tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398796842887862508.post6270606251817807459..comments2024-03-20T19:06:59.758-07:00Comments on Classic Television Showbiz: An Interview with Dick CavettUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398796842887862508.post-45819730856321334882015-04-26T09:24:26.274-07:002015-04-26T09:24:26.274-07:00Let me see if I can explain what it was
like when ...Let me see if I can explain what it was<br />like when Cavett was at his height, opposite<br />Carson. For openers, the only colleges where<br />the dorm television was tuned to Carson were<br />military schools. If you were college age and<br />preferred Carson, you wouldn't admit it.<br />Somebody saying that Carson was "amiably<br />dull" toward the start of his TV career hit it on<br />the head. The amiability was largely false (comics still feared him long after he died!) but<br />the dullness was all too real, like having an accountant for a talk show host. The comedown from Paar to Carson after Paar quit the Tonight Show was laceratingly intense. Later, when Carson and Cavett were competing, there was no comparison between the two hosts. If you don't believe me, have a look at typical episodes of the two shows, forget the press's current inscrutable Carson-hysterical hype, and see what you think. The difference in the picture quality itself was metaphorical: NBC recorded over Carson's episodes countless times, rendering a muddy-looking picture, while Cavett's on tiny ABC was crystallinely clear. That's a metaphor for the quality of the two shows. Cavett was one of the sharpest wits ever, it was almost a continuous stream of quietly stimulating witticisms while Carson's show was downright dumbed-down by comparison. I believe that the way the Nielsen ratings operated, no mechanism for measuring viewers in colleges or bars, and pulling their gadgets out of homes where there wasn't much TV watching (the more intelligent households, in other words), had even more to do with ratings discrepancies than the relative sizes of the two networks. I think Cavett discussed this in his second book, "Eye on Cavett," but seems to have forgotten it. Go on youtube and compare the two shows to behold the starkly apparent difference in the quality of the two hosts. Then take my word for it that it was no secret to many viewers. Cavett's shows were constantly discussed nationwide while only Carson's few stunt shows (the ridiculous "Tiptoe through the Tulips" wedding, bringing on a number of comedians or huge stars at once) and the fact that he relentlessly and mean-spiritedly bullied his sidekick Ed MacMahon in the early '70s ever were.Michael Powersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398796842887862508.post-26105707310965953152015-04-22T17:28:51.367-07:002015-04-22T17:28:51.367-07:00That phony Q&A bit was something Al Capp did o...That phony Q&A bit was something Al Capp did on campuses, too. But fraud aside, Cavett's talk show was the best I ever saw.Kevin K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14096763369719767861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398796842887862508.post-18086566882386316972015-04-19T17:53:17.063-07:002015-04-19T17:53:17.063-07:00Dick Cavett's ABC show was a favorite when I w...Dick Cavett's ABC show was a favorite when I was a teen and I enjoyed his first autobio as well.<br />I recall he said he wished for a career like E.G. Marshall, a long, diverse success, and he has achieved that through talent and effort despite his personal and professional challenges.<br />His TV interviews hold up extremely well and I enjoy his NYT columns. I hope we see much more from him.<br />Kliph, you are amazing. Great interview after great interview with stunning research.<br />Thanks so much. More! More!Prairie Perspectivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02154574048042724149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398796842887862508.post-79852377073390397292015-04-19T13:14:11.524-07:002015-04-19T13:14:11.524-07:00Steve Allen definitely had some sort of gripe agai...Steve Allen definitely had some sort of gripe against Dick Cavett. I remember him taking a few swipes at him in one of his (many) books.<br /><br />I saw Cavett in the 70s when he came to speak at my college. He handed out index cards for us to write our questions. He then read the "questions" and gave hilarious answers which I believed were off the cuff. I remember thinking "wow, he's really quick on his feet."<br /><br />The next day I saw him on TV doing the same thing, and he read the same questions and gave the same answers. It was then that I understood that he didn't actually answer any of our questions. Each audience member believed he had simply skipped over their own. It was a setup.<br /><br />Dick, I hope you're reading this comment! Because you really fooled me. I was the guy who asked the question "why don't we see more Robert Benchley short films on TV?" that you didn't answer.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2398796842887862508.post-21134597968673169742015-04-19T13:13:38.574-07:002015-04-19T13:13:38.574-07:00Steve Allen definitely had some sort of gripe agai...Steve Allen definitely had some sort of gripe against Dick Cavett. I remember him taking a few swipes at him in one of his (many) books.<br /><br />I saw Cavett in the 70s when he came to speak at my college. He handed out index cards for us to write our questions. He then read the "questions" and gave hilarious answers which I believed were off the cuff. I remember thinking "wow, he's really quick on his feet."<br /><br />The next day I saw him on TV doing the same thing, and he read the same questions and gave the same answers. It was then that I understood that he didn't actually answer any of our questions. Each audience member believed he had simply skipped over their own. It was a setup.<br /><br />Dick, I hope you're reading this comment! Because you really fooled me. I was the guy who asked the question "why don't we see more Robert Benchley short films on TV?" that you didn't answer.<br />Learned My Lessonnoreply@blogger.com