and you could tell, he spent a lot of time around nancy reagan, as well. entirely happy with the direction of that interview. on the other hand, i did talk to her last year. she called mike at a facility in new canaan, connecticut where he spent the last couple years of his life. he had dementia, alzheimers and he was very comfortable there. she said when he picked up the phone, he said who's this in kind of a brusque wallace way and she said mike, it's nancy reagan. you remember who i am. i think that's the way she described it. he said, of course, i do. she said i'm not sure that he did. so she remained very cles to him to the very end and was extremely empathetic because of all she had gone through with president reagan. >> that's what makes that story that you tell so memorable and so poignant. she issued a statement today saying my heather is broken over the death of my dear friend mike wallace. my parents introduced me to make more than 75 years ago. he was an old school journalist and one of the most astute people i've met. the news business will be

. >>> wallace was close friends with ronald and nancy reagan. he admitted he had to be extra tough on them in interviews. >> how many blacks are there on your top campaign staff government? >> i couldn't honestly answer you now. >> that speaks for itself. >> huh? >> i say that speaks for itself. >> no, because i can't tell you how many people are on the staff. >> you can tell black from white. >> oh, yeah. >> what fs your husband's role in iran-contra. >> nothing. >> he was president of the united states. >> it was what -- i don't know enough about iran-contra, mike, to talk to you intelligently about it. all i know is that he did not think he had done anything wrong. he didn't know of anything that was going on. >> you're going to be in japan and i'm told it's a $2 million two weeks. >> they're getting two of us. they're working us like crazy. >> but it's going to be a well recompensed two weeks. >> it is for esh who goes there, which you probably know. now you really didn't need that question. >> nancy reagan released a statement yesterday say

he'd known ronald and nancy reagan for decades.tender with them and still ask the painful questions. >> it was back in 1975 you said that your life began with ronald reagan and you've also said you can't imagine life without ronald reagan and now you're in the midst of what you call your long good-bye. have you said good-bye? >> no. not really. he's there. he's there. >> mike was smart enough to know how nancy reagan would want to be treated and how people in the audience would like to see her treated and then i think he followed his instincts. >> pelley: so many people have asked me over the years, how did he get that guy to sit down? how did he get that crook to sit in that chair? >> mike could approach someone like a choir boy, just all innocence. all curiosity. butter would not melt in his mouth approach. once he had them in the chair they would melt in some way and without slugging them over the head with a question they would just open up to him. that's the kind of imagine that i can's hard to define. >> pelley: when mike ret

. >> he was very close friends with nancy reagan. nancy reagan's mother and the reagans in general. in a statement, nancy reagan remembered wallace saying "my shatter broken today over the death of my dear friend, mike wallace. my parents introduce node mike more than 75 years ago and we have been fast friends ever since. mike was on old-school journalist and one of the most astute people i ever met. the news business will be a different place now and our lives will be forever changed for having known him. requests requests in 2005, wallace told nbc news that he would like to be remembered by three simple words. >> tough but fair. and that really -- i mean, for a reporter, tough but fair. >> mike wall, what he was 93. >>> one day before a crease fire was supposed to take effect in syria, the violence is getting worse with reports of crossborder attacks in turkey you cold-blooded excuses in the streets. amman mow had dean is live what is the likelihood there will be a real cease-fire now? >> less than 24 hours to go,000 look at the evidence on the ground, you would be easily capable

yet you saw that interview that you played earlier where he went after nancy reagan, and went after ronald he was running first as governor and then for the presidency. but went after nancy reagan for their post presidential trip to japan where they were paid $2 million. and she went right back at him. >> she sure did. >> i mean, it was just extraordinary that he would be willing to take on these figures who were family friends, to say nothing of, you know, the iconic former president and former first lady. nobody took on nancy reagan. let me tell you as someone who tried and failed. you just did not do it. so mike was just fearless. and that instinct that made him just go for it full blast always until the last "60 minutes" broadcast that he did at 89. and he acknowledged his frail tees, his depression. he lost a son, david. and he had a son, chris, who has had such a stellar career. and i knew chris' wife, mary yates, whose son briefly worked here in this very newsroom at the beginning of his career, just going through college. so there are so many roots it's a small family. and mike wal

