Dick Cavett got his start as a comedy writer by handing spec jokes to Jack Paar to use for his Tonight Show monologue. Some of those jokes made the air and, in time, made for a job as a contributing writer. Cavett would remain with Tonight through the early years of Carson's run before leaving for other pastures. He wrote for other talk show hosts (Merv Griffin and Jerry Lewis) and performed stand-up. A gradual move up the television ladder led Cavett to hosting a morning show on ABC. Its quality of guests and engaging interviews had ABC move him from the ill-suited A.M. slot to appose fellow Nebraskan (and fellow amateur magician) Johnny Carson in the late night slot. The first late night iteration of The Dick Cavett Show started in 1969 and lasted five years, but Dick Cavett would remain a talk show presence, on various channels, for 25 more. Eventually putting the variations of The Dick Cavett Show to rest, the next career move was writing the Dick Cavett blog (a.k.a. Talk Show: Dick Cavett Speaks Again,) an opinion column for the New York Times. Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets, a collection of columns from 2007 to 2010, was published by Henry Holt and Company in 2010. Macmillan Audio Books published the audio version, read by the author, the same year.
Dick Cavett writes like he hosts a late night program: conversationally. Although he might repetitively bring up the same familiar anecdotes, childhood memories (both cherished and shameful,) and humorous one-liners from his comic heroes (especially from Groucho,) each time they're invoked, like good conversation, they unlock a different avenue of memories to meander down. And what a life to wander through...Dick Cavett has an intelligent man's tendency towards movie star worship and, abetted by enough wit, picking the right elevators, and eventually his talk shows, he willed a lifetime of meeting and befriending his heroes. The best of his blog entries relive Cavett's most memorable televised conversations with these stars. The retellings are told with enough storytelling acumen, contain enough backstage material, and close with cherished, private jokes that make the already known feel fresh, entertaining and insightful.
In between the celebrity nostalgia—where have all the movie stars gone—Cavett covers youthful memories (antics, magic, gymnastics, the good old days, Yale and an already abnormal number of celebrity encounters;) the opinion column's requisite political commentary (covering the closing years of the Bush White House and the following election with its big four personalities;) and indirect conversation—fanning the flames—with the comments section. He knows just how controversial to be. The opinions aren't forced and largely reasonable, but Cavett knows how to press buttons to goose engagement. He clearly enjoys the resulting discussion and furor as a career veteran of being commented on and takes it all in good fun. He is only occasionally deadly serious (see the Iraq War.)
Returning to his blog's lasting value, Cavett led the life of a super-connector: he was involved, often very personally, with so many stars, artists, writers and legends that he became a vessel for insights into their lives as well as his own rich existence. A lot of this value already existed through his myriad talk shows, but the blog (and book) further annotates the titanic personalities of the 20th century.
As a final note, Cavett writes often about his friendships with Jack Paar and Johnny Carson and occasionally his work for the Tonight Show. One of the last entries in this collection is a requisite commentary on the Tonight Show hosts, at this point in the blog series, yet to be. If you remember the late-aughts, you might remember why.
Here is the discography surrounding Dick Cavett's first recordings:
A Christmas Story (2004 audiobook)
The Family Audio Bible (2008 audiobook)
Oliver Twist (2009 audiobook)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (2009 audiobook)
Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets
Dick Cavett Returns to the Tonight Show
Dick Cavett on Blogging
Jack Paar on The Dick Cavett Show
Groucho Marx on The Dick Cavett Show
Norman Mailer, Gore Vidal, and Janet Flanner on The Dick Cavett Show
Bobby Fischer on The Dick Cavett Show
Pass the Headphones!!
