88-770: The Dick Cavett Show is the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: Cavett normally taped his programs in New York City , though occasionally he would venture elsewhere, including Los Angeles, New Orleans and London. The Dick Cavett Show refers to television programs on the ABC, PBS, USA and CNBC networks hosted by comedian, comedy writer and author Dick Cavett between 1968 and 1995 in New York. The first daytime show featured Gore Vidal , Muhammad Ali and Angela Lansbury . ABC pressured Cavett to get prominent celebrities on
176-425: A commune , when they in fact were followers of guru Mel Lyman . When Cavett asked about the "commune" where they lived, Frechette denied that it was a commune and said that "The community is for one purpose, and that's to serve Mel Lyman, who's the leader and founder of that community." At that point, Halprin finally tried to speak, but Cavett went to commercial. When the show returned, the next guest, Dr. Aaron Stern,
264-627: A Beverly Hills psychiatrist and director of the MPAA 's code and rating administration , was brought out, and Frechette and Halprin were not interviewed further. Around halfway through Cavett's Orson Welles interview, Welles reversed the roles and began asking Cavett questions about his life and career. This impromptu interview was well received by the audience and, among other things, humorously acknowledged Cavett's talk-show competitors such as Johnny Carson and Merv Griffin . Director John Cassavetes and actors Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara appeared on
352-641: A Christmas tree with honors, medals, and ribbons—without thinking of the great Mort Sahl at the peak of his brilliance." Cavett went on to recall Sahl's expressed contempt for General William Westmoreland 's display of medals, and criticized Petraeus for not speaking in plain language. In 2011, Cavett appeared as a talking head in the Robert Weide two-part documentary series Woody Allen: A Documentary for American Masters which aired on PBS . In December 2012, for their annual birthday celebration to "The Master", The Noël Coward Society invited Cavett as
440-682: A blog, published by The New York Times , entitled "Talk Show: Dick Cavett Speaks Again". Christopher Porterfield Christopher Porterfield is an American songwriter, guitarist and singer. He currently leads the folk band Field Report . Porterfield started his music career in High School, co-founding the band, Dinner With Greg. He also previously played with DeYarmond Edison , a band led by Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon . He graduated from Mayo High School in Rochester, Minnesota and
528-466: A book of his Times columns, and hosted replays of his TV interviews with Bette Davis , Lucille Ball , Salvador Dalí , Lee Marvin , Groucho Marx , Katharine Hepburn , Judy Garland , Marlon Brando , Orson Welles , Woody Allen , Ingmar Bergman , Jean-Luc Godard , Robert Mitchum , John Lennon , George Harrison , Jimi Hendrix , Richard Burton , Sophia Loren , Marcello Mastroianni , Kirk Douglas and others on Turner Classic Movies . Cavett
616-714: A brief stint as the Narrator in Stephen Sondheim 's Into the Woods . In 1995, Cavett lent his voice for The Simpsons episode " Homie the Clown ". He also appeared in footage from The Dick Cavett Show in Robert Zemeckis ' Forrest Gump (1994), and Ron Howard 's Apollo 13 (1995). From November 2000 to January 2002, he played the narrator in a Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show . Cavett
704-553: A copy of Variety or an appropriate piece of company stationery in order to look inconspicuous while sneaking backstage or into a TV studio. Cavett took many odd jobs ranging from store detective to label typist for a Wall Street firm, and as a copyboy at Time magazine. in 1956, Cavett joined the Oregon Shakespeare Festival , which is based in Ashland, Oregon , for its 16th season. Cavett appeared as
792-477: A daunting intellectual range" and "the most distinguished talk-show host in America." He is also known for his ability to remain calm and mediate between contentious guests as well as his resonant voice. His show often focused on controversial people or subjects, often pairing guests with opposing views on social or political issues, such as Jim Brown and Lester Maddox . On February 11, 1970, Cavett hosted
880-480: A debate about the Vietnam War, Cavett had two veterans debating on the show. The anti-war side was led by a young John Kerry and the pro-war side by John E. O'Neill , later the founder of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth . It was later revealed through then-President Richard Nixon 's secret White House tapes that Nixon wanted to "get rid" of Cavett because of this debate. Director Ingmar Bergman appeared for
968-707: A defense witness at the Chicago Seven trial, several of Collins' comments were censored at the direction of the ABC legal department. Collins wrote a protest letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), claiming a violation of her free-speech rights and the network license granted to ABC by the FCC. Her protest was denied, with the FCC ruling that a television network could, at its discretion, delete or edit remarks on its programs. Elton Rule , president of ABC Television, noted that in
