Bill Plante Cause of Death and Autopsy Report
WASHINGTON - MARCH 11: (U.S. TABS AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER OUT) Bill Plante of CBS News emcees the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation Awards dinner on March 11, 2004 in Washington DC. (Photo by Stephen Boitano/Getty Images)
Bill Plante was an American journalist and correspondent for CBS News.
Table of Contents
Age
Bill Plante was born on January 14, 1938. He was 84 years old when he died on September 28, 2022.
Education
Plante studied business and humanities at Loyola University Chicago earning a bachelor’s degree in 1959.
He dropped out of Chicago-Kent College of Law after his friend got him a job as assistant news director at WISN-TV. He spent four years at the station, before being awarded a journalism fellowship by CBS to study political science at Columbia University.
Career
He joined CBS News in 1964 and was noted for being the network’s senior White House correspondent for over three decades.
After completing his studies at Columbia, Plante started working for CBS News in June 1964 as a reporter and assignment editor. He was sent to South Vietnam later that year to report on the Vietnam War, the first of four tours as a correspondent.
In March 1965, Plante went to Selma, Alabama, and was there when state troopers assaulted marchers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in what has been referred to as “Bloody Sunday”.
While covering Bill Clinton’s visit to New Zealand, Plante bungee jumped over the Kawarau River alongside White House aides. Before jumping, he declared, “This is Bill Plante of CBS News, proving that you’re never too old to do something really stupid”.
Personal Life
Plante’s first marriage was to Barbara Barnes Orteig. They had two children, in addition to the four sons from her previous marriage whom Plante adopted, including syndicated radio talk show host Chris Plante. They eventually divorced, and he married Robin Smith in 1987. They remained married for 34 years until his death. One of his sons, Patrick, predeceased him in 2014.
Cause of Death
Plante died on September 28, 2022, at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 84 and suffered from respiratory failure prior to his death.
Net Worth
His net worth was $7 Million.
Check out the biography of Katie Couric’s children here.