and, how he became friends with nancy reagan. very close. what is the... >> charming.g guy, and when i first met him as a young reporter, he was so nice to me, he was charge and he knew his brief, expressed an interest in me and you think people who are interested in you are charming. human nature and, you know, he had a captivating personality and i remember, very well, one of the conventions, mrs. reagan was sitting in her box and he kind of eases over to her and says, nancy reagan... you know, in the most familiar way and yet it wasn't disrespectful or flip or fresh. it was engaging. and, she was obviously charmed by him as well and he does the interview and, you know, it was mike's charm that enabled him to do that. >> jamie: and the list goes on and on of those who mike wallace posed questions to, always prepared on his improves, like no one i have ever seen and he got folks to answer even in a forceful way, he'd ask a question that might be disturbing, they opened up. what do you think the secret was to that? >> well, people open up to people they feel comfortabl

let's look at a memorable moment when mike wallace interviewed nancy reagan.e in the iran conflict? >> nothing. >> he was president of the united states. >> i don't know enough about iran, mike, to talk to you intelligently about it. all i know is that he did not think he had done anything wrong. he didn't know of anything that was going on. >> you're going to be in japan, and i'm told it's a $2 million two weeks. they're getting two of us, working us like crazy. >> but it will be a well recompensated two weeks. >> it is for everyone that goes there which you probably know. you really didn't need that question. >> nancy reagan is so great, and there she is getting nailed by her buddy of 75 years, and he went right to the toughest questions. >> he just -- nothing stopped him from asking the heart of the question, whatever it was, whether it was his friend, and they were really close friends and had been from the time they were young. he went after his bosses. you though that tobacco story, he went right after the big boss. and one of the bravest, one of the bra

even though wal mass was friends with ronald and nancy reagan they still got the same treatment than everybody else when he interviewed them. >> what was your husband's role in iran contra? >> nothing. >> as president of the united states -- >> it was what -- i don't know enough about iran contra, mike, to talk to you intelligently about it. >> wallace interviewed friends and foes president and dictators and heros. >> i am probably a dead man already. >> he said recently at this moment arafat is the christ of the palestinian people. >> leave the shoes off and start the interview, please. >> they say i am difficult? >> unquestionably one of the great news men of our time. mike wallace is dead at the age of 93. >> thank you very much. joining us on the phone now a personal friend of mike wallace they also worked together for many years. former cbs news president joe tierman. thank you for being with us tonight. >> thank you. >> first a passing of a friend. >> it is a sad day for us personally here. we both worked at cbs news my wife and i worked with him for many, many years. it is a v

. >> my old friend nancy reagan. >> and with nancy reagan, the feeling was mutual. the statement from the former first lady today saying, quote, my heart is broken today over the death of my dear friend mike wallace. his longtime colleague dan rather says, mike wallace was from the beginning and for many years the heart and soul of "60 minutes." and the chairman of cbs news speaks for his entire network when he says, quote, we loved him, and we will miss him very much. >>> a short time ago i talked to mike wallace's colleague on "60 minutes," leslie stahl. she said those close to wallace knew his health was on the decline. >> he looked good. he was physically fine. but he was fading. today, though, is a day to remember the vibrant, thrilling, brilliant mike wallace, who created "60 minutes." >> tom johnson described him formally of cnn, described him as a watchdog. cbs describes him as the pitbull reporter for cbs, for "60 minutes." everyone remembers those dogged interviews, and how he was just relentless, how the four words of mike wallace's hair would have everyo

even though wallace was friends with ronald and nancy reagan, they still got the same interview. >> what was your husband-- iran-contra. >> nothing. >> he was president of the united states. >> i don't know enough about iran-contra, mike, to talk to you intelligently about it. >> wallace interviewed friends and foes, dictators and city counc council-- scoundrels. >> he said recently, arafat is the christ of the palestinian people. >> leave the shoes and start the interview, please. >> they say i'm difficult? >> unquestionably one of the great interviewers. >> joining us on the phone now, a personal friend of mike wallace and they worked together for years. former cbs news vice-president joe peerman, joe, thanks a lot for being with us tonight. you're with us. >> thank you. >> absolutely, first, the passing of a friend. your sentiment? >> well, it's a very sad day for us, personally, here, we both worked at cbs news, my wife and i and worked with him for many, many years, but it's a very sad day for the cbs family and for all media world, this to mike wallace was an original figure. there

