Dick Cavett

Richard Alva Cavett (born on November 19, 1936 in Gibbon, Nebraska) is a television talk show host known for his conversational style of in-depth and often serious issues discussion.

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.

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• "I went bargain-hunting at a store with a GOING OUT OF BUSINESS sign over the door. They had been going out of business for some time. The words 'going out of business' were chiseled in stone -- and the u's were v's."

He auditioned for and got a role in a film made by the Signal Corps, but further jobs were not forthcoming. His Yale education would have been a meal ticket if he were going into law or finance, but for show business it was a disadvantage if anything. He was an extra on The Phil Silvers Show, a TV remake of Body and Soul, and Playhouse 90 ("The Hiding Place"). In an attempt to remain visible, 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, Carrie Nye was getting Broadway roles.

Related Topics:
Signal Corps - The Phil Silvers Show - Body and Soul - Playhouse 90 - Broadway

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Cavett was a copyboy (gopher) 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. From hanging around the Tonight Show before, he knew which floor Paar's dressing room was on. Paar appeared in the corridor and noticed the Time envelope, and Cavett offered it. Cavett then went to sit in the studio audience. Sure enough, 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.

Related Topics:
Time - Jack Paar - The Tonight Show - RCA Building

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Within weeks he was hired, originally as talent coordinator (interviewing potential guests, booking guests, and again interviewing booked guests to prepare questions). Some of the guests he screened were of the opinion that he himself should appear on the show. This finally happened when Miss Universe of 1961, Marlene Schmidt of Germany, was a guest, and Paar brought Cavett out on stage to interpret her conversation.

Related Topics:
Talent coordinator - Miss Universe - 1961 - Marlene Schmidt - Germany

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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.

Related Topics:
Stan Laurel - Hollywood

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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 couldn't attend, but Cavett did. From the funeral, Cavett followed Groucho Marx three blocks up Fifth Avenue to the Plaza Hotel, where Marx invited him to lunch, thereby beginning one of Cavett's most treasured associations.

Related Topics:
Woody Allen - George S. Kaufman - Groucho Marx - Plaza Hotel

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Cavett continued with The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as a writer after 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."

Related Topics:
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - Dorothy Kilgallen - Emmett Kelly

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Nevertheless, he did not feel the same closeness as with Paar, despite having met Carson years earlier. After quitting, he was a writer for Jerry Lewis's ill-fated talk show, for three times the money. He returned to write, however, when Marx was interim host for Carson in July 1964.

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