Walter Cronkite, Funky Drummer

If you needed another reason to feel sad about the passing of the iconic television journalist Walter Cronkite today, this video is it. John Perry Barlow tweets, "True fact: Walter Cronkite was a hot drummer. Once saw him play with Mickey Hart, Mike Gordon, & Mutatator. Kept the one." This video is proof. Cronkite appears around 1:55 in.

Previously: Walter Cronkite, RIP.

[#1 posted by Mark Crummett, July 17, 2009 10:43 PM]

I bet no other media outlet will have a headline like that. Thanks, BB!

[#2 posted by friendpuppy, July 17, 2009 11:14 PM]

Not sure what part of his "performance" makes Cronkite a hot drummer.

[#3 posted by grimc, July 18, 2009 6:07 AM]

And like the true newsman that he is, he's whacking that drum with his microphone.

[#4 posted by Anonymous, July 18, 2009 6:22 AM]

Well, he's no Feynman but gets points for participating.

The "interview" is a little condescending I thought. In the way that young people are awkward around elders. Walter was just having a little fun, and good for him.

[#5 posted by buddy66, July 18, 2009 7:07 AM]

My friend John Dierkes remembered him as a ballsy reporter in WWII London during the blitz, who was given to spontaneous song & dance performances after a few cold ones. I don't know about the quality of his hoofing, but going in on a ''suicide train'' with the Screaming Eagles at ''Operation Market Garden'' certainly validates the ''ballsy'' part of the assessment.

[#6 posted by teleny, July 18, 2009 9:58 AM]

He was probably a bit stoned. Dunno where I read this but he had quite the romance with pot over the years (picked up the habit overseas) and was a staunch antiprohibitionist up through the 60's...

[#7 posted by Mike Harris, July 18, 2009 10:31 AM]

Xeni, as far as I can tell, he appears 1 minute 38 seconds in. And you could've linked right to it by including the timecode, i.e.:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9dypuCEqEA#t=1m38s

[#8 posted by Anonymous, July 18, 2009 10:37 AM]

It's obvious that Mr. Cronkite is being polite in the face of a patronizing interviewer.

I hope that in saying goodbye to Mr. Cronkite we are not saying goodbye to the possibility of that deep sense of integrity holding forth in our news again.

[#9 posted by Xopher, July 18, 2009 12:03 PM]

Looks to me like he was playing djun, but I couldn't pick him out of the mix, so I can't tell if he was holding down the part or not...the visual wasn't enough for me to tell.

[#10 posted by Amelia_G, July 18, 2009 9:11 PM]

Thank you! Bless Cronkite. My dad ran into him in a bar in the Turks & Caicos.

[#11 posted by Anonymous, July 19, 2009 3:15 AM]

Princess Leia at 1:28.

[#12 posted by Anonymous, July 19, 2009 6:44 AM]

don't know much bout his music talent but he was with-it during those times ... was go down n the history books as one of the greatest newscasters of all times ...

[#13 posted by Anonymous, July 19, 2009 12:03 PM]

The most trusted keeper of the beat.

[#14 posted by checkersspeech, July 19, 2009 10:31 PM]

Yeah, what Friendpuppy said: Hot drummer?? When I saw that writeup, I was expecting a Gene-Krupa-calibre performance. Instead, he's just keeping time on a bass drum.

Hype much, Barlow, lol? I'm surprised you didn't catch that, Xeni -- or you just didn't call him on it, because it was John Perry Barlow ...

Cronkite was a legend at what he did, and a good human being on top of that. Let's not perpetuate any whoppers to confuse the issue, 'k?