nancy reagan was just no saying.oes this and childhood obesity the two things that appeal to you. >> when i was campaigning, i got to meet these military family. i was traveling around, talking to mostly spouses and, you know, i was awed by their sacrifice. i mean, these folks are-- you know, you cited some of the statistics. they are moving more often than any average american does. they're expected to sometimes, you know, their children are going to schools, changing schools nieb, 10 times in their entire educational career. but the thing that struck me is that they do it with grace. they do it without complaint. and i was inspired. i said on the campaign trail that if i had the opportunity to serve in this role, that i would try to be their voice and tell their stories because i think that most americans are like me and like you, we are not a part of the military community, so we don't understand that sacrifice. >> stephen: well, i did-- i did-- i did serve in iraq for almost a week ( cheers and applause ) almost

>> nancy reagan: i don't know. >> wallace: have you said good- bye? >> nancy reagan: no.e's there. he's there. >> wallace: so you think that next time around...? >> pelley: mike was at it so long, he'd interviewed presidents and first ladies going all the way back to eleanor roosevelt in the '50s. >> wallace: a good many people hated your husband. they even hated you. >> eleanor roosevelt: oh, yes. a great many do still. >> pelley: matter of fact, you can take any historic moment in recent decades and there, somewhere in the frame-- like forrest gump or woody allen's character zelig... >> oh, they've shoved mike down. >> pelley: ...you'll usually find mike. >> they sure gave you a rough shove. >> wallace: i'm fine. in our studios in chicago is dr. martin luther king. >> pelley: in the 1960s alone, he interviewed martin luther king, jr., j.f.k., and malcolm x who, months before his death, confessed to mike his fear that his enemies in the black muslim movement were plotting his assassination. >> wallace: are you not perhaps afraid of what might happen to you as a result of

. >> hello, nancy reagan. >> sometimes they elbowed back. >> mike wallace was born in 1918 in brookline, massachusetts, i was an overachiever, worked hard, played a hell of a fiddle. >> he was best known for "60 minutes". >> he calls you imam, forgive me, his words, not mine -- a lunatic. >> and brought barbara streisand to the brink of tears. >> you like that 40 million people have to see me do this. >> over a 65 year career, mike wallace was a pay near and ended -- as a pioneer and ended as a -- >> north korea gives a rare tour of the site of its planed missile launch. plus... we'll take you to one of the largest easter celebrations in the bay area, where this year the turnout was overwhelming. ring ring hello, progresso. it fits! fantastic! ring ring] progresso. they fit! awesome thk you ring, ring [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? you don't understand. i've been eating progresso because there's... 40 flavors 100 calories or less and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >> alan: nor

nancy reagan, the first lady at the time, recognized the proponents of saving the -- the pornls of saving the original trees. later, the public also became aware. it's been 30 years since jefferson's started the work. others are continuing his mission. thanks to more than 700 trees adorn the mark. >> i know how important those trees are. i thought, by all means with original trees should be maintained and kept. >> jefferson's next step was to spread is cherry blossoms across the u.s. in all over japan, he collected specimens that can grow in any u.s. climate. jefferson gathered 400 kinds of cherry trees and they now are standing in the national arboretum. based on his collection they research hybrids that can grow anywhere in the country. so far, various kinds of cherry seeds and cuttings have been sent to over 50 locations. >> people can look and see those trees in bloom and know they came from japan. this friendship has gone on for 100 years now. and so it probably will continue to go on. i hope the next 100 years. >> reporter: people on both sides of the pacific hope the cherry trees l

