Charles Osgood, the longtime host of "CBS Sunday Morning" and "The Osgood File," has died at 91, CBS News announced Tuesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Veteran news presenter Charles Osgood died Tuesday at 91, CBS News announced on Tuesday

  • Osgood, who spent 45 years with CBS News, hosted "CBS Sunday Morning" for 22 years and radio program "The Osgood File" from 1971 until 2017 

  • During Osgood's run as host of "Sunday Morning," the show won three Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Morning Program

  • Osgood died Tuesday at his New Jersey home, per the network; according to his family, the cause of death was dementia

Osgood, known for his signature bow ties and his catchphrase "I'll see you on the radio," hosted "CBS Sunday Morning," the award-winning newsmagazine, for more than 22 years before his retirement in 2016. His radio program, "The Osgood File," ran for 46 years, from 1971 until 2017.

A New York native and graduate of Fordham University, Osgood became the announcer for the U.S. Army Band before he began his broadcasting career.

“I ran into a guy while I was having dinner with a friend of mine and he was dressed in a white uniform,” Osgood told The Los Angeles Times in 1991. “He was the announcer for the United States Army Band. I asked him when he was getting out and he said within the next few weeks, so the next morning I was parked out at the commanding officer’s office. He was impressed with the fact I could pronounce Rimsky-Korsakov. That’s how I got the job.”

Osgood served as an announcer and the program director for WGMS Radio in Washington, D.C., and later became general manager of WHCT-TV in Hartford, Conn. He later worked at ABC News before he became an anchor and reporter for WCBS Radio in New York.

He later joined CBS News television, working on "CBS Morning News," "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather" and "CBS Sunday Night News" before succeeding Charles Kuralt as the host of "Sunday Morning" in 1994. During Osgood's run as host, the show won three Daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Morning Program.

Frequently identified to as the network's "poet in residence," Osgood offered whimsical commentary on news stories, often in rhyme. In one instance, when the U.S. Census Bureau introduced the abbreviation POSSLQ, standing for Persons of the Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters, he offered a refrain that later became the title of one of his six books: "There's nothing that I wouldn't do If you would be my POSSLQ."

Osgood was also a gifted musician, performing with the likes of the New York Pops and Boston Pops, as well as on his own program. He rejoined the broadcast in 2017 after his retirement to play and sing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," accompanied by the Young People's Chorus of New York City.

After 22 years at the helm of the program, Osgood handed over the reins to veteran journalist Jane Pauley, who said of the longtime host: "Watching him at work was a masterclass in communicating."

"He was one of the best broadcast stylists and one of the last. His style was so natural and unaffected it communicated his authenticity," Pauley said of Osgood, per CBS News. "He connected with people. Watching him on TV, or listening on the radio, as I did for years, was to feel like you knew him, and he knew you. He brought a unique sensibility, curiosity and his trademark whimsy to 'Sunday Morning,' and it endures."

When he announced his final broadcast in 2016, Osgood offered his reasoning behind why he stayed in the role for so long. (He was approaching 84 at the time.)

"For years now, people, even friends and family, have been asking me why I keep doing this considering my age," Osgood said, adding: "It's just that it's been such a joy doing it. Who wouldn't want to be the one who gets to introduce these terrific storytellers and the producers and writers and others who put this wonderful show together."

"It's been a great run, but after nearly 50 years at CBS News ... the time has come," he said, before thanking the audience and launching into an a cappella chorus of the Weavers song "So Long, It's Been Good to Know Yuh."

He continued hosting "The Osgood File" for a little over a year until retiring in December of 2017 due to health concerns.

Osgood died Tuesday at his New Jersey home, per the network. According to his family, the cause of death was dementia. He is survived by his wife, Jean, his five children and two siblings.

"Charlie absolutely loved being part of the 'Sunday Morning' community. We'll miss him terribly, but there is comfort in knowing his life was charmed, in large part thanks to you," his family said in a statement shared by CBS News. "From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for welcoming him into your homes on Sundays to share stories, and to highlight the better parts of humanity. He'll see you on the radio."