Mobituaries with Mo Rocca

By CBS News & iHeartPodcasts

Society & Culture History

What's Mobituaries with Mo Rocca about?

“CBS News Sunday Morning” correspondent Mo Rocca has always loved obituaries. Each episode of Mobituaries covers his favorite dearly departed people and things. This season profiles legendary athlete Jim Thorpe in "Death of an All-American", iconic singer/songwriter Peggy Lee in "Death of Cool", and even the death of the mid-Atlantic accent, best known from the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Franklin Roosevelt and Jacqueline Kennedy. Mo even has a few new things in store including an episode that looks back at folks who "Died on the Same Day.” Think: Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett; John Adams and Thomas Jefferson; Jim Henson and Sammy Davis, Jr. – and then there’s Margaret Thatcher and Annette Funicello? Tune in for fresh takes on famous legacies and tributes to people who never got the sendoff they deserved. Even if you know the names, you’ve never understood why they matter until now!

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Death of a Nepo Baby

11.29.2023

“Nepo Baby” is a term popularly used to describe the celebrity children of celebrity parents. But family connections affect every field of work, and always have. And where family is involved, so is drama. Mo tells the stories of three ...

Mobituaries with Mo Rocca episodes:

11.29.2023 Death of a Nepo Baby “Nepo Baby” is a term popularly used to describe the celebrity children of celebrity parents. But family connections affect every field of work, and always have. And where family is involved, so is drama. Mo tells the stories of three ...
11.15.2023 JFK Impersonator Vaughn Meader: Death of a Career November 22, 2023, marks 60 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the end of one of the era's biggest comedy acts. During Kennedy's term, Vaughn Meader’s impersonation of the president made him a household name. The ...
11.08.2023 Charlie McCarthy: Death of a Dummy When Candice Bergen describes her childhood as weird and eccentric, she isn’t exaggerating. She grew up with a world-famous sibling, who met presidents and movie stars. He was also a dummy – the kind made of wood. Charlie McCarthy was ...
11.01.2023 Things I Wish Would Die On this podcast we’ve honored some of our past’s most outstanding and underappreciated people and things. May they live on in memory. But let’s face it, some things deserve to disappear and be consigned to the dustbin of history. In ...
10.25.2023 Death of an Accent Have you ever wondered about that old timey accent so many actors used in black and white movies? Hollywood stars like Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Orson Welles, who sounded sort of British … but not quite. Was it all ...
10.18.2023 Jim Thorpe: Death of an All-American When gold medalist Jim Thorpe was dubbed "the world's greatest athlete" at the 1912 Olympics, it wasn't hype. Football, baseball, lacrosse, even ballroom dancing ... Thorpe was the world's first multi-sport superstar. But when the Native American icon had his ...
10.11.2023 Peggy Lee: Death of Cool There were so many different Peggy Lees: The woman who defined cool in the 1950s with songs like "Fever." The songwriter of hits including the score to "Lady and the Tramp." The icon who inspired Miss Piggy, originally named Miss ...
10.04.2023 Died on the Same Day (with special guest Anderson Cooper) When it comes to obituaries, Mo has always been obsessed with the phenomenon of public figures who share the same death day. So he’s asked CNN anchor and 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper to join the podcast to talk about ...
09.27.2023 Introducing: Season 4 of Mobituaries with Mo Rocca Mo Rocca is back with another fascinating season of Mobituaries, exploring the people and things that are no longer with us but deserve a second look. You’ll hear all about notable figures who "Died on the Same Day" along with ...
02.15.2023 Timothy Scott: Death of a Dancer When Andrew Lloyd Webber’s original Broadway production of the musical Cats premiered in 1982, a young dancer named Timothy Scott was just entering his prime. Cast in the role of Mr. Mistoffelees, he left audiences (including a young Mo) spellbound ...
02.08.2023 Benedict Arnold: Before They Went Bad Before his name became synonymous with treason, Benedict Arnold was a bonafide hero of the American Revolutionary War. At critical moments Arnold inspired the Patriots with his grit and determination and earned the admiration of George Washington. Despite his popularity ...
02.01.2023 The Gros Michel: Death of a Banana The banana we eat today is not the same kind our grandparents grew up eating. Today’s variety, called the Cavendish, is generally regarded as the bland successor to the richer tasting Gros Michel (French for “Big Mike”) of yesteryear. But ...