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#17327759219741056-540: A documentary series for HBO in the early 1980s titled Remember When . . . that examined changes in American culture over time and he hosted HBO's monthly review series HBO Magazine . In April 1981, Cavett traveled to Stockholm, Sweden, to interview pop group ABBA on the occasion of their tenth anniversary as a group. The special, titled Dick Cavett Meets ABBA , was taped by the Swedish TV network SVT and
1144-413: A guest, and declared every word playwright Lillian Hellman wrote was "a lie, including 'and' and 'the'." Hellman later sued McCarthy for libel. The suit spanned more than four years. Cavett's off-Broadway play opened March 14, 2014, and closed April 13, 2014, in its limited run. He subsequently came to Los Angeles to appear in a production at Theatre 40 , and delighted audiences by remaining onstage after
1232-512: A host who could attract guests that otherwise might not do interviews, at the expense of some of the excitement that might ensue from the multiple-guest format. In January 1973, despite a vociferous letter campaign, ratings forced the show to be cut back to occasional status, airing one week a month under the umbrella title ABC's Wide World of Entertainment . Jack Paar , whom ABC had tried to recruit as Cavett's successor, insisted that both he and Cavett would be given at least one week per month as
1320-511: A letter to film comedian Arthur Jefferson, better known as Stan Laurel of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy . The two soon met at Laurel's Hollywood apartment. On the evening of that first visit, Cavett wrote a tribute to him that Paar read on his show. Laurel saw the broadcast which he deeply appreciated. Cavett visited the legendary comedian several times. Their final time together came three weeks prior to Laurel's death in 1965. In his capacity as talent coordinator for The Tonight Show , Cavett
1408-693: A month, equal to $ 525 today. Cavett was cast in a film by the Signal Corps , but further jobs were not forthcoming. He was an extra on The Phil Silvers Show in 1959, a TV remake of the film Body and Soul for the DuPont Show of the Month the same year, and Playhouse 90 ("The Hiding Place") in 1960. He briefly revived his magic act while working as a typist and as a mystery shopper in department stores. Meanwhile, his girlfriend and future wife Carrie Nye landed several Broadway roles. Cavett
1496-474: A near-fatal stroke in 1965. During an interview with Christine Jorgensen , the first widely known trans woman to have sex reassignment surgery (in this case a complete male-to-female vaginoplasty ), Jorgensen walked off the show when she felt offended after Cavett asked her about the status of her romantic life with her wife; because Jorgensen was the only scheduled guest, Cavett spent the rest of that show talking about how he had not meant to offend her. As
1584-584: A rare cameo as a character (Delia's agent) other than himself. Cavett often appeared on television quiz and game shows, including What's My Line? , To Tell the Truth , Password , and the $ 25,000 Pyramid . Cavett narrated the HBO documentary series Time Was . Each episode covered a decade, ranging from the 1920s to the 1970s. The show originally aired in November 1979 and ran for six months. Cavett hosted
1672-469: A result of continuing coverage of the Robert F. Kennedy assassination that took place earlier that morning, Cavett's show did not begin until 11 am, and was interrupted at 11:20 for 30 minutes of further updates on the unfolding tragedy. At 11:50, Cavett's show returned for its final 10 minutes. The assassination was the only topic discussed during the 30 minutes of the show. On the following two mornings,
1760-523: A selection of performances and interviews on a three-DVD set, The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons , showcasing interviews of and performances by rock musicians who appeared on the Dick Cavett show from 1969 to 1974. Clips from his TV shows (actual or enacted for the occasion) have been used in films, for example Annie Hall (1977), Forrest Gump (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Frequency (2000) and Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022) Cavett
1848-536: A sign of respect for Cavett. By the end of 1974, Cavett's show was airing only twice per month. The PBS series featured single guests in a half-hour format and was produced by Christopher Porterfield , a former roommate of Cavett's at Yale University who had coauthored the book Cavett that was published in August 1974. The show remained on the PBS lineup until affiliates voted it off the schedule in 1982. On all three of
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#17327759219741936-472: A similar situation that may have prevented her from appearing on the show, did not allow her to perform at Woodstock. He considered the Dick Cavett Show too important for her career for her to risk missing the taping. Mitchell wrote the song " Woodstock " based on descriptions by Graham Nash and from the images she saw on television, as she could not be there in person. The most famous version of
