The 60 Minutes Interview: I.M. Pei

In 1987, Diane Sawyer profiled the world-renowned architect.
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"60 Minutes," the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen's Top 10. "60 Minutes" has won more Emmy Awards than any other primetime broadcast, including a special Lifetime Achievement Emmy. It has also won every major broadcast journalism award over its tenure, including 24 Peabody and 18 DuPont Columbia University awards for excellence in television broadcasting. Other distinguished awards won multiple times include the George Polk, RTNDA Edward R. Murrow, Investigative Reporters and Editors, RFK Journalism, Sigma Delta Chi and Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Reporting. "60 Minutes" premiered on CBS Sept. 24, 1968. The correspondents and contributors of "60 Minutes" are Bill Whitaker, Steve Kroft, Scott Pelley, Lesley Stahl, Anderson Cooper, Sharyn Alfonsi, Jon Wertheim and Norah O'Donnell. "60 Minutes" airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Check your local listings.

[@Apatxi1022]

I had the privilege to meet him a few times. My parents had a restaurant and he loved how my mom prepared the red snapper. He celebrated his 90th birthday at my parents house in Spain too!

[@annafeng1540]

AZ pl

[@bo24.u.98]

Nice.

[@amalianita2286]

That is so amazing

[@stephenmogle2335]

Pei was, and will forever be known as an influential architect. He followed his dreams at a time when being an Asian American was difficult and found great success in his revolutionary designs. RIP Mr. Pei, you are an inspiration to many of us.

[@InTheLifeOfAnArtist]

The work is more impressive than race

[@yifangu5604]

He is Shanghainese proud

[@LittleWhole]

@@yifangu5604 His family is from Suzhou, the same city I'm from

[@Archer335]

Pei was brilliant and had lots of class. R.I.P., Mr. Pei. Thank you for making the world a better place to inhabit. Thank you so much.

[@Jab_Reel]

The French hated the Eiffel Tower when it was first built

[@grtynan]

"This disposable society of ours is not conducive to doing good architecture, and this, I am unhappy about. Why is Paris so beautiful? Because the buildings were built to last, that’s the difference"

[@chromebomb]

truth

[@kevinmahoney7389]

"dapper Chinese looks" would never fly now

[@VegetableFRIES]

I noticed that...

[@jianwen5760321]

“Endless varieties of a simple theme”

[@AHHUAT2]

OMG, Diane Sawyer is still so young and beautiful in 1987! haha....now she is old and beautiful!

[@dougg1075]

Joseph Stalin she was married a year after this.. lucky man:)

[@kitssch]

A septuagenarian now!

[@kitssch]

Hard to believe she was 42 here

[@boren9010]

Love how he cited his Chinese American heritage as a reason for winning over the Louvre object. Diane Sawyer really wanted to pigeon hole him as an American and he didn’t bite. This interview is so dated with the “old Chinese ploy” comment. As a first gen Chinese American it’s inspiring to see someone so proud of his roots do great things.

[@LittleWhole]

As a person from Suzhou I'm proud we have someone as amazing as him. I'm still sad about his death today. :(

[@Paligirl19999]

He was so polite and kind!

[@LittlePanda888]

He definitely knows a thing or two about historical properties. His family (grand-uncle) used to own the 600 year-old Lions grove garden in Suzhou, which is now a UNESCO world heritage site. He used to spend time there when he was young.

[@tweedy4sg]

RIP Mr.Pei ....

[@YusufOnder]

RIP PEI

[@clementevillasenor6528]

Mr Pei is without a Doubt an excellent Architect and I completely agree with him that buildings before where better built and lasted more! Good Architecture! My father is an Architect and completely agrees with his point of view Regarding architecture!

[@importantguycommenting8156]

*LEGENDARY ARCHITECT*

[@beckya640]

Masterful. Amazing for him to battle back from the Hancock building to the Louvre. Such iconic work. RIP.

[@YCT307]

He spoke with such passion.

[@hakanuriona]

The unnecessary amount of times she mentions his Chinese background is astounding

[@dougg1075]

HakanPestoBoy why?

[@VegetableFRIES]

Seriously... I notice that too.

[@youweilin8025]

He brings it up himself too. Man came to America in his adulthood. He has pride in his cultural heritage.

[@HKS-007]

Oh it's quiet necessary.

[@harrycao7935]

@@HKS-007 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBSSSSSSSSSSSSSS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@tsoil345]

One of the geniuses of our times. Will be hard to see another

[@MY-ce2qt]

Mr. Pai was the pride of Chinese American. Besides his extraordinary talent, he had a very charming personality. RIP Mr. Pai. You will be remembered for as long as those beautiful buildings you’ve designed exist. BTW, Diane Sawyer was soooo beautiful when she was young.

[@natalieseeto3467]

Great interview😊

[@KSASA999]

I love his arch

[@tdolz]

Architects are awesome.

[@lisaperez8276]

What a beautiful man 💖

[@seans9149]

This is such a priceless video/Interview of 60 Minutes of Mr. Pei! I wonder what those french people would say when they were against this project and how many younger french people or the people from the globe that visit the Louvre museum today are aware of this story.

