Charles Osgood

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Charles Osgood (born Charles Osgood Wood, III on January 8, 1933) is a radio and television commentator in the United States. His daily program, The Osgood File, has been broadcast on the CBS Radio Network since 1971. He is also famous for giving the voice of the narrator of Horton Hears a Who!, an animated film released in 2008, based on the book by Dr. Seuss.

Osgood was born in New York City, where he lives at The Osborne. He graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1954 with a major in economics. While at Fordham, Osgood worked at the university's FM radio station WFUV. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990.

Osgood also writes a bi-weekly syndicated newspaper column, and has written 88 books. On television, Osgood hosts CBS Sunday Morning since 1994, having succeeded former host Charles Kuralt. He has also anchored the CBS Afternoon News and the CBS Morning News.

In August 1967, he anchored the first morning drive shift for WCBS-AM after its conversion to an all-news format. The twist was that the first day of all-news programming actually aired on WCBS-FM after an airplane crashed into the AM station's antenna tower on New York's High Island, keeping WCBS off air until a temporary tower could be erected.

Among his personal trademarks are his bow-tie, his weekly TV signoff "Until then, I'll see you on the radio." and his propensity for delivering his commentaries in whimsical verse. Example: When the Census Bureau invented a designation for cohabitant(s) as "Person(s) of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters", or "POSSLQ", Osgood turned it into a pronounceable three-syllable word, and composed a prospective love poem, which included these lines which became the title of one of his books:

There's nothing that I wouldn't do
If you would be my POSSLQ

Charles Osgood was in the U.S. Army from 1955-1959, and served as a member of The United States Army Band (Pershing's Own) in Washington, D.C. His duties included performing with The United States Army Chorus and as master of ceremonies for the U.S. Army Concert Band. Mr. Osgood is also an accomplished pianist.

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[edit] Family

Married to Jean, children are Kathleen, Winston, Anne-E., Emily J. and Jamie.[1]

Osgood's nephew, Emmy Award winning composer Christopher Mangum, composes film scores including themes for National Geographic specials and The Discovery Channel.

[edit] Honors

Osgood was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in the radio division.[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Parisi, Albert J. " Q & A: Charles Osgood; A New Face at CBS 'Sunday Morning'", The New York Times, April 24, 1994. Accessed October 19, 2007. "Charles Osgood will be saying a lot more than that in his new, high-visibility television assignment, one he says fills him with pride, joy, and a bit of anxiety about long hours at work and responsibilities at home in Englewood."
  2. ^ "NAB Hall of Fame". National Association of Broadcasters. http://www.nab.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Awards7&CONTENTID=11047&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 

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