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Dick Cavett
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Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett (born November 19, 1936) is an American former television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues. He and Johnny Carson are the only talk program hosts to be seen on a regular basis on United States national television in five consecutive decades, in Cavett's case the 1960s through the 2000s. (While Larry King has also had television talk programs in those decades, the programs he had in the 1960s and 1970s were limited to broadcast on local stations in Miami, WPST and WTVJ.)
In recent years he has promoted DVDs of his former shows and has hosted replays of his classic TV interviews with Groucho Marx, Katharine Hepburn and others on Turner Classic Movies channel.
tt was born at the Kearney Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska, the son of Erabel (Era for short) (née Richards) and Alva B.
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Encyclopedia
Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett (born November 19, 1936) is an American former television talk show host known for his conversational style and in-depth discussion of issues. He and Johnny Carson are the only talk program hosts to be seen on a regular basis on United States national television in five consecutive decades, in Cavett's case the 1960s through the 2000s. (While Larry King has also had television talk programs in those decades, the programs he had in the 1960s and 1970s were limited to broadcast on local stations in Miami, WPST and WTVJ.)
In recent years he has promoted DVDs of his former shows and has hosted replays of his classic TV interviews with Groucho Marx, Katharine Hepburn and others on Turner Classic Movies channel.
Early life
Cavett was born at the Kearney Hospital in Kearney, Nebraska, the son of Erabel (Era for short) (née Richards) and Alva B. Cavett, both teachers. When grilled by Lucille Ball on his own show about his heritage, he said he was "Scottish, Irish, English, and possibly partly French, and, and uh, a dose of German". He also mentioned one grandfather "came over" from England, the other from Wales. Cavett's grandparents all lived in Grand Island, Nebraska. His paternal grandfather was from Diller, Nebraska and his paternal grandmother, Trude, an immigrant from Aachen, Germany. His maternal grandparents were the Rev. R. R. and Etta Mae Richards. Rev. Richards was from Carmarthon, Wales and was a Baptist minister who served parished across central Nebraska. Cavett's parents taught in Comstock, Nebraska, Gibbon, Nebraska, and Grand Island, Nebraska where he started kindergarten at Wasmer Elementary School. Three years later both Al and Era landed teaching positions in Lincoln, Nebraska where Cavett completed his Nebraska education at Capitol, Prescott, and Irving schools and Lincoln High School. When Cavett was ten his mother died of cancer at age thirty-six. His father, Alva, later remarried Dorcus Deland, also an educator, originally from Alliance, Nebraska where her father was high school principal and later superintendent of Chadron Public Schools in Chadron, Nebraska. On September 24, 1995 Lincoln Public Schools dedicated the new Dorcus C. and Alva B. Cavett Elementary School. 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 classmates at Lincoln High School was actress Sandy Dennis. Cavett was elected state president of the student council in high school, and was a double gold-medalist at the state gymnastics championship.
Before leaving for college, he worked as a caddy at the Lincoln Country Club. He also began doing magic shows for $35 a night under the tutelage of Gene Gloye. He attended the 1952 convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in St. Louis and won Best New Performer trophy. Around the same time, he met fellow magician Johnny Carson, eight years his senior, who was doing a magic act at a church in Lincoln.
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. 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 a copy of Variety or an appropriate piece of company stationery in order to look inconspicuous while sneaking backstage or into a TV studio. During his last two summers at Yale, Cavett apprenticed at Shakespeare festivals in Oregon and in Stratford, Connecticut.
Marriage
At Drama School, he met his future wife, Caroline Nye McGeoy (known professionally as Carrie Nye), a native of Greenwood, Mississippi. After graduation, the two of them acted in summer theater in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and he worked for two weeks in a local lumberyard in order to buy an engagement ring. On June 4, 1964, they were married in New York, at which time Nye was already playing a leading role in The Trojan Women off-Broadway. Their marriage was at times tumultuous, but they remained married until her death on July 14, 2006.
The Tonight Show
In 1960, Cavett was living in a three-room, fifth-floor walk-up on West 89th Street in Manhattan for $51 a month.