2024-652: A single guest. Among those receiving such special treatment (some more than once) were Groucho Marx , Laurence Olivier , Judy Garland , Katharine Hepburn (without an audience), Bette Davis , Orson Welles , Noël Coward (who appeared on the same show with Alfred Lunt , Lynn Fontanne , Tammy Grimes and Brian Bedford ), John Lennon and Yoko Ono , Janis Joplin , Ray Charles , Alfred Hitchcock , Fred Astaire , Woody Allen , Gloria Swanson , Jerry Lewis , Lucille Ball , Zero Mostel ("on some shows I've had just one guest, but tonight I have Zero"), Bob Hope and David Bowie . These shows helped showcase Cavett's skills as
2112-517: A television program that combined the engaging qualities of lightly recalled nostalgia, the sophisticated stiletto, and a demonstration of genuine affection that had more substance than adolescent wails on how love will save the world. Sir Noël Coward, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, friends of a lifetime, met on Dick Cavett's show on the American Broadcasting Company network. They exchanged quips, pleasantries and thoughts about
2200-537: A tribute to the life and works of Sir Noël Coward , who had just been knighted in December 1969. Coward appeared as a guest, along with Alfred Lunt , Lynn Fontanne , Tammy Grimes , and Brian Bedford , each of whom were enjoying a successful run on Broadway in the revival of Coward's play, Private Lives . In reviewing the show for The New York Times , television critic Jack Gould said, "The age of youth? Balder dash! The over‐70 set walked off yesterday morning with
2288-520: Is a waste of good ink, and his most zealous adherents and hardest-core devotees are to be avoided, even if it means working your way around the world in the hold of a goat transport." In 1965, Cavett did some commercial voiceovers, including a series of mock interviews with Mel Brooks for Ballantine beer . In the next couple of years he appeared on game shows, including What's My Line . He wrote for Merv Griffin and appeared on Griffin's talk show several times, and then on The Ed Sullivan Show . In
2376-563: Is also played as he walks on stage during guest appearances on other talk shows. Cavett was present when actor Marlon Brando broke the jaw of paparazzo photographer Ron Galella on June 12, 1973. Galella had followed Cavett and Brando to a restaurant after the taping of The Dick Cavett Show in New York City. In 2008, Cavett entered an Iraq war dispute with a New York Times blog entry criticizing General David Petraeus , stating "I can't look at Petraeus—his uniform ornamented like
2464-549: Is featured in the 2003 documentary From the Ashes: The Life and Times of Tick Hall about the fire that destroyed his home in Montauk, New York and his effort to rebuild it. Cavett's signature tune has long been a trumpet version of the vocalise " Glitter and Be Gay " from Leonard Bernstein 's Candide . The tune was first played at the midpoint of his ABC show, and later became the theme of his PBS show. The tune
2552-771: Is heard discussing the incident on the Watergate tapes , saying, "Well, is there any way we can screw him [Cavett]? That's what I mean. There must be ways." H.R. Haldeman , White House Chief of Staff, answered, "We've been trying to." Cavett's name comes up a total of 26 times on the tapes, as he repeatedly highlighted the wrongdoings of the Nixon administration on his show. Cavett hosted many pop stars, both in interview and performance, such as David Bowie , Sly Stone , Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin . Several of his Emmy Award nominations and one Emmy Award were for Outstanding Musical or Variety Series, and in 2005 Shout Factory released
2640-476: Is like having your clothes criticized by Emmett Kelly ." Cavett appeared on the show once, to do a gymnastics routine on the pommel horse. After departing The Tonight Show , Cavett wrote for Jerry Lewis 's ill-fated talk show, for three times the money. Cavett began a brief career as a stand-up comic in 1964 at The Bitter End in Greenwich Village. His manager was Jack Rollins , who later became
2728-548: Is review enough." One show from June 1971 featured a debate between future senator and presidential candidate John Kerry and fellow veteran John O'Neill over the Vietnam War . O'Neill had been approached by the Nixon administration to work through the Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace to counter Kerry's influence on the public. The debate went poorly for the pro-war side, so angering President Nixon that he
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2816-772: Is why he also speaks fluent German. His maternal grandparents were the Rev. R. R. and Etta Mae Richards. The Rev. Mr. Richards was from Carmarthen , Wales , and was a Baptist minister who served parishes across central Nebraska. Cavett himself is a self-described agnostic. Cavett's parents taught in Comstock , Gibbon, and Grand Island, where Cavett started kindergarten at Wasmer Elementary School. Three years later, both of his parents landed teaching positions in Lincoln, Nebraska , where Cavett completed his education at Capitol, Prescott, and Irving schools and Lincoln High School . When Cavett
