Our weekly dispatch from the nation's foremost mustache expert.

As the media's dull roar of sadness about the passing of the great Walter Cronkite wanes, we at the American Mustache Institute wish to provide the proper perspective about our late hero, and sometime colleague.

Most of Mr. Cronkite's tale is a familiar yarn to the American public. He was a true journalist in every sense of the word, best known as anchorman for the "CBS Evening News" for 19 years, during the heyday of the network in the 1960s and '70s. He was often cited in viewer opinion polls as "the most trusted man in America" because of his professional experience, kindly demeanor and, of course, his mustache.

Because of this, he was the first, and sadly one of the last, of a rare species known as Mustachiopithicus or "Cronkite Man." Mustachiopithicus was a breed of human who walked the earth, holding down the integral role of telling Americans about the news and not -- as it is today -- making news in the most craven manner.

Learn about the near extinction of Mustachiopithicus, after the jump.

Mr. Cronkite was a proud man of Mustached American descent, and because of his presence on the CBS set in the 1960s, most anchors across America -- male and female -- wore mustaches throughout the 1970s.

"Uncle Walter," as some called him, left our airwaves for good on March 6, 1981, ultimately being replaced by the clean-shaven Dan Rather.

His retirement caused a chain reaction among mustached anchormen, who began mysteriously dying or simply disappearing from the television landscape without its species anchor -- Cronkite -- or Mustachiopithicus.

What remained were the likes of famed mustached newsmen John Stossel, Geraldo Rivera and Pat O'Brien, who for a time was with CBS in its sports division before dabbling with explicit voice messaging. These are three of the dwindling mustached newsmen who survive. So, as Mr. Cronkite leaves us at the age of 92, having lived an eventful and impactful life, we say farewell to a hero, colleague and friend, while hoping that one day, his kind will again be plentiful on the airwaves.

Godspeed, Mustachiopithicus.

For Dr. Abraham J. Froman's mustache perspective, check in every Wednesday on Asylum.