Why Mike Wallace Never Interviewed Willie Nelson

By Chris Ariens 

In addition to last night’s hour-long look back at the life and work of Mike Wallace, “60 Minutes” Overtime has dozens of extras, including the thoughts of producers, editors, assistants and even the show’s make-up artist who worked alongside the “60 Minutes” original, including this from Josh Howard, who spent 13 years at “60 Minutes,” six of them producing for Wallace.

I was sitting at my desk one day when Mike walked into my office and said, “How about doing a piece about Willie Nelson?” At least, that’s what I thought he had said. It wasn’t the kind of story I usually produced, but I figured it would be a nice change from the more serious stuff. I said, “Sure, but what got you interested in Willie Nelson?”

He looked at me like I was a fly in his soup (one of his favorite expressions.) “WILLIE NELSON? WHY THE F— WOULD I WANT TO DO WILLIE NELSON? WHAT I SAID WAS, ‘WINNIE’ AND ‘NELSON.’ YOU KNOW, MANDELA. POSSIBLY YOU HAVE HEARD OF THEM?”

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FishbowlDC reports on what — or rather who — was left out of the “60 Minutes special.

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