Sam Donaldson retirement? Yep, after four decades Sam Donaldson is retiring. Donaldson retires from ABC at the top of his game and still loved by viewers.

But Sam tells the WSJ how he thinks he will be remembered:

“I guess it’ll be on my tombstone: ‘He yelled at Ronald Reagan’. “

Now those were the days! The 74 year old newsman says he is leaving at a good time. Next week will be Sam’s last.

His co workers say his image on screen as tough, perhaps mean, is nothing what the man is inside, described as a “heart of gold”.

Fans know the truly best moments were Sam with Reagan.

“Reagan was kept at a very good distance. When he heard a question he wanted to answer, he frequently would come over to the rope line and answer it. . . . Whatever notoriety I achieved in those years, it was because of standing in his reflection.”

Reagan was brilliant at interacting with the media in a way that furthered his own purpose. And with Donaldson always tough, and Reagan with the consistent smile and often evasive in almost a humorous way, it was a classic exchange you might never see again between a correspondent and a President that was great journalism and great entertainment.