Charles Osgood -- You Never Know

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Back in the 50’s Charles Osgood and I were students at Fordham University (up in the Bronx). We were both employed at the radio station there and Charlie had a program that was on in the morning just ahead of mine. He played the piano and would tell stories, much like he does today on CBS. Then I’d come in and play Andre Kostelanetz and David Rose and a daily selection of similarly sweet orchestral records.

One day I arrived at the studio earlier than usual and was standing out in the hallway, listening to Charlie, looking through the windows at the cloudy day and looking up at the clock in the middle of Keating Hall. It was a huge clock, visible for miles around and I truly don’t know how this happened, really, but Charlie was doing an absolutely fantastic ad lib on some subject that escapes me for the moment, and I remember saying to myself  “If ever get a job in broadcasting and can hire somebody to be on the air, I’m going with Charlie.”

Years later I wound up as the head of program development for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) radio network. And I remembered Charlie. Got in my car, drove up the Merritt Parkway to Hartford Connecticut where he was working for General Tires -- selling them. I hadn’t seen him in years, yet still felt comfortable walking into office, shaking his hand and immediately putting him on the spot. Why not? I got right to the point

I said: “Charlie, this is a special day.”

He said: “Why is that, Frank?”

I said: ”Because Charlie, I’ve just been appointed the head of programming (etc, etc etc) and I’m here to offer you a job.”

He said: Awww, Frank. I can’t do that. That’s a NETWORK, Frank…A NETWORK. 

I said: “Yeah. I know that, Charlie. But I’ve also known you for many years, and I know you’d be very good at it. Great at it.”

He said: “Thanks a lot, Frank. I’m very grateful…and flattered…but I don’t think so.”

I was disappointed. I had imagined this being much easier. I pictured Charlie jumping up and down…and jumping right into the job. But Charlie chose that moment to listen to that inner voice telling him not to rock the boat…a common enough malfunction of the self confidence center of our brain that pounds away at the notion that when a dream actually manifests itself, it’s probably best just to defer it – best not to leave our comfort zone.

We had lunch. I kept probing. He kept turning me down. Lunch ended with me on the short end. Disappointed and downcast, I got back into my car and drove back home to the city.

Two weeks later, the phone rings. It was Charlie. We small-talked for a while, asking about our respective spouses, health, the usual stuff. Finally Charlie said, “Frank, I got a question for you.”

“OK. What’s on your mind, Charlie?”

“Well, I just got fired. And I wondered if you’d still be interested in bringing me on at the Network…it really is my dream, you know. I really felt that I couldn’t leave the security of my executive position before, but that decision has now been made for me.”

He came down to New York City. We ate in the restaurant in the Time Life Building. I outlined my vision to him and he was still hesitant as to whether or not he could actually justify my confidence in him.

So I had him audition. He came into the studios and Charlie went into the control room - a glass panel separating him from the crew (myself included).  He was going to read some sample announcements. Typical radio audition. So he sat there and the engineer signaled him, and Charlie spent the next five minutes doing the lousiest audition I had ever experienced up that point in my life. Truth.

He was overstressed. Crippled by self-doubt. It was terrible. I looked at the guys in the booth with me as Charlie got up, walked out the door, walked past the control room to the elevator. Escaping.

I followed close on his heels and caught him, my arm frantically reaching out at the last second, bouncing and rebounding off the automatic door recoil… ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump. I squeezed through and joined him in the overlit cubicle.

“Hey Charlie, where you going?”

He was embarrassed. Demoralized. Defeated. I grabbed his arm, turned him to face me and said,

“Congratulations, you’re hired.”

“Frank, don’t do this. Stop. That was unbelievably bad and you know it.”

“Charlie, “ I said, “I believe in you. It’s you who doesn’t believe in you.”

Silent pause.

“You’re hired, Charlie. The job is yours. You want it you got it. You don’t want it, you still got it. You’re hired, end of story. See you Monday morning.”

He left shaking his head. (Told me later he’d had one of the worst weekends ever.) But he showed up Monday morning.

I don’t have to tell you how it went from there. But I will…

Charles Osgood went on to anchor the CBS Sunday Night News from 1981 to 1987, the weekday CBS Morning News from 1987 to 1992, as well as the CBS Afternoon News and the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather. In one of his best known roles, he hosted CBS News Sunday Morning from April 10, 1994, to September 25, 2016, succeeding the original host Charles Kuralt. Osgood's tenure of twenty-two years as host exceeded Kuralt's fifteen years.

He authored six books: Nothing Could Be Finer Than a Crisis That Is Minor in the Morning (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1979); There's Nothing That I Wouldn't Do If You Would Be My POSSLQ (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1981); Osgood on Speaking: How to Think on Your Feet Without Falling on Your Face (William Morrow and Company, 1988); The Osgood Files (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1991); See You on the Radio (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1999); and the most recent, Defending Baltimore Against Enemy Attack (Hyperion, 2004).

Among his most prestigious awards…

Today Charles Osgood is widely considered one of the best ever at every job he ever had - newsman, anchorman, author, poet, piano player, person of influence.

 I stood by Charlie when he was not as good as he could be, but I also believed in him enough to help him believe he could be better. There is no greater service we can perform for our fellow man.