America's preeminent curmudgeon, Andrew Aitken "Andy" Rooney, was an American writer and reporter who was best known for "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney," the last segment on 60 Minutes. Rooney was also recognized for his eyebrows: white, long, and totally unkempt.

Rooney was born in Albany in 1919 and attended Colgate University. In 1941 he was drafted to the Army, where he began his journalism career writing for Stars and Stripes while stationed in London. After returning from the war with Bronze Star and Air metals, Rooney joined CBS in 1949, as a writer for Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He worked on a handful of shows at CBS during the 1950s and began collaborating with newsman Harry Reasoner in 1962, writing the TV essays for which he'd eventually become famous. Rooney joined the cast of 60 Minutes (with shorter and darker eyebrows) in 1978, a decade after it was introduced by veteran producer Don Hewitt. Rooney was alloted the last few minutes on each show, during which he discussed, or rather, ranted about a random variety of topics. He stayed with the show until 2011, announcing that after delivering 1,097 rants he was retiring. He was 92-years-old.

Rooney was married to Marguerite "Margie" Howard for 62 years before she died in 2004 of heart failure. They had four children, three of whom followed their father's footsteps into journalism. Rooney died from complications of surgery on November 4, 2011, less than five weeks after his final appearance on 60 Minutes. [Image via Getty]