2904-475: The Plaza Hotel , where Marx invited him to lunch. Years later, Cavett gave the introduction to Marx's one-man show An Evening with Groucho Marx at Carnegie Hall and began by saying, "I can't believe that I know Groucho Marx." Cavett continued with The Tonight Show as a writer after Johnny Carson assumed hosting duties. For Carson he wrote the quip "Having your taste criticized by Dorothy Kilgallen
2992-750: The Best New Performer trophy. Around the same time, he met fellow magician Johnny Carson , 11 years his senior, who was doing a magic act at a church in Lincoln. While attending Yale University , Cavett played in and directed dramas on the campus radio station, WYBC , and appeared in Yale drama productions. In his senior year, he changed his major from English to drama, graduating in 1958. He also took advantage of any opportunity to meet stars, routinely going to shows in New York to hang around stage doors or venture backstage. He would go so far as to carry
3080-796: The Bishop of Ely and the second murderer in Tragedy of Richard the Third ; a page to the king in Love's Labour's Lost ; servant Gregory in The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet ; a lord in The Tragedy of Cymbeline ; and Quintus, son of Titus, in The Lamentable Tragedy . In 1960, aged 23, Cavett was living in a three-room, fifth-floor apartment on West 89th Street in Manhattan for $ 51
3168-480: The Drum " a cappella . Jefferson Airplane (with Crosby) then launched into " Somebody to Love ". The credits rolled as the musicians, without Mitchell, engaged in an instrumental jam as the audience danced. Jimi Hendrix was scheduled to join the others, but was unable to appear at the afternoon taping that occurred only a few hours after he had performed at the late-running festival. Mitchell's manager, apparently fearing
3256-642: The Emmy Awards Show (from Carnegie Hall in New York) with Bill Cosby (from Century Plaza in Los Angeles). His most popular talk show was his ABC program, which ran from 1969 to 1974. From 1962 to 1992, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was arguably the most popular late-night variety and talk show. Unlike many contemporary shows that attempted to compete with Carson in the same timeslot but were quickly cancelled, Cavett managed to remain on
3344-487: The US (the actual line is "In order to survive we steal, cheat, lie, forge, fuck, hide and deal". Another line with the forbidden word was "Up against the wall, Up against the wall, motherfucker ".). Mitchell sang " Chelsea Morning ", "Willy" and "For Free". Grace Slick purposefully called Cavett "Jim" and briefly talked about her school days at Finch College . Stephen Stills performed "4 + 20". Joni Mitchell sang " The Fiddle and
3432-409: The air for five years despite ABC being a smaller network with fewer affiliates than NBC at the time. Cavett earned a reputation as "the thinking man's talk show host" and received favorable reviews from critics. As a talk show host, Cavett has been noted for his ability to listen to his guests and engage them in intellectual conversation. Clive James described Cavett "as a true sophisticate with
3520-500: The arts, theater, acting, painting, whatever…[The Electric Church] is a belief that I have. We do use electric guitars. Everything is electrified nowadays. So, therefore the belief comes through electricity to people. That's why we play so loud. Because it doesn't actually hit through the eardrums like most groups do nowadays. They say 'Well, we're going to play loud too, because they're playing loud.' And they've got this real shrill sound that's really hard. We plan for our sound to go inside
3608-448: The behavior was mere showmanship and a calculated publicity stunt . The incident was reported on the news before it aired that night, increasing viewership. In Greenwood, Mississippi , the hometown of Cavett's wife Carrie Nye , the guests at a country club dance abandoned the dance floor to watch the show on the TV in the lounge. In Atlanta , then-ABC affiliate WQXI-TV (now WXIA ) led with
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3696-515: The early 1970s to focus on Hollywood celebrities also helped to minimize guest overlap. The late-night show's 45-minute midpoint would always be signaled by the musical piece "Glitter and Be Gay" from Leonard Bernstein 's Candide . The Candide snippet became Cavett's theme song and was used as the introduction to his later PBS series, and was played by the house band on his various talk show appearances. Typically each show had several guests, but occasionally Cavett would devote an entire show to
3784-421: The early ABC shows the bandleader was Bobby Rosengarden and the announcer was Fred Foy of The Lone Ranger fame. The morning show was produced by Woody Fraser. Tony Converse was the producer of the 1969 ABC prime-time show and the original producer of the ABC late-night show, succeeded by John Gilroy. Cavett's writer was Dave Lloyd . The Dick Cavett Show was also the name of a short-lived radio show. In