He was cast in a film by the Signal Corps, but further jobs were not forthcoming. He was an extra on The Phil Silvers Show, a TV remake of Body and Soul, and Playhouse 90 ("The Hiding Place"). He briefly revived his magic act while working as a typist and for a company that had him pose as a customer in department stores and review the service he received. Meanwhile, Nye landed several plum Broadway roles.
Cavett was a copyboy (gofer) at Time 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. Paar appeared in the corridor and noticed the Time envelope, and Cavett offered it. Cavett then went to sit in the studio audience. During the show, Paar worked in some of the lines 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 appeared on the show in 1961, interpreting Miss Universe of 1961, Marlene Schmidt of Germany.
While at Time, Cavett had written a letter to Stan Laurel. The two later met at Laurel's apartment in Hollywood. Later the same day, Cavett wrote a tribute that Paar read on the show, which Laurel saw and appreciated. Cavett visited Laurel a few more times, up to three weeks before Laurel's death.
In his capacity as talent coordinator, Cavett 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. Allen could not attend, but Cavett did. From the funeral, Cavett followed Groucho Marx (who later told Cavett that Kaufman was "his personal god") three blocks up Fifth Avenue to the Plaza Hotel, where Marx invited him to lunch. Years later, Cavett was Marx's presenter for Marx's one-man show 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 took over. For Carson he wrote the line, "Having your taste criticized by Dorothy Kilgallen is like having your clothes criticized by Emmett Kelly." He even appeared to do a gymnastics routine on the pommel horse on the show. After quitting The Tonight Show, Cavett wrote for Jerry Lewis's ill-fated talk show, for three times the money. He returned to The Tonight Show, however, when Marx was interim host for Carson in July 1964.
Years later, as a guest on The Tonight Show, Carson told Cavett that his favorite joke Cavett wrote for him was the humorous caption to a newspaper photo of Aristotle Onassis looking at the home of Buster Keaton which he was considering purchasing. Cavett wrote: "Aristotle Contemplating the Home of Buster."
Cavett is also known for his memorable interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono. This was included on the Beatles anthology DVD.
Stand-up comic
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 would become famous as the producer of Woody Allen's films. Nightclubs in general were not very profitable at the time.
Drunken female heckler: I pay your salary, buddy, with my hard-earned money.
Cavett: And I'm tempted to guess at your profession.
His most famous line from this period may have been the following:
He also played Mr. Kelly's in Chicago and the Hungry i in San Francisco. In San Francisco, he met Lenny Bruce, about whom he said:
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 1968, after the premiere of the international film Candy, Cavett went to a party at the Americana Hotel, where those who had just seen the film were being interviewed for TV.
The exchange was cut from the broadcast.
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; it received good reviews and led to the morning version of The Dick Cavett Show.
The Dick Cavett Show
Intermittently since 1968, Cavett has been host of his own talk show, in various formats and on various television and radio networks:
- ABC (1968–1974)
- CBS (1975)
- PBS (1977–1982)
- USA (1985–1986)
- ABC (1986–1987)
- CNBC (1989–1996)
- (Olympia Broadcasting)The Comedy Show with Dick Cavett / syndicated radio show (1986–1990)
- Turner Classic Movies (2006–2007)
Cavett has been nominated for 11 Emmy Awards and has won three. His most well-remembered talk show is most likely his program on ABC that ran from 1969 to 1974. As with every other talk show in this timeslot from 1962 to 1992, it was crushed in the ratings by The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. In the late '60s, amid the Vietnam War protests, he was asked during a Question and Answer segment with his audience why he wore long sideburns. He replied, "It's a form of mild protest. Sort of like boiling my draft card."
His show often featured controversial interviews on taboo subjects that most other talk show hosts avoided. One particularly controversial show from June 1971 featured future senator and presidential candidate John Kerry debating fellow veteran John O'Neill over the Vietnam War. The episode so angered President Richard Nixon, that he 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." To which H.R. Haldeman, White House Chief of Staff, answered, "We've been trying to."
Clips from his TV shows have been used in movies, as in Annie Hall (1977), Apollo 13 (1995), Frequency (2000) and Forrest Gump (1994). He also holds the distinction of being the only famous person to actually interact with the title character of Forrest Gump without the aid of archive footage or computer trickery. Makeup was applied to Cavett to make him appear as his 1971 self, and he was filmed with Tom Hanks on a recreated set (though archive footage of John Lennon from Cavett's show was digitally added).
