According to the New York Times, CBS News commentator and America’s most well-loved curmudgeon Andy Rooney died last night “after complications following minor surgery.” He was 92 years old. Until this past October, Rooney had appeared on CBS’s 60 Minutes every week from 1978 to 2011, usually ending the program with light and often hilarious commentary on a wide variety of topics, from politics to pop culture to the trials and tribulations of daily life. The archetypal grumpy-but-lovable old man figure, Rooney loved shined shoes, properly pressed pants, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, but was much more famous for his many dislikes, some of which caused complaint and controversy during his many years at CBS. In particular, he took criticism for homophobic comments, and was suspended by CBS for three months, but was reinstated after only four weeks when viewership for an Andy Rooney-less 60 Minutes dropped 20 percent. When he returned, he apologized, saying, “There was never a writer who didn’t hope that in some small way he was doing good with the words he put down on paper and, while I know it’s presumptuous, I’ve always had in my mind that I was doing some little bit of good. Now, I was to be known for having done, not good, but bad. I’d be known for the rest of my life as a racist bigot and as someone who had made life a little more difficult for homosexuals. I felt terrible about that and I’ve learned a lot.”

Insensitive comments or no, Rooney was one of the most popular broadcast figures in the country, an everyman who captured the nation’s heart with his grumbling, backyard philosophy and dislike of things like “two-prong plugs in a three-prong society.” During his last scheduled appearance on CBS, Rooney said, “I’ve done a lot of complaining here, but of all the things I’ve complained about, I can’t complain about my life.”

1. A London coroner has ruled that Amy Winehouse died from drinking too much alcohol — not from withdrawal, as was originally thought — and in fact, she had consumed 4.5 times more than the legal limit for driving in the UK at her time of death. [via The Daily Beast]

2. Community’s hilarious Ken Jeong will star in and produce a new comedy called The Chung Factor for Lionsgate; he’ll be playing an “offbeat relationship coach” who is trying to win back his ex from an unsuspecting client. [via TheWrap]

3. Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler took a nasty fall in the bathroom of his hotel in Paraguay yesterday, which resulted in cuts to his face and the loss of two teeth. The band was also forced to cancel last night’s performance. [via MTV]

4. Marni Kotak, the performance artist who shocked the world when she announced that she planned to give birth in Bushwick’s Microscope Gallery, delivered “Baby X” yesterday morning; a video of the performance will be exhibited for those who missed out on seeing it live. [via AP]

5. Former 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney is in the hospital following some “serious” post-surgery complications. CBS says that his condition is stable, but at the request of his family, is offering no further information. [via Jezebel]

Bonus Buzz: Ultimate Ron Swanson Pumpkin Collection

1. Yesterday, Mitchell Hurwitz told an audience at the New Yorker Festival that Arrested Development may be returning to the small screen as soon as next fall; according to Inside TV, producers are currently in talks with both Showtime and Netflix about “airing a limited number of original episodes that will update fans on the Bluth clan.”

2. It was a sad weekend for new movies with good critical buzz at the box office, with Dolphin Tale taking the number one spot over both Moneyball (which made $12.2 million) and 50/50 (which took in $8.8 million). We can’t speak for Moneyball yet, but 50/50 is definitely worth paying to see in theaters. [via Vulture]

3. Last night Andy Rooney filed his final piece as a regular contributor on 60 Minutes with the following, pitch-perfect sign-off: “If you do see me in a restaurant, please, just let me eat my dinner.” Watch the full farewell speech here.

4. ABC News has announced a new deal with Yahoo that will allow both brands to share news content and stories, as well as traffic numbers and “integrated bureaus” in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. [via The Daily Beast]

5. Here is your first look at the return of cult British series Absolutely Fabulous. Do you think Patsy and Edina have changed all that much?

Bonus Buzz: Watch This Kid Discover Who Luke Skywalker’s Father Is

In his more than 1000 broadcasts over the past 33 years, we’ve rarely heard about what 60 Minutes commentator Andy Rooney likes — in fact, only ice cream and natural eyebrows immediately come to mind. But we’ll be the first to admit that watching him wax poetic about his favorite things wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as listening to him rant — often nonsensically — about what most of us take for granted as byproducts of progress. Plus, it would make playing the Andy Rooney Game a lot much less fun. Click through to watch some of the most curmudgeonly segments we could find, and be sure to tune in this Sunday night if you’re interested in seeing his last regular appearance on the show.

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Andy Rooney, the commentator for CBS’s 60 Minutes‘ opinion segment since 1978, will be retiring from the show. CBS News made the announcement that the 92-year old will be leaving after he completes his 1,097th installment this Sunday night. Rooney is expected to share the news with his viewers, after which the show will air a retrospective of his long career with the network. Rooney has said before that he would work at CBS until he shuffled off this mortal coil. “How long am I going to work? How long am I going to live? That’s the question. I will work until I drop, or until I lose my head. Until somebody tells me different, I’m not going to quit,” he once mused. CBS News chairman and executive producer Jeff Fager has reassured that Rooney, ” … will always have the ability to speak his mind on 60 Minutes when the urge hits him.” Hopefully the urge doesn’t hit him too hard, since the TV personality has grown increasingly cranky with each passing year. With him goes the last of the great TV curmudgeons. A fine example: in the video below, Andy gets cranky about contemporary/public art.

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Today at Flavorpill, we watched the official trailer for Scenes From The Suburbs, Spike Jonze’s companion short film to his music video for Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs.” We were horrified to hear that Larry King may join the cast of The Daily Show. We couldn’t decide which Disney movie Broadway musical adaptation idea is more misguided: Freaky Friday or Father of the Bride. We watched some of the angriest walk-outs in 60 Minutes history. We were excited to hear that longtime Flavorwire favorite Maura Johnston is the Village Voice’s new music editor. We wanted to own a pair of these Nikes that Gabriel Dishaw made out of old computer parts. We were jealous of whoever lives in this futuristic bedroom that has its own waterslide in the closet. We were impressed by Wile E. Coyote’s James Franco impression. And finally, we flipped out over these knit versions of our favorite movie characters — particularly The Dude.

If you think the most recent late-night wars, between longtime Tonight Show host Jay Leno and his younger, funnier successor, Conan O’Brien, are over, you’ve got another think coming. While Leno may have his show back, Conan has amassed an army of fans, won the unconditional support of just about everyone on the Internet, launched a massively successful comedy tour, and is set to premiere a new series on TBS. With both careers still going strong, we don’t see this rivalry ending any time soon.

This weekend, both comedians made high-profile public appearances. While Leno addressed President Obama and the White House Correspondents Dinner, Conan opened up about the ordeal of losing his show on 60 Minutes. Who came out looking better? Watch video of both and check out our take after the jump.

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Best Week Ever dredged up this old clip of 60 Minutes’ Andy Rooney going through a cardboard box of clothes trying to decide what to donate to charity and what to keep. He was born in 1919, so there are some real gems. Like the majority of Rooney’s segments, it is both convoluted and hilarious — particularly the moment when he says his old suit makes him looks like he runs a pawn shop. Spoiler alert: Rooney is a hoarder and decides to give nothing away in the end. Read More »