[@NewEnglandViews]

This is one of the great segments from the archives 💛

[@henrywang931]

华人的骄傲 R.I.P

[@kitssch]

So this is the guy who created that pyramid featured in the davinci code

[@nulnoh219]

This guy went to America after watching movies about American College life. In Contemporary context, its like going to America for college after watching the likes of American Pie. XD

[@wowcnmovie]

MrHan this is exactly right!

[@LittleWhole]

XD

[@Kylefassbinderful]

Rest in peace.

[@dougg1075]

What a interesting pleasant man.

[@galaxy-star-me]

R.I.P.

[@samer3536]

RIP 🙏🏻

[@zerouszzz9351]

RIP Sir

[@rayrayrayryrayrayray]

Icon

[@stepholiver8988]

RIP

[@ISCDESIGNAustralia]

wonderful man. great architect.

[@hajarrajab596]

For architecture to last, it has to be good; for architecture to prove good, it has to last.

[@onkarkitekt]

10:50 🙏🏾🏆

[@dougg1075]

Egyptians built to last

[@timetobenotdo]

No one can mimic the pretension of a an Frenchman.

[@shanghainesetv3992]

RIP 貝聿銘先生

[@dbsk06]

whoa diane sawyer was HOT. saying this as a girl

[@blued2601]

I had no idea the glass pyramid was so new. I thought it was as old as the louvre.

[@kyberbricks3781]

SAT be like

[@abuzzedwhaler7949]

lemao epic

[@daksze6541]

Leonardo De Vince reborn.

[@gregmartin3425]

You've got to be kidding me.

[@user-gs3ok1fr2v]

Pei represents the spirit of 1.4 billion Chinese people and all of Chinese living outside of China. The spirit of co existence in harmony and peace.

[@echan275]

Oh, please, he is American

[@ptaing8]

@@echan275 His Status is American, but he born in China and his genetic and cultures are Chinese!

[@user-gs3ok1fr2v]

E Chan : 贝佬 的中文名 贝聿铭 老乡是苏州

[@alexiasong4080]

@@echan275 2:40 Pei :" I came from a country who have a long history..."

[@dazhou9293]

Praising yourself in such a fashion is disgusting my stomach

[@dandanli4326]

他始终强调自己的“根”在中国。

[@LukeFang]

doulos Christou 是啊，人家还回老家盖博物馆了，给他的家乡中国设计了多少栋楼。作出多少的贡献，还民国民尼玛呢？一个毁灭的国家了，哪里还有根？而且贝老在民国统治下也没生活多久。当年的民国就是个腐败的政府，专治的政府，虽然也比今天在台湾的伪民国好得多。

[@bmwdallas82]

I prefer Pei Wei

[@DirectX3]

Successful Chinese only grow in the free country.

[@marioguzman9688]

So, he was born in china as i understand. Where does chinese american come in.

[@bkb04g]

Really not a fan of the JFK Library. Doesn’t evoke anything reminiscent of him or his legacy, nor anything scholarly, which is a shame. I think Pei became a bit myopic and built on architectural principles, not on the spirit and ethos of the particular project. It’s not that the end result were not good-more so they weren’t conjuring the feelings and thoughts imagined by the masses.

[@rainriders]

Great survivor of cultural revolution which could have destroyed what he had to offer the world.

[@eseereoj]

NO. What are you talking about ??? Mr. I.M. Pei had already been out of China for decades when Cultural Revolution arrived -- he was not a survivor of Cultural Revolution, as he DID NOT live it -- ; in fact, he had come to the U.S. before Chinese Communist Party began to rule China.

[@MonsieurDecent]

?????????

[@rainriders]

@@eseereoj What a communist regime typically plans or would have planned to do is invite influential expats from other countries with phony excuses and lock them up in a cell to mysterious disappearance. Pei could survive because he applied for US citizenship (immediately after China turned red) which protected his life. treasure, freedom and human rights.

[@inesdelahoya2045]

rainriders What R U talking about? U R very ignorant.

[@TressBraga]

Old footage of Paris makes me cry because it was so beautiful. But their uncontrolled immigration policies that have let in incompatible muslim migrants from the Middle East and Africa have made the city a bona fide garbage dump. The Parisians know it.

[@stella-vu8vh]

Youre never, ever, EVER, going to have consensual sex.

[@sunshineblue1981]

What a bigot.

[@aniketsharma3177]

She is racist art is art no race for an artist

[@jetusirilimp7127]

Not my favorite

[@gregmartin3425]

His buildings look cartoonish. I would rather he was replaced by a weak follower of Borromini, Wren, Palladio, or Piranesi. Modern art and architecture is the greatest cultural fraud perpetrated in the world.

[@svtrader]

Tranport yourself 500 yrs. back then. You're too miserable in the 21st century.

[@gregmartin3425]

@@svtrader Ah so willing to toss out the past! Yes, everyone knows art and architecture is of much better quality in the 21st century. Because it's so...new! Yet, notice when modern artists and architects die...do the modernists forget them? No. They build "modern art museums" (oxymoron, that), and worship dead modern architects as if they were sacred cows. Is that not hypocritical? They should "ring out the old, and ring in the new"! But they don't. And I do transport myself in the past, whenever I look at old buildings and old art. Try it someday. It will be "new"...to you.

[@svtrader]

@@gregmartin3425 You're a pompous one...too many assumptions in your response. Bet you drink cabernet sauvignon with your pinky proudly sticking out.

[@rayc3186]

RIP