3872-499: The first broadcast of his 90-minute morning show, Cavett had as his first guest engineer, designer and futurist Buckminster Fuller . The two discussed how politicians would eventually become obsolete through technological advances, and the wide-ranging discussion included a comment from Fuller that a woman is a baby factory and that a man's role is to simply press the right button. Later on in the program, Cavett chatted with actress Patricia Neal , who discussed her long rehabilitation from
3960-416: The first time on a US talk show, one of the few television interviews he ever granted. Actor/singer Danny Kaye appeared for the entire show with film clips, performing and promoting UNICEF . Moments before the episode with Gore Vidal , Norman Mailer and Janet Flanner , Mailer, annoyed with Vidal's less-than-stellar review of Prisoner of Sex , headbutted Vidal and traded insults with him backstage. As
4048-604: The guest celebrity to lay flowers in front of Coward's statue at New York's Gershwin Theatre , commemorating the 113th birthday of Sir Noël. Coward had made an appearance on Cavett's ABC late-night television show in 1970 after being knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in December 1969. Cavett starred in Hellman v. McCarthy (Literary Legends Declare War!) in New York City's Abingdon Theatre. Cavett re-enacted his show of January 25, 1980, when literary critic Mary McCarthy appeared as
4136-493: The interview, Cavett asked Coward, "What is the word for when one has terrific, prolific qualities?" to which Coward answered in a deadpan manner, "Talent", drawing a great amount of laughter. Actors Mark Frechette and Daria Halprin appeared together with movie producer Mel Brooks and movie critic Rex Reed . The interview went poorly from the outset, with Frechette giving abrupt, non-conversational answers and Halprin staying silent. Cavett apparently believed that they lived in
4224-457: The late 1960s or early 1970s, he narrated a National Association of Broadcasters PSA featuring A Boy Wandering Around a Forest. After doing The Star and the Story , a rejected television pilot with Van Johnson , Cavett hosted a special, Where It's At , for Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear . In 1968, Cavett was hired by ABC to host This Morning . According to a New Yorker article, the show
4312-585: The mirror one morning, and I figured, why waste five and a half dollars?" In an interview with Jimi Hendrix, Cavett spoke about Hendrix's performance of the " Star Spangled Banner " at Woodstock, and called the style "unorthodox". Jimi commented that the song was "not unorthodox" and that what he played was beautiful. The audience clapped, and Dick blushed. Hendrix performed "Izabella" & " Machine Gun " with his band, Billy Cox , Mitch Mitchell and Juma Sultan . During an interview with singer Judy Collins in which Cavett and Collins discussed her experiences as
4400-403: The moon don't shine?" A long laugh by the audience ensued, after which Mailer asked Cavett if he had "come up with that line himself". Cavett replied, "I have to tell you a quote from Tolstoy ?" The headbutting and later on-air altercation was described by Mailer in his short book Of a Small and Modest Malignancy, Wicked and Bristling with Dots , including a description that does not jibe with
4488-510: The movie Power Play (1977). Cavett appeared in Kate & Allie (1986), Cheers (1983), and in Robert Altman 's Health (1980). In a cameo in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), as part of a dream sequence, he turned into Freddy Krueger and slashed his guest, Zsa Zsa Gabor , halfway through the interview. In Tim Burton 's Beetlejuice (1988), he played
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#17327759219744576-432: The network's judgment, "her remarks ... were not within the bounds of fair comment." Blues guitarist Eric Clapton appeared on the show with a new group called Delaney & Bonnie & Friends , which was Clapton's first attempt to break from his lead role and operate as an anonymous sideman. This was also possibly the first time Clapton had appeared on American television with a Fender Stratocaster ; up to that time, he
4664-494: The only people here." Mailer moved his chair away from the other guests and Cavett joked that "perhaps you'd like two more chairs to contain your giant intellect?" Mailer replied "I'll take the two chairs if you'll all accept finger bowls ." As Cavett professed to not understand Mailer's "finger bowl" comment and made further jokes, Mailer stated "Why don't you look at your question sheet and ask your question?", to which Cavett responded "Why don't you fold it five ways and put it where
4752-483: The performance and doing a 10-minute monologue. In January 2020, Cavett appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert promoting the new HBO special, Ali and Cavett: The Tales of the Tapes . There he talked about his career as a comedian and talk show host, as well as his relationship with Muhammad Ali . In January 2020, when Cavett appeared as a guest on Late Show with Stephen Colbert , Colbert stated that he
