Donald Shepard Hewitt (December 14, 1922 – August 19, 2009) was an American television news producer and executive, best known for creating 60 Minutes, the CBS television news magazine in 1968, which at the time of his death, was the longest-running prime-time broadcast on American television. Under Hewitt’s leadership, 60 Minutes was the only news program ever rated the nation’s top-ranked television program, an achievement it accomplished five times.
Death of Don Hewitt
In March 2009, Hewitt was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer from which he died on August 19, 2009, at his home in Bridgehampton, New York. He is survived by his wife of thirty years, Marilyn Berger, and four children