Cavett 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."
Bouts with depression
Cavett has openly discussed his bouts with clinical depression in recent years, an illness which first occurred during his freshman year at Yale. He was the subject of a 1993 video produced by the Depression and Related Affective Disorders Association called A Patient's Perspective. He was sued in 1997 by a producer for breach of contract when failing to show up for a nationally syndicated radio program (also called The Dick Cavett Show); Cavett's lawyer confirmed to the Associated Press at the time that Cavett left due to a manic-depressive episode.
Cavett underwent electroconvulsive therapy to treat his depression. In 1992, he was quoted in People: "In my case, ECT was miraculous. My wife was dubious, but when she came into my room afterward, I sat up and said, 'Look who's back among the living.' It was like a magic wand."
Other work
Cavett is the coauthor of two books, Cavett (1974), his autobiography, co-authored by Christopher Porterfield (Bantam Books, ISBN 0-15-116130-5) and Eye on Cavett (1983). Cavett currently writes a blog, published by the New York Times, entitled "Talk Show: Dick Cavett Speaks Again". The blog includes video excerpts from The Dick Cavett Show. On July 25, 2007, Cavett's blog included his thoughts on overweight Americans, which was widely-reported in the media.
He appeared as himself in various other TV shows, including episodes of The Odd Couple, Cheers, Kate & Allie, and (in animated form) The Simpsons; and in the film A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). In Beetlejuice, he played a rare bit part as a character other than himself. Cavett often appeared on television quiz and game shows; he appeared on What's My Line?, To Tell the Truth, Password, The $25,000 Pyramid and made a special appearance on Wheel of Fortune in 1989 during their week of shows at Radio City Music Hall, walking out after someone solved the puzzle "DICK CAVETT."
Cavett was the narrator (on camera and off) for the HBO series Time Was, a documentary series which spawned a thorough look back at respective decades of the 20th century, ranging from the 1920s to the 1970s. The show ran for six months when it premiered (each episode solely pertaining to specific decade and running about an hour with a new show each month) and originally aired in November 1979.
From November 15, 2000 to January 6, 2002, he played the narrator in a Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show. He also had a brief stint as the narrator/old man in the Broadway production of Stephen Sondheim's Into The Woods.
Dick Cavett is featured in the 2003 documentary From the Ashes: The Life and Times of Tick Hall about the fire that destroyed his Montauk home and his effort to rebuild it.
On April 19, 2007, Cavett made a rare live appearance at the UCB Theatre in New York City as part of "The Dave Hill Explosion", a live talk show hosted by comedian Dave Hill.
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 late-night show, and later became the theme of his PBS show. The tune is also played as he walks on stage during guest appearances on other talk shows.
Rick Moranis did a stunning split-screen parody of Cavett interviewing himself on SCTV, in which he recreated and gently poked fun at all of Cavett's wit and quirks and mild egotism.
In The Charles Bukowski Tapes, Bukowski claims that Cavett is the only talk show he would ever go on. The rest of them would be "like eating your own vomit."
Recently Cavett thrust himself into the Iraq war dispute with his comments about General David Petraeus, demeaning his military honors by saying in the New York Times, "I can’t look at Petraeus — his uniform ornamented like a Christmas tree with honors, medals and ribbons — without thinking of the great Mort Sahl at the peak of his brilliance. He talked about meeting General Westmoreland in the Vietnam days. Mort, in a virtuoso display of his uncanny detailed knowledge — and memory — of such things, recited the lengthy list (”Distinguished Service Medal, Croix de Guerre with Chevron, Bronze Star, Pacific Campaign” and on and on), naming each of the half-acre of decorations, medals, ornaments, campaign ribbons and other fripperies festooning the general’s sternum in gaudy display. Finishing the detailed list, Mort observed, “Very impressive!” Adding, “If you’re twelve.”
Bibliography
- Cavett by Dick Cavett and Christopher Porterfield, Bantam Books, August 1974. ISBN 0-15-116130-5
- Eye on Cavett by Dick Cavett and Christopher Porterfield, Arbor House, 1983. ISBN 0-87795-463-1
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