01.25.2023 Samantha Smith: Death of a Peacemaker At one of the most dangerous moments in the Cold War, an ordinary 5th grade girl from Maine wrote to the leader of the Soviet Union with a simple plea for peace. When he wrote back with an invitation to ...
01.18.2023 Second Place Finishers: Larry Doby, Judith Resnik & The Dave Clark Five We love historical “Firsts” so much that we end up ignoring the people who come right after them. But without these runners-up, the trailblazers are just one-offs or oddities––instead of the beginning of big change. Mo celebrates the Black baseball ...
01.11.2023 Fanny Brice: Death of the Original Funny Girl Fans of Broadway and Barbra Streisand probably know the name Fanny Brice as the woman who refuses to let anyone rain on her parade in the beloved musical "Funny Girl." But the real Fanny Brice, the original funny girl, was ...
01.04.2023 Mobits Extra: Burrata and Anchovies with Major Garrett Mo goes behind the scenes of season 3 of Mobituaries with the host of The Takeout, Major Garrett. They share a delicious meal and dig into the highlights of Mobits’ history and the complexity behind why people and things deserve ...
12.14.2022 Mobits Extra: Mo’s Mystery Bust Mo’s deep appreciation for our less-remembered presidents led him to purchase a giant bust of Grover Cleveland, which has dominated his living room for over 20 years. But when the New York Times questioned the bust’s identity, it set in ...
11.09.2022 Death of the Latin Lover The frenzy Rudolph Valentino caused in life was matched only by the pandemonium unleashed when he died at age 31. With his brooding good looks and vulnerability, he and the other "Latin Lovers" that followed redefined the leading man. Mo ...
11.02.2022 June Foray: Woman of a Thousand Voices It's hard to imagine childhood without the classic cartoon characters June Foray gave voice to: Little Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch, Granny from the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi's villainous cobra. June Foray ...
10.26.2022 Mr. & Mrs. Smith: Death of a Marriage Ban 1967 was a big year for marriage in America. The Supreme Court's ruling in Loving v. Virginia overturned bans on interracial marriage in 16 states. The movie Guess Who's Coming to Dinner starred Sidney Poitier as a Black doctor engaged ...
10.19.2022 Death of a Name: Mildred, Bertha & Todd What’s in a name…that makes it popular to one generation, and downright ugly to the next? From "Bertha" and "Layla" to "Reagan" and "Katrina," history shows us that politics, pop songs and news events all play roles in sending baby ...
10.12.2022 Wishbone: Death of a Working Dog In the 1990s, PBS introduced young audiences to a canine star like none other: a Jack Russell terrier who imagined himself as characters from classic works of literature. The show was called Wishbone. Today there's a whole generation of adults ...
10.05.2022 John Denver: Death of the Sunshine Boy The utter sincerity of his songs ("Country Roads," "Rocky Mountain High") endeared John Denver to fans worldwide and helped make him one of the biggest stars of the 1970s. But the easy-mannered mountaineer with the dutch boy haircut and granny ...
09.28.2022 Introducing: Season 3 of Mobituaries with Mo Rocca Mo Rocca’s long love of obituaries returns for a third season. Mo looks to celebrate the dearly departed people (and things) of the past who have long intrigued him— this season explores the most intriguing history from TV’s most beloved ...
03.24.2020 The Station Wagon: Death of a Leviathan For a few decades the station wagon was as central to the American Dream as the white picket fence and the basketball hoop in the driveway. It was the quintessential family car. And really, who didn’t want to ride in ...
02.07.2020 Anna May Wong: Death of a Trailblazer Anna May Wong wasn't supposed to be in the movies. Her laundryman father was dead set against it. And Hollywood preferred white actors in "yellow face" for Asian characters. But Wong knew what she wanted. With her talent, beauty and ...
01.17.2020 Mobituaries LIVE! In a Mobits first, Mo takes the show on the road! Mo shares his love of obituaries; investigates why we confuse certain dead celebrities; and interviews former New York Times obituary writer Margalit Fox about what it's like to write ...
01.03.2020 Lawrence Welk: Death of a Square (with special guest Fred Armisen) Fred Armisen joins Mo to pay tribute to legendary bandleader and TV host, Lawrence Welk. Welk was another victim of television's Rural Purge of the early 1970s, when his long running musical variety show was canceled by ABC after his ...
12.21.2019 Merry Christmas from Laura Branigan In December of 1993, Laura Branigan called into Ernie Manouse's Chicago-based radio show and sang O Holy Night a capella. Technically the recording isn't perfect, but Laura's pitch is. And her spirit shines through. We thank Ernie, now an award-winning ...
