Famed journalist, Mike Wallace passed a couple of days ago so I find it fitting to share a little known fact about a man who entered our livingrooms on a regular basis. I’m a proponent of “good dad” stories, so here goes. Few people know Mike Wallace’s son went missing during a trip to Greece. What Dad then did is he strapped on a pair of hiking boots and scaled the tricky terrain his son hiked, refusing to give up until he located his son, or in this sad case, his son’s remains.
In Memoriam
Peter Jon Wallace
Peter Jon Wallace
Yale University, 1964 Class Book
Peter Jon Wallace was a son of Mike Wallace, the famed newscaster best known as the principal host of CBS’s 60 Minutes. Peter Jon Wallace died on August 31, 1962, in Greece. His death was either at Corinth or on Santorini, depending on which of two conflicting versions you credit.
A Yale Daily News article on Sep. 19, 1962, states:
"Peter J. Wallace, 1964, was killed in a fall this August while hiking in the mountains near Corinth, Greece. Wallace was a member of the editorial board of the Yale Daily News, and had worked for CBS news. His last published work was an article on William P. Bundy. In addition to his activities in the field of journalism, he played tennis for Jonathan Edwards College. He graduated from Millbrook and was the son of television personality Mike Wallace of New York."
Mike Wallace’s biography contains the following excerpt:
"It was the death of another son, Peter, 19, in a 1962 hiking accident in Greece, that prompted Wallace to turn from entertainment ― throughout the ’50s he hosted game shows and interview shows ― to news. ‘I felt I owed it to Peter,’ Wallace says, noting that Peter had expressed an interest in journalism, which Wallace told him was a noble profession."
Perhaps now you can RIP Mike.
Renegade Financial Planner
