Ted Koppel"s poem for Charles Osgood

Charles Osgood leaving "Sunday Morning"

Ted Koppel and Charles Osgood began at ABC Radio on the same day, in June of 1963. They sat directly next to one another, doing daily radio shows called Flair Reports, and tried to convince ABC TV to put on a daily morning show -- long before Good Morning America -- on which the two would do the newscasts. ABC missed out on the opportunity. The rest is history

Charles Osgood and Ted Koppell at ABC Radio in the early 1960s.

ABC

Ive known Charlie for more than 53 years now, and I have to reveal to you thatmy friend has not been entirely honest with you. Its the thing about his legal name; its not really Charlie Osgood.

He should have told you himself; but he hasnt, he didnt, soit falls to me to do it for him.

And Im going to try anddo it in the fashion that he could have (or should have) done ithimself -- in verse.

I admit that its slightly uncouthTo remind an old man of his youth.But in our case, its fair;Cause you know I was thereAnd were both getting on -- thats the truth.

You might think that a person could claimTo be able to use his own name.Charlie thought that he couldUse his name, which was Wood,But he couldnt. Please let me explain.

For those who appear on the air,A name is a thing you cant share.Back in June, sixy-three,(This was on ABC)Charles Woods had it first, fair and square.

So our Charlie thought hed exhumeGrandpas name as his nom de plume.All the glory and fameNow reflect on THAT name.

More than half of a centurys passed.Whod have thought that the new name would last?But it has, and Im sureThat the name will endure.Since the old one has long been outclassed.

So its Charlie, who got there too lateFor his own name to still resonate,Whose incomparable style,The beloved Osgood FileHas evolved into our Charles the Great.

h**l be missed. It is surely a blowTo lose someone weve gotten to knowYear by year, on and on;But h**l never be gone.Well see him on the old radio.

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Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-koppels-poem-for-charles-osgood/