12.20.2019 The Orphan Train: Death of an American Experiment Between 1854 and 1929, 250,000 orphans - at peril in the dangerous, overcrowded streets of New York - were placed on trains and sent west to live with new families. A desperate solution to a desperate problem, some of the ...
12.13.2019 Laura Branigan: Death of a Singer, Life of a Song The St. Louis Blues hockey team had the worst record in the NHL in January 2019, before deciding to adopt the 1982 hit song Gloria as their anthem. They ended up winning the Stanley Cup. But many of their fans ...
12.06.2019 The Rural Purge: Death of the Country Broadcasting System In the early 1970's, CBS axed its slate of hit country-themed sitcoms. The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction were just three of the shows that bought the farm. Mo talks to Linda Henning (star of Petticoat Junction), author ...
11.22.2019 The Black Congressmen of Reconstruction: Death of Representation During the 1870s, more than a dozen African American men, many of whom had been born into slavery, were elected to the U.S. Congress. These political pioneers symbolized the sky high hopes of millions of former slaves during the years ...
11.15.2019 Thomas Paine: Death of a Forgotten Founding Father Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense, the pamphlet that inspired the American Revolution. So why did only six people show up at his funeral? Mo finds out why this essential Founding Father has never gotten his due - and, with the ...
11.05.2019 Marlene Dietrich Goes To War Marlene Dietrich cemented her status as a Hollywood legend with a series of iconic performances that flouted traditional women's roles and ignited the screen. But it's her passionate support for the United States, her adopted homeland, and the troops fighting ...
11.01.2019 Billy Carter: Death of the First Brother America has a long tradition of unruly presidential brothers, none more famous than Billy Carter. He became so well-known for his antics, there was even a brand of beer named for him. Mo speaks to President Jimmy Carter and Billy's ...
10.22.2019 Mobituaries with Mo Rocca Season 2 Trailer CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and humorist Mo Rocca returns with more stories about the people and things that have long fascinated him and, yes, they’re all still dead. From the unruly presidential brother with his own beer to a 1980’s ...
03.08.2019 Death of a Tree: Roots of a Rivalry The legendary rivalry between college football powerhouses Auburn and University of Alabama turned ugly with the 2011 poisoning of two beloved oak trees on Auburn's campus. Mo explores the history behind the rivalry and the line between fandom and fanaticism.Learn ...
02.28.2019 Chang and Eng: A Messy American Dream Many of us have seen pictures of the original "Siamese Twins" Chang and Eng. But their story is so much more than a medical case study. Mo travels to Mount Airy, North Carolina - the inspiration for Andy Griffith's Mayberry ...
02.21.2019 Neanderthals: Death of a Human Species Mo welcomes his friend Michael Ian Black – comedian, author, podcaster, and, as it turns out, Neanderthal (we’ll explain). Mo talks to Michael and the world’s leading researchers about why our extinct human cousins Neanderthals have gotten such a bad ...
02.15.2019 Sammy Davis Jr.: Death of the Entertainer From the age of three Sammy Davis, Jr. did it all better than anyone else - singing, dancing, acting, even gun spinning. Mo talks to friends and family about what drove him to keep performing, even after the car crash ...
02.07.2019 Audrey Hepburn: Death of an Icon There were other stars as big as Audrey Hepburn, some even bigger. (Ahem, Katharine Hepburn?) So why is it that more than 25 years after her death her image still captivates us and her name trends regularly on social media? ...
01.31.2019 The Forgotten Forerunners Mo tells the stories of three remarkable people who changed history - but whose names you've probably never heard. They are the pioneers before the pioneers. Before Rosa Parks, there was Elizabeth Jennings. Before Jackie Robinson, there was Moses Fleetwood ...
01.24.2019 Sitcom Deaths and Disappearances Characters on sitcoms aren't supposed to die. So when they do, it's never less than weird. Mo examines some of the most infamous sitcom deaths and disappearances with Henry Winkler, Sandy Duncan and Alan Sepinwall.Learn more about the Mobituaries book: ...
01.17.2019 JFK Impersonator Vaughn Meader: Death of a Career For one brief shining moment in the early 1960s, John F. Kennedy impersonator Vaughn Meader was on top of the world. He was the voice of the hit comedy album "The First Family" which broke sales records and even won ...
01.09.2019 Mobituaries with Mo Rocca Season 1 Trailer Join CBS Sunday Morning correspondent, humorist, and history buff Mo Rocca for an irreverent but deeply researched appreciation of the people (and things) of the past who have long intrigued him. This trailer previews a few of the subjects profiled ...