4840-568: The producer of nearly all of Woody Allen's films. One of his jokes from this period was: I went to a Chinese-German restaurant. The food is great, but an hour later you're hungry for power. Cavett also played Mr. Kelly's in Chicago and Enrico Banducci 's hungry i in San Francisco. In San Francisco, he met Lenny Bruce , about whom he said, "I liked him and wish I had known him better ... but most of what has been written about him
4928-475: The purpose of his music when he discussed his concept of the "Electric Church": [Music] is getting to be more spiritual than anything now. Pretty soon I believe that they are going to have to rely on music to get some kind of peace of mind or satisfaction—direction, actually—more so than politics, because politics is really on an ego scene…[Politics] is the art of words, which means nothing. So, therefore you have to rely on more of an earthier substance like music or
5016-455: The same day and shown on two nights. During the first part, he discussed the depiction of oral sex in movies and made a parenthetical utterance: "oral-genital sex...mouth on sex organs." A flap ensued when executives demanded that the censor cut the second phrase. An angry Cavett described the ongoing situation at the beginning of the second part, reusing the phrase. One of the guests, legal scholar Alexander Bickel , sided with Cavett. The result
5104-463: The same guests, Cavett was receptive to rock and roll artists to a degree unusual at the time, as well as to authors, politicians and other personalities outside the entertainment field. The wide variety of guests, combined with Cavett's literate and intelligent approach to comedy, appealed to a significant enough number of viewers to keep the show running for several years despite the competition from Carson's show. Carson's move to southern California in
5192-521: The show (including some 6,000 pieces of hate mail ) than any other he had done. Maddox later returned for another appearance, and this time Cavett walked off as a joke. Left alone on stage, Maddox cued the band and began singing "I Don't Know Why I Love You Like I Do" as Cavett reappeared in the wings to join in. The walk-off incident is mentioned at the beginning of the Randy Newman song " Rednecks ". Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí appeared on
5280-524: The show began at its regular time of 10:30 am, and was once again devoted exclusively to assassination coverage, and presented without commercial interruption. Because of conflicting network broadcasts, Cavett pre-taped a one-man, 60-minute episode with Groucho Marx. In the July 7, 1969, interview, rock star Jimi Hendrix modestly downplayed his abilities and displayed his sense of humor. Perhaps most importantly, he revealed some of his aesthetic ideals and
5368-418: The show began taping, a visibly belligerent Mailer, who admitted he had been drinking, goaded Vidal and Cavett into trading insults with him on air and continually referred to his "greater intellect". He openly taunted and mocked Vidal (who responded in kind), finally earning the ire of Flanner, who announced that she had become "very, very bored" with the discussion, telling Mailer and Vidal "You act as if you're
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#17327759219745456-481: The show in the middle of a conversation about segregation . Cavett had made a reference to the "bigots" who had elected Maddox. Following an exchange about how insulting the remark might have been and Maddox's demand for an apology, Cavett finally apologized to those Georgians who had supported Maddox that might not be bigots. Not satisfied, Maddox left the studio. During the hastily called commercial break, Cavett tried to coax Maddox back to no avail. Cavett suspected that
5544-456: The show to promote the movie Husbands . All three guests were highly intoxicated, and "for thirty-five minutes they smoked, flopped around on the floor, and generally tormented Cavett, whose questions they'd planned to ignore." Dick Cavett pronounced it "one of the most interesting evenings of my life." Retiring Georgia governor Lester Maddox , appearing in a panel discussion with author Truman Capote and football great Jim Brown , walked off
5632-510: The show with silent-screen star Lillian Gish and baseball legend Satchel Paige . Dalí brought an anteater on a leash with him when he came on stage, and he tossed it in Gish's lap, much to her consternation. Cavett asked Dalí why he had once arrived to give a lecture at the Sorbonne in an open limousine filled with heads of cauliflower. Dalí responded with a barely coherent discourse regarding
5720-666: The show, although subsequent shows without them got higher ratings and more critical acclaim. A well-received summer replacement prime-time series that aired three times per week led to the memorable late-night talk show that ran from December 29, 1969, to January 1, 1975, opposite NBC 's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson . Cavett took the time slot over from The Joey Bishop Show . In addition to his usual monologue, Cavett opened each show reading selected questions written by audience members, to which he would respond with witty rejoinders. ("What makes New York so crummy these days?" "Tourists.") While Cavett and Carson shared many of
