Mike Wallace, Iconic American Journalist, Dies at 93

Mike Wallace — an entertainer in the early days of television who rose to become one of America's best known broadcast journalists — has died. He was 93.

In a statement Sunday, the CBS network said Wallace died Saturday at an extended care facility in Connecticut after a long illness.

Wallace spent nearly 40 years on the ground-breaking CBS news magazine “60 Minutes.” There, he interviewed hundreds of the world's most prominent public figures, from U.S. presidents, generals, artists and athletes to international dignitaries, writers, playwrights and Hollywood stars. He also interviewed scores of lesser-known figures, including suspected cheats, fraudsters, and many others alleged to have used dubious means to achieve wealth and fame.

CBS on Sunday cited Wallace's “extraordinary contribution as a broadcaster,” calling him “a force within the television industry throughout its existence.”

Wallace's relentless style drew millions of viewers and fans to Sunday night television, where “60 Minutes” has been a mainstay since its first broadcast segment in 1968. But that style also drew criticism and a highly publicized lawsuit stemming from the Vietnam War.

That suit, brought by army General William C. Westmoreland — the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam — sought $120 million in damages for a Wallace-anchored “60 Minutes” report alleging the general deceived the American public by under-counting the enemy in Vietnam. The case went to trial in 1984, and months later Westmoreland withdrew the suit.

Wallace later revealed in an interview with colleague Morley Safer that he had attempted suicide during the lawsuit crisis. He later spoke repeatedly about his recovery from depression and said the years after the attempt were some of the most productive of his long life.

Photo: Journalist Mike Wallace in the television program Mike Wallace Interviews, 1957.

Former Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro Dead at 93

Former Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who helped rewrite Italian politics after a devastating corruption scandal in the 1990s, has died at age 93.

No cause of death was given.

After working as a lawyer to help anti-Fascists jailed in World War II, Mr. Scalfaro entered politics and helped cobble together Italy's first constitution as a republic.

He was elected president in 1992 just as news of a widespread corruption scandal involving bribery and illegal political party funding emerged. The scandal wiped out the traditional two-party system in favor of today's multi-party coalitions.

Current Italian President Giorgio Napolitano praised Mr. Scalfaro as a leader of moral integrity who confronted one of the most difficult periods in Italian history.

Photo of Oscar Luigi Scalfaro courtesy of Presidenza della Repubblica.

Final Exits, 22-28 August 2011

Wing Commander Billy Drake in May-June 1943. The United States Distinguished Flying Cross awarded to him can be partly seen, pinned to Drake's chest in the lower right corner of the picture. Photo: RAF/Imperial War Museum.

Obituaries for 22-28 August 2011 

22
* Abdul Aziz Abdul Ghani, 72, Yemeni politician, Prime Minister (1994–1997).
* Atiyah Abd al-Rahman, Libyan-born Afghan Al-Qaeda leader.
* Nickolas Ashford, 70, American R&B singer-songwriter (Ashford & Simpson), throat cancer.
* Vicco von Bülow, 87, German cartoonist and actor. (German)
* John Howard Davies, 72, English television producer and director (Fawlty Towers, The Good Life), former child actor (Oliver Twist), cancer.
* Evgeni Dushko, 35, Russian politician, mayor of Sergiyev Posad, shot. (Russian)
* B.J. Hopper, 86, American actor (Flakes, The Toy, Because of Winn-Dixie).
* Jesper Klein, 66, Danish actor, liver cancer. (Danish)
* Jack Layton, 61, Canadian politician, Leader of the Official Opposition (2011) and New Democratic Party (2003–2011), cancer.
* Jerry Leiber, 78, American songwriter ("Stand By Me", "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City"), cardiopulmonary failure.
* Samuel Menashe, 85, American poet, natural causes.
* Tony Ruffino, 74, American concert promoter, stroke.
* Michael Showers, 45, American actor (Treme, Breaking Bad, The Vampire Diaries), drowned.

23
* Paul Francis Duffy, 79, American-born Zambian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Mongu (1997–2011).
* Jeanette Ingberman, 59, American art curator, co-founder of Exit Art, complications of leukemia.
* Sybil Jason, 83, American child actress.
* Charles Jones, 56, New Zealand sports administrator, president of the World Croquet Federation. (body found on this date)
* Cephas Mashakada, 51, Zimbabwean musician, complications due to diabetes.
* Tamara Poletika, 89, Russian animator. (Russian)
* Frank Potenza, 77, American police officer and actor (Jimmy Kimmel Live!).
* Hasballah M. Saad, 63, Indonesian politician, Human Rights Minister (1999–2000).
* Peter Terpeluk, Jr., 63, American diplomat, Ambassador to Luxembourg (2002–2005), heart attack.
* Joey Vento, 71, American restaurateur, founder and owner of Geno's Steaks, heart attack.
* Curley Williams, 86, American baseball player (Newark Eagles).