>> well, i loved my little office, because it was -- besides being nancy reagan's beauty parlor, which she didn't like me to say, but it was. the dogs were born there, and you could look out the window at jackson place and the -- what's that park? >> lafayette square. >> lafayette square and see all sorts of wonderful things. nobody else faced that part of washington, but i saw more people protesting us and some people who loved us, and i saw people at weddings. they would back up and have a wedding picture taken. i saw my first black bridesmaids dresses backing up to have their pictures taken by the white house. i mean their dresses were black, which i thought was amazing. >> i loved looking out people. >> how did you go about -- you had already been there. >> i had a huge advantage that nobody else had except louisa adams. i had been there so often. having been there with my father-in-law president bush that is really is a home and i knew bar had made it into a home. our little girls when they were 7, when their grandfather was president, could slide down the ramp from the conservato

he'd known ronald and nancy reagan for decades.be tender with them and still ask the painful questions. >> it was back in 1975 you said that your life began with ronald reagan. you've also said that you can't imagine life without ronald reagan, and now you're in the midst of what you call your long good-bye. have you said good-bye? >> no. not really. he's there. he's there. >> mike could approach someone like a choirboy, just all innocence, all curiosity. "butter would not melt in his mouth" approach. once he had them in the chair, they would melt in some way, and without sledging them over the head with a question, they would just open up to him, and that's the kind of magic that is hard to define. >> and a programming note. "60 minutes" plans to broadcast an extended broadcast this sunday, april 15th, on cbs. >>> coming up on "cbs this morning," the latest on the trayvon martin investigation. we'll hear from martin's parents. that's the "cbs morning news" for this tuesday. thanks for watching. i'm michelle miller. have a great da

ronald and nancy reagan. he is with peers.asn't like he was reaching up in any way. they looked at him as an equal. that i think in many ways is what set him apart. >> legendary newsman, mike wallace has died at the age of 93. >>> developing now, arrests in the deadly shootings of three people in tulsa, oklahoma. 19-year-old jake england, and 32-year-old alvin watts are expected to be charged with murder. saturday morning, three people were killed and two others wounded at four different locations. the tulsa police chief said their investigation would follow the evidence nbc's charles hadlock is in tulsa today. let's get the latest on the arrest and the shootings. i imagine there's a sigh of relief by many in the community there. >> you bet, alex. tulsa awakened today to the news it had been waiting to hear. that the person or persons believed responsible for the killing spree on friday had been captured. this morning at 1:47 a.m. police arrested 32-year-old alvin watts and 19-year-old jake england. police say watts and englan

. >> reporter: years later, this tense back and forth with nancy reagan. >> what was your husband's role? >> nothing. i mean -- >> he was president of the united states. >> it was what -- i don't know enough about iran-contra. to talk to you intel jenltly about it. >> you're going to be in japan and i'm told it's a $2 million -- >> they're getting two of us. >> it's going to be a well recompensed two weeks. >> it is for everybody who goes there. which you probably know. and you really didn't need that question. >> reporter: wallace would convince the famous to join him. famously asking them what others had not. >> you really believe that you lived lives before and -- >> oh, yes, mike, i don't doubt in my hind about it. >> and you really believe in extraterrestrials. do they come visit you on the porch? now you're being unpleasant, is what you're saying. >> this is what i was a little afraid of. you don't have to be that unpleasant. >> reporter: and then the stars who famously gave it back. >> do i have to put shoes on? >> leave the shoes off and start the interview, please. >> they say i

it was talk show. [ laughter ] >> bill: they don do pay me enougjew 90-year-old nancy reagan, participating scare when she almost fell down during an event. she was saved from hitting the yround by what conservative politician? >> bill: the answer is roll the tape. >> bill: mccallum, you should have gotten that one. >> that was very disturbing. >> question number five, hillary clinton was named most admired w soan in america. and one of the first lady came in first a lot topping the list 13 times? >> bill: most admired woman and wrol the tape. >> the experience that is most valuable is the experience of doing things for your selves. >> bill: and wouldn't you like to wake up to that sound? >> and doocy wins, he is smirking.

it was talk show. [ laughter ] >> bill: they don do pay me enougjew 90-year-old nancy reagan, participatingwhen she almost fell down during an event. she was saved from hitting the yround by what conservative politician? >> bill: the answer is roll the tape. >> bill: mccallum, you should have gotten that one. >> that was very disturbing. >> question number five, hillary clinton was named most admired w soan in america. and one of the first lady came in first a lot topping the list 13 times? >> bill: most admired woman and wrol the tape. >> the experience that is most valuable is the experience of doing things for your selves. >> bill: and wouldn't you like to wake up to that sound? >> and doocy wins, he is smirking.