5808-402: The show. The episode is now often referred to as "The Woodstock Show", as many of the performers, and Cavett's audience, came directly from the concert for the taping the afternoon before the show aired. Stills pointed out the mud from the concert venue still on his pants. Jefferson Airplane's performance of " We Can Be Together " marked the first time the word "fuck" was uttered on television in
5896-519: The similarity of the cauliflower head to the "mathematical problem discovered by Michelangelo in the rhinoceros' horn." Cavett interrupted him by waving his hands in Dalí's face, exclaiming "Boogie boogie!" (imitating Groucho Marx in the film A Night at the Opera ). The audience broke up, and Dalí appeared at a loss. Actor Robert Mitchum , known for avoiding public appearances, gave a rare interview as
5984-519: The sole guest. Mitchum talked about his childhood, Hollywood, his disdain for politics and politicians and his 1948 arrest. The show featured film clips from Ryan's Daughter (1970) and The Night of the Hunter (1955). On June 7, 1971, publisher J. I. Rodale , founder of Rodale, Inc. , a health and wellness publishing conglomerate headquartered in Emmaus, Pennsylvania , died of a heart attack during
6072-529: The song is by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, who recorded it for their Déjà Vu album (1970). It appears in the film Woodstock during the closing credits. Mitchell recorded it for Ladies of the Canyon (1970). Groucho Marx remarked about the Musical theatre musical Hair , which had just opened and was notorious for its ground-breaking use of explicit nudity: "I was going to go, but I saw myself in
6160-421: The soul of the person…and see if they can awaken some sort of thing in their minds, because there are so many sleeping people. Hendrix then performed " Hear My Train A Comin' " with the house band and played the guitar with his teeth at the end of the song. On Tuesday, August 19, 1969, Jefferson Airplane , Joni Mitchell , David Crosby and Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ) all appeared on
6248-414: The story on its 11 p.m. newscast, but as it was a Friday night, when the station normally aired movies and delayed Cavett's Friday show to Sunday, Atlanta viewers had to wait until Sunday night to see the incident. Capote, after watching Maddox walk offstage, paused and quipped, "I've been to his restaurant and his chicken isn't that finger lickin' good ." Years later, Cavett said he got more comments about
6336-522: The studio audience. During the show, Paar worked in some of the lines that Cavett had fed him. Afterward, Cavett got into an elevator with Paar, who invited him to contribute more jokes. Within weeks, Cavett was hired, originally as talent coordinator. Cavett wrote for Paar the famous line "Here they are, Jayne Mansfield " as an introduction for the buxom actress. Cavett appeared on the show in 1961, acting as interpreter for Miss Universe of 1961, Marlene Schmidt of Germany. While at Time , Cavett wrote
6424-484: The taping of a segment for the show. Cavett was speaking with journalist Pete Hamill when Rodale began to make a snoring noise. Cavett's reaction to this is contested: he claims that both he and Hamill realized immediately that something was wrong, while other accounts have him addressing the unconscious man with "Are we boring you, Mr. Rodale?" The audience did not realize anything was seriously wrong until Cavett asked if there were any medical doctors present. The program
6512-407: The theater with the beguiling charm of talented luminaries. Mr. Cavett was clearly overawed, and for once, the ad libs frequently went over his head. It was an enchanting show ... and the badinage was warm and delightful ... a fun night, and to take out of context a line or here or there could not convey the whole. To go to bed with a chuckle provided by gifted and nice people, onstage as off,
6600-437: The videotape and which was disputed by Cavett decades later in his New York Times online column. Cavett noted that Mailer said that he received more mail about this episode than for anything else in his career. Critic John Simon revealed on the air that during the most recent commercial break, fellow guest Mort Sahl had threatened to punch him in the mouth. Cavett did a two-part show on pornography; both parts were taped
6688-505: Was " Scottish , Irish, English, and possibly partly French, and ... a dose of German." He also mentioned that one grandfather "came over" from England, and the other from Wales . Cavett's grandparents all lived in Grand Island, Nebraska . His paternal grandparents were Alva A. Cavett and Gertrude Pinsch. His paternal grandfather was from Diller, Nebraska , and his paternal grandmother was an immigrant from Aachen , Germany, which
6776-460: Was a copyboy ( gofer ) at Time magazine when he read a newspaper item about Jack Paar , then host of The Tonight Show . The article described Paar's concerns about his opening monologue and constant search for material. Cavett wrote some jokes, put them into a Time envelope, and went to the RCA Building . He ran into Paar in a hallway and handed him the envelope. He then went to sit in
