Dan Rather

Birthday: Oct. 31, 1931.

Birthplace: Wharton, Texas

Current home: New York City.

Marital status: Married for 34 years to Jean Rather.

Children: Robin, 31, and Danjack, 30.

Car: A Jeep.

Working on: Anchoring CBS Evening News and 48 Hours.

The last good movie I saw was: Henry V.

I stay home to watch: Murphy Brown, Designing Women and Canadian amateur hockey.

The book I’ve been recommending lately is: George Will’s Men at Work.

Favorite performers: Jessica Tandy and Laurence Olivier.

Prized possession: My mother’s Bible.

Personal hero: My father. He worked hard and didn’t sell out.

I’ve never been able to: Understand qualitative analysis.

I’d give anything to meet: The hostage Terry Anderson. I’d like to ask him how he manages to hold himself together.

If I could change one thing about myself, I would: Work less, play more.

People who knew me in high school thought I was: Like them — average, trying to be better.

My most irrational act: That’s easy. Trying to hop a freight to Chicago from Texas when I was 18. It took me five days to get to Oklahoma City, and then I gave up.

If I couldn’t be a reporter, I’d be: Coaching football.

If I’ve learned one thing in life, it’s: Friends are more important than money.

My most humbling experience: Losing my college football scholarship after the first week of school. We hadn’t even played a game.

The best person to star in the movie of my life is: Arsenio Hall.

Three words that best describe me: Determined, durable, dedicated.