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Wallace plans exit from '60 Minutes'

By Times Staff Writer
Published March 15, 2006

After serving as a correspondent on 60 Minutes since its inception in September 1968, Mike Wallace said Tuesday that he will retire at the end of this TV season. He said the move comes at his initiative and that CBS "is not pushing me" out.

"As I approach my 88th birthday, it's become apparent to me that my eyes and ears, among other appurtenances, aren't quite what they used to be," said Wallace, whose birthday is May 9. "The prospect of long flights to wherever in search of whatever are not quite as appealing."

Wallace said he would continue to have an office at CBS, "on the same floor, just around the corner from where I've holed up for 43 years."

Wallace joined the network in 1955, departed four years later and returned as a correspondent in 1963, according to his biography on the 60 Minutes Web site. He said he was not sure whether he would serve as a consultant who drew a salary, but he said, "I'll be available when asked for whatever chores CBS News, 60 Minutes, the Evening News, etc. have in mind for me."

"Plus," he added, "longer vacations."

[Last modified March 15, 2006, 01:30:11]