24
* Janey Cutler, 82, Scottish singer (Britain's Got Talent).
* Frank DiLeo, 63, American music industry executive and actor (Goodfellas, Wayne's World), heart complications.
* Esther Gordy Edwards, 91, American Motown executive, creator of Hitsville U.S.A..
* Seyhan Erözçelik, 49, Turkish poet.
* Chango Farías Gómez, 73, Argentine folkloric musician and singer, lung infection.
* Mike Flanagan, 59, American baseball player (Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays), suicide by gunshot.
* Jenő Gerbovits, 86, Hungarian politician, minister without portfolio (1990–1991), tractor accident. (Hungarian)
* Paul Harney, 82, American golfer.
* Jack Hayes, 92, American composer and orchestrator (The Color Purple, The Unsinkable Molly Brown), natural causes.
* Clemente Isnard, 94, Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Nova Friburgo (1960–1992).
* Neil Kent, 49, British motorcycle racer, racetrack crash.
* Graeme Moody, 60, New Zealand sports broadcaster, drowned.
* Alfons Van Brandt, 84, Belgian footballer. (Dutch)

25
* Petre Bakevski, 64, Macedonian poet and publicist. (Macedonian)
* Donna Christanello, 69, American professional wrestler, heart attack.
* Jyles Coggins, 90, American politician, Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina (1975–1977).
* Elliott Johnston, 93, Australian judge.
* Graham Leggat, 51, Scottish-born American film society administrator, director of the San Francisco International Film Festival, cancer.
* Humberto Millan Salazar, 53, Mexican journalist, gunshot wound.
* Lazar Mojsov, 90, Macedonian politician, President of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1987–1988). (Serbian)
* Eugene Nida, 96, American linguist and bible translator.

26
* Aloysius Ambrozic, 81, Slovenian-born Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Toronto (1990–2006).
* George Band, 82, British mountaineer.
* Ernest Makhanya, 49, South African footballer, after short illness.
* John McAleese, 61, British SAS soldier involved in the Iranian Embassy Siege.
* Liz Meyer, 59, American bluegrass music singer-songwriter, cancer.
* Lorenzo Morales, 97, Colombian vallenato composer.
* Susan Fromberg Schaeffer, 71, American novelist and educator, complications of a stroke.
* Donn A. Starry, 86, American army officer, Commanding General, TRADOC (1977–1981).

27
* Heribert Barrera i Costa, 94, Spanish politician. (Spanish)
* Lykourgos Kallergis, 97, Greek actor, director and politician.
* Stetson Kennedy, 94, American folklorist and civil rights activist.
* Daniel Morcombe, 13, Australian schoolboy, missing since 2003. (death confirmed on this date)
* John Parke, 74, Northern Irish footballer (Linfield, Hibernian, Sunderland, Northern Ireland), Alzheimer's disease.
* Iya Savvina, 75, Russian actress, People's Artist of the USSR. (Russian)

28
* Billy Drake, 93, British fighter pilot.
* Bruno Gamberini, 61, Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Campinas (since 2004).
* Len Ganley, 68, Northern Irish snooker referee.
* Johnny Giosa, 42, American drummer (BulletBoys), car accident.
* Martin Hines, 64, British entrepreneur, world go-kart champion.
* Leonidas Kyrkos, 87, Greek politician, after short illness. (Greek)
* Dmitri Royster, 87, American hierarch (Orthodox Church in America), Archbishop of the Diocese of the South (1978–2009).
* Dan Sicko, 42, American music journalist, ocular melanoma.

Former First Lady Betty Ford Dies

Former U.S. first lady Betty Ford, an outspoken advocate for women's rights and the founder of the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse, has died at the age of 93. Family members said she died Friday evening.

Mrs. Ford was born in Chicago in 1918. She moved to New York in her twenties where she worked as a dancer and a model.

The late president Gerald Ford was her second husband. The two wed shortly before he was elected to serve in congress in 1948. In 1974, the couple moved to the White House, after the Watergate scandal led president Richard Nixon to resign.

As first lady, Betty Ford became known for her candor, famously discussing women's rights, premarital sex, and abortion in a television interview. She was also diagnosed with breast cancer while at the White House, and became an advocate for breast cancer research and awareness.

After leaving the White House, Mrs. Ford admitted and sought treatment for an addiction to alcohol and painkillers. She co-founded the Betty Ford Center in 1982, still one of the most well-known and well-regarded treatment centers for substance abuse.

President Barack Obama said Mrs. Ford distinguished herself through her courage and compassion. He said that as the nation's first lady, she was a powerful advocate for women's health and women's rights.

Former president Jimmy Carter praised Mrs. Ford for her work in improving mental health and substance abuse care.

Former president George H.W. Bush called Mrs. Ford a “courageous first lady,” a “wonderful wife and mother,” and a “great friend.”

Another former first lady, Nancy Reagan said Mrs. Ford was an “inspiration to so many” thanks to her efforts at the Betty Ford Center, and to educate people about breast cancer.

Illustration: Betty Ford's official White House portrait, painted in 1977 by Felix de Cossio.