it was talk show. [ laughter ] >> bill: they don do pay me enougjew 90-year-old nancy reagan, participatingell down during an event. she was saved from hitting the yround by what conservative politician? >> bill: the answer is roll the tape. >> bill: mccallum, you should have gotten that one. >> that was very disturbing. >> question number five, hillary clinton was named most admired w soan in america. and one of the first lady came in first a lot topping the list 13 times? >> bill: most admired woman and wrol the tape. >> the experience that is most valuable is the experience of doing things for your selves. >> bill: and wouldn't you like to wake up to that sound? >> and doocy wins, he is smirking. that is it for us this evening. thanks for watching this special edition of the factor. ioll bill o'reilly and please always remereater the spin stops righ

he sees nancy reagan and he says the old jack dempsey line "honey, i forgot to duck." and he really said it. these were not made up by the administration, he said this stuff. adds he is wheeled to the o.r., he sees jim baker and ed meese who rushed to talk to him. and this is mike deaver, and the aides. who is minding the store? you know, he is cracking jokes or whatever, and they wheel him to the o.r. and there is reagan going to the operating room, and then he believes that the role of president is the role for him to play. would he pass up a great operating room moment? i can't get into the head, but he leans up and removes the oxygen mask and says, i hope you are all democrats. and now the doctor who saved reagan's life for the third time this day, he said, mr. president, today, we are all republicans. and so he knew that he needed them to act normally and professionally and reduce the tension in the room. that is why he did that. he was in the hospital until april 11th, 12 days after the shooting and 13 days total. and after surgery, ben aaron retrieved the bullet

. >> reporter: years later, this tense back and forth with nancy reagan. >> what was your husband's rolean/contra. >> he was president of the united states -- >> it was what -- i don't know enough about iran/contra, mike, to talk to you intelligently about it. >> you're going to be in japan and i'm told it's a $2 million two weeks. >> they are getting two of us -- >> it's going to be a well recompensed two weeks. >> it is for everybody who goes there. which you probably know. you really didn't need that question. >> reporter: wallace would convince the famous to join him and then there were the stars who famously gave it back. >> do i have to put shoes on? >> leave the shoes off, paul, and start the interview, please. >> they say i'm difficult. >> he was born in brookline, massachusetts. his father a grocer perlong after becoming a defining face of television, he'd open up about his own fight against depression. >> i didn't realize myself how bad it was. i was lower than a snake's belly. >> reporter: our own cleel diane sawyer, the first woman to join mike on the broadcast said his energ

he sees his wife, nancy reagan. he reprises the line that jack dempsey uses.e said, honey, i forgot to duck. and he really said it. doctors heard him say it. i have notes that they said it. people always wondered did he say that stuff, he said everything. it wasn't made up by republicans or his administration, he said this stuff. he sees jim baker and ed meese who had rushed here to talk to him and he sees mike deaver. the three top aides and they are known as troika. he says, who's minding the store? you know, he's cracking jokes. here's a guy, you know, whatever. they wheel him to the o.r. here's reagan going to the operating room. he believes the role of a president is his role to play. it's a role. would he pass up a great operating room moment? could he pass up a good operating room moment? in his mind? i can't get in his head. he leans up on his shoulder, takes off the oxygen mask and says i hope you're all republicans to all the doctors. joe giordano who set up the system that saved reagan's life the third time this day says, mr. president, today we are

>> question number 490-year-old nancy reagan pro bust for her age knows the presidential library.n event. what conservative politician or hero sarah palin, marco rubio. saved months ago from hitting the ground. the answer is... okay. you should have got that one. >> aren't you and hammer on the air every morning? >> one question to go. >> that was very disturbing. >> question number 5 hillary clinton was named number won the most add fired woman in america. you see today's annual survey was the 16th time hillary hit number one. cam in a lot popping the 13 times. 13 time most admired woman hard to please. the answer is roll the tape. >> the experience that is the most valuable is the experience of doing things for yourselves. >> that was her voice. >> wouldn't you like to wake up to that every morning? >> eleanor roosevelt. doocy smirking. >> that is it for us this evening. thank you for watching this