If you are of the generation who loves watching the classic CBS news program 60 Minutes, you were likely shocked to learn of the death of its longtime correspondent Bob Simon back in mid-February. Simon, who died due to a car wreck in Manhattan, had just prior to this returned from Islay in Scotland. He had been over there doing a feature piece called “Whisky Island” which, according to CBS, was not scripted yet at the time of his passing.
Picking up the pieces of Bob Simon's unfinished story, #60MinutesOvertime reports https://t.co/pDuikWAxqN pic.twitter.com/8Nu43cQRBO
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 3, 2015
His colleagues, it turns out, finished the story for him as a tribute to his legacy as a newsman. As 60 Minutes’ executive producer Jeff Fager told his own news program last week
“It was difficult at first to even think that we could possibly turn it into a story. We couldn’t imagine a possibility where we could watch it or finish it or see Bob, and we expected we were going to have to kill [the story] — which we didn’t want to do.”
What’s resulted is a fitting piece memorializing this news legend, while also telling a great tale of Islay. I’ve embedded below the primary 60 Minutes video for your viewing, plus some extra clips documenting additional material and what 60 Minutes did to make this all come together. Grab yourself a dram, and perhaps as well something to wipe your eyes with, and enjoy.
Primary Story: Whisky Island
Picking Up The Pieces Of Bob Simon’s Unfinished Story
Cheers! Raising A Glass with Bob
The Laird of Islay
It’s “Last Call” On The Isle of Islay
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