6864-565: Was a huge admirer of Cavett, and had seen all of his talk shows. Colbert also stated, "People ask me who my influences are, and of course Johnny Carson , and of course David Letterman , but the one people don't automatically know is what a huge influence you were on me, the way you interviewed people was so honest, you had such interesting and unusual guests and asked such interesting and deep questions". Cavett has co-authored two books with Christopher Porterfield: Cavett (1974), his autobiography, and Eye on Cavett (1983). Cavett has also written
6952-647: Was actress Sandy Dennis . Cavett was elected president of the student council in high school, and was a gold medalist at the state gymnastics championship. Before leaving for college, he worked as a caddie at the Lincoln Country Club. He also began performing magic shows for $ 35 a night under the tutelage of Gene Gloye. In 1952, Cavett attended the convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in St. Louis, Missouri, and won
7040-606: Was born in Buffalo County, Nebraska , but sources differ as to the specific town, locating his birthplace in either Gibbon , where his family lived, or nearby Kearney , the location of the nearest hospital. Cavett has said that his birth certificate gives Kearney as his birthplace, but has given conflicting answers on whether he was actually born there. His mother, Erabel "Era" (née Richards), and his father, Alva B. Cavett, both worked as teachers. When asked by Lucille Ball on his own show about his heritage, he said he
7128-472: Was broadcast mainly in Europe. In 1988, Cavett made a special appearance on Wheel of Fortune during their week of shows at Radio City Music Hall , walking on stage after someone solved the puzzle "Dick Cavett." In 1974, Cavett's company, Daphne Productions, co-produced with Don Lipp Productions a short-lived ABC game show, The Money Maze , although Cavett's name did not appear on the credits. He also had
7216-490: Was famous for only playing Gibson guitars. Cavett briefly interviewed the band but the shy Clapton did not have much to say. To honor Noël Coward on the occasion of his knighthood, Cavett interviewed Coward and his close friends, the Lunts. Tammy Grimes and Brian Bedford, who were appearing on Broadway in a revival of Coward's classic play Private Lives , performed a medley of Coward's most popular songs. At one point during
7304-423: Was never aired and a rerun was shown in its place. On the following night's program, Cavett discussed the previous night's event in depth. He has said that he is often approached by people wanting to discuss the incident, mistakenly convinced that they saw it on television. He would usually ask if the person was in the studio audience, which was the only way to witness it since the episode was never broadcast. During
7392-554: Was sent to the Blue Angel nightclub to see Woody Allen 's act, and immediately afterward struck up a friendship. The very next day, the funeral of playwright George S. Kaufman was held at the Frank E. Campbell funeral home . Allen could not attend, but Cavett did, where he met Groucho Marx in an anteroom. From the funeral, Cavett followed Marx (who later told Cavett that Kaufman was "his personal god") three blocks up Fifth Avenue to
7480-531: Was surprised at footage from his TV show appearing in Apollo 13 . He said at the time of the film's release, "I'm happily enjoying a movie, and suddenly I'm in it." Cavett has appeared as himself in various other television shows, such as The Odd Couple as well as serving as a host for Saturday Night Live in 1976. He also had a cameo role in Woody Allen 's Annie Hall (1977) and he played himself in
7568-589: Was ten, his mother died of cancer at age 36. His father subsequently married Dorcas Deland, also a teacher, originally from Alliance, Nebraska . On September 24, 1995, Lincoln Public Schools dedicated the new Dorcas C. and Alva B. Cavett Elementary School in their honor. In eighth grade, Cavett directed a live Saturday-morning radio show sponsored by the Junior League and played the title role in The Winslow Boy . One of his high-school classmates
7656-559: Was that the show aired with the phrase cut the first night but intact for the second night. Dick Cavett Richard Alva Cavett ( / ˈ k æ v ɪ t / ; born November 19, 1936) is an American television personality and former talk show host. He appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States from the 1960s through the 2000s. In later years, Cavett has written an online column for The New York Times , promoted DVDs of his former shows as well as
7744-411: Was too sophisticated for a morning audience, and ABC first moved the show to prime time, and subsequently to a late-night slot opposite Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show . Intermittently since 1968, Cavett has been host of his own talk show, in various formats and on various television and radio networks: Cavett has been nominated for at least 10 Emmy Awards and has won three. In 1970, he co-hosted
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