Cronkite's Achilles Heel Healing

Mon., Dec. 29, 2003 1:45 PM PST by Josh Grossberg

This just in--Walter Cronkite is on the mend.

The legendary CBS newsman underwent an operation last week in a New York hospital to repair an old Achilles tendon injury that had been bothering him, his rep confirmed.

"His condition is good. He was in the hospital for a week before Christmas," publicist Julie Sukman said Monday.

According to the rep, doctors performed a skin graft to an area where Cronkite's Achilles had long posed a problem.

"There had been some surgery for his tendon in the past and this was for a wound in that area," said Sukman.

Cronkite, still sprightly at the ripe old age of 87, says he hasn't let the sore foot hobble him too much--he's even planning a return to his beloved tennis court by the summer.

The veteran broadcast journalist is proving a quick healer. He has recovered enough to travel to Europe, where he's preparing to emcee PBS' annual telecast of the Vienna Philharmonic New Year's concert.

This will be Cronkite's 20th stint hosting the program since retiring from the anchor desk at CBS Evening News in 1981, making him the highbrow equivalent of Dick Clark when it comes to auld-lang-syning it.

The Vienna Philharmonic performance, held in the Austrian capital's Musikverein concert hall, features numerous waltzes and polkas typically composed by favorite sons Richard Wagner, Johann and Joseph Strauss and Johannes Brahms. Besides his chores introducing musical numbers, the "most trusted man in America" will also visit some of Vienna's most famous locales, including the Albertina Museum, as part of a travelogue segment.

Since passing the CBS News torch to Dan Rather, Cronkite has spent his time narrating and producing numerous documentaries, mostly for public television and radio, attending speaking engagements and writing a liberal-leaning syndicated newspaper column. He also remains a special correspondent for his old network.

Apart from the bum Achilles' heel, Cronkite has been in tip-top shape. His only other recent health trouble occurred in 1997, when he underwent a quadruple bypass operation to correct a clogged artery.