The iconic “60 Minutes” corespondent, 84-year-old Morley Safer, died in his Manhattan home today just one week after announcing his retirement from the hour-long news program. Although the cause of death has not been released, Safer was reported to have been suffering from declining health of late.

The Toronto-born Safer caught the public’s eye in 1965, when as CBS’s Bureau Chief in Saigon, he did a piece on Vietnam, where he showed U.S. Marines burning the huts of villagers, That piece of journalism prompted other journalists to begin reporting the raw truth about the war and is considered one of the best examples of 20th century journalism. He would spend three tours at that bureau from 1964 to 1966.

Safer joined “60 Minutes” in 1970, that show’s third season, replacing Harry Reasoner. He would go on to do 900 pieces for the show. It is widely thought that Safer’s 1971 piece on the Gulf of Tonkin Affair saved the show from cancellation early in the show’s history.

Moving to Sunday, within eight years of Safer joining the show, it was in the top 10 in the Nielsen Ratings.

It is difficult to chose his best work, but one episode done by Safer, exposed the wrongful and sloppy conviction of Lenell Geter in a Texas court, Geter had been convicted of Armed Robbery and had been sentenced to life in prison. Within days of the airing of the piece, Geter’s conviction was overturned.

Born in Toronto in 1931, Safer would eventually become a U.S. citizen.

Safer is survived by Jane, his wife of 48 years and one daughter, Sarah and her three children. He is also survived by a sister and brother, both of Toronto.

Safer’s funeral will be private.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

  60 minutes, cbs, death, morley safer, passing