Birthday: Oct. 31, 1931.
Birthplace: Wharton, Tex.
Current home: New York City.
Marital status: Married for 34 years to Jean Rather.
Children: Robin, 31, and Danjack, 30.
Car: A Jeep.
Working on: Anchoring ”CBS Evening News” and ”48 Hours.”
The last good movie I saw was: ”Henry V.”
I stay home to watch: ”Murphy Brown,” ”Designing Women” and Canadian amateur hockey.
The book I`ve been recommending lately is: George Will`s ”Men at Work.” Favorite performers: Jessica Tandy and Laurence Olivier.
Favorite childhood memory: Waking up and seeing the endless blue Texas sky and smelling and feeling the dew on the tall grass.
Prized possession: My mother`s Bible.
Personal hero: My father. He worked hard and didn`t sell out.
Every New Year`s I resolve: To love more.
I`ve never been able to: Understand qualitative analysis.
I`d give anything to meet: The hostage Terry Anderson. I`d like to ask him how he manages to hold himself together.
The worst part of my job is: Being psychoanalyzed in print by people who have never met me face to face.
My fantasy is: I`m the greatest reporter of all time.
If I could change one thing about myself, I would: Work less, play more.
People who knew me in high school thought I was: About like them:
average, trying to be better.
My most irrational act: That`s easy. Trying to hop a freight to Chicago from Texas when I was 18. It took me five days to get to Oklahoma City, and I gave up.
If I couldn`t be a reporter, I`d be: Coaching football.
If I`ve learned one thing in life, it`s: Friends are more important than money.
My most humbling experience: Losing my college football scholarship after the first week of school. We hadn`t even played a game.
The best person to star in the movie of my life is: Arsenio Hall.
Three words that best describe me: Determined, durable and dedicated.
