always seen as a bit of a dilettante, a little less capable of higher office than John and Robert. The 1969 accident on the On Time Ferry in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts, a small island off Martha's Vineyard, in which his car slid off and plunged into the water, trapping a campaign worker Mary Joe Kopecky who drowned and his considered feeble response to the accident in securing help did nothing for his political career.
But there we was in 1979, seriously looking to grab the nomination from the incumbent president Jimmy Carter. And there apparently was Roger Mudd who apparently asked Ted Kennedy, point blank, "why do you want to be president?" It was hardly an unfair question, given the assassinations of his two older brothers, leaving him as the sole male in the family with a mother who was still alive.
Ted Kennedy fumbled the ball. The transcript of his answer is given in his obituary as being that of a stammering response that caught him off guard: "Well, I'm—were I to—make the announcement and to run, the reasons that I would run is because that I would run is because I have a great belief in this country." An hour under the scrutiny of Roger Mudd his chances sunk like his car in 1969.
I once read that David O. Selznick predicted his obituary would lead off with the fact hat he produced the 1939 movie 'Gone with the Wind.' After all, it is considered one of the all-time great movies. And sure enough, when he did pass away, the lede was about being the producer for the film.
I don't know if Roger Mudd imagined how his obituary would start, but the headline in yesterday's NYT answered the question: Roger Mudd, Savvy Anchorman Who Stumped a Kennedy, Is Dead at 93. Roger won a Peabody broadcasting award for the Kennedy interview
If you don't read the rest you might assume Roger Mudd hosted a game show and a Kennedy showed up and didn't get to come back the next day.
Mr. Mudd's fame over a question makes me wonder what will Katie Couric be remembered for? Katie, like Roger has had many jobs in broadcasting, and now even the first female host on 'Jeopardy.' Jeopardy, if you don't know, is having a succession of celebrity hosts following the passing of Alex Trebek. The story goes that even Aaron Rogers, the Green Bay quarterback, is slated to be a guest host.
But for me, Katie will always be remembered for asking the Republican vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin in 2008, "what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for..."
There was an obvious condescension to Couric's question, implying that anyone who comes from the wilds of Alaska, even if you are the governor, probably doesn't stay connected with the Lower 48. Why, you might even not read.
Palin, not being the brightest, or quick-witted of people, was thrown a bit by the question, but did reply, "I've read most of them...all of them." What Sarah didn't do was throw it right back in Couric's face and tell her that Alaska is indeed part of the United States, we do read, and we do know what's going on. We're just as informed as you are. Opportunity missed.
 |
| Samuel A. Mudd |
And indeed that is in the obit, that "an ancestor was Samuel A. Mudd, a doctor who went to prison for treating John Wiles Booth for the broken leg he suffered jumping to the stage of Ford's Theater after shooting Abraham Lincoln in 1865." (It was later thought Booth's leg was broken when a horse fell on him during a stage of his escape.)
Whaaaaaaaat? The doc was tried and found guilty for treating a broken leg? Well, not quite. Samuel Mudd was thought to be part of the conspiracy to kill Lincoln because Booth went to his house for treatment as he was on the run after the assassination. Booth was a wanted man for 12 days before they shot him in a tobacco barn he sought refuge in.
Dr. Mudd avoided the death sentence by a single vote of the jury. He has sentenced to life in Federal prison, but was pardoned by President Johnson in 1869 after he helped treat a severe outbreak of yellow fever at the prison.
Dr. Mudd had met Booth at least once before the assassination, but he was guilty of conspiracy by association. An active involvement in the plot was never truly determined. Despite the pardon, the conviction record was never expunged even after he returned to his practice and farming.
I found it very interesting that Wikipedia, in mentioning the relationship of Roger Mudd to Doctor Mudd, yesterday already had the fact that Roger Mudd has passed away (1928-2021). Wiki was also emphatic that Roger was a relative, not a descendent as had always been reported.
What's the difference? My guess is Roger's relationship to Samuel A. Mudd was through some ancestor's marriage, not a blood-line relationship. Just like in my family tree I'm related through a marriage to the drag queen, playwright Charles Busch through a cousin from Syracuse. I've never gotten free tickets because of it, but I have emailed Mr. Busch and told him I've enjoyed his performances in his plays. (I was hoping for tickets.)
Katie Couric is still with us, and hosting 'Jeopardy' these days. The lede for her obit is still out there. But, will it have anything to do with Sarah Palin?
Only time will tell.
http://www.onofframp.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment