"I always tell people it's the same act that ran at the other end of the dinner table," Brian Rooney said. "He was amazingly in-character his entire life. ... I think there are so many people in television these days who have adapted this character in order to make themselves popular, and he became
Two of Rooney's children followed their father into broadcasting. Brian Rooney is a former longtime ABC News correspondent, and Emily Rooney is the longtime host of "Greater Boston," a local public affairs television program on PBS.
Brian Rooney said his father didn't "invite" his children into broadcasting, but was "very pleased" when they went into it. Brian Rooney said, "He was funny. He was not very instructive as a father. He didn't tell you to do things. He did it by leading and living an interesting life in front of us."
"He taught me how to use a chainsaw, he taught me how to use a power saw," Brian Rooney said. "To do things out(doors) -- to make a fire. In the fireplace. We had an indoor fireplace. I would build a fire every night. This sounds like 1800s, but I cooked the meat in the fireplace for dinner every ni
"Oh, he would own up to all his mistakes," Brian Rooney said. "He was fully aware of his mistakes. He knew how badly dressed he was. He knew, in his woodworking, he'd have these wonderful ideas and a perfect form in his mind, and then ended up having to use a lot of putty."
