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.

Childhood

Besides his birthplace of Gibbon, Cavett also spent parts of his youth in Grand Island (during World War II when a German prison camp was located there) and Lincoln. His maternal grandfather was a Baptist preacher originally from Wales. Both of his parents were schoolteachers and postgraduates at Colorado State Teachers College in Greeley.

Related Topics:
Grand Island - Lincoln - Baptist - Wales - Greeley

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When the family lived in Lincoln, their garbageman was future serial killer Charles Starkweather, whom Dick's father got to know. When he was 10, Dick's mother died of cancer.

Related Topics:
Serial killer - Charles Starkweather

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In eighth grade, he directed a live Saturday-morning radio show sponsored by the Junior League. He was elected state president of the student council, won two gold medals as state gymnastics champion, and played the title role in The Winslow Boy. One of his classmates in high school was the late actress Sandy Dennis.

Related Topics:
Junior League - Gymnastics - The Winslow Boy - Sandy Dennis

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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, 11 years his senior, who was doing a magic act at a church in Lincoln.

Related Topics:
Caddy - 1952 - St. Louis - Johnny Carson

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As a result of his Nebraska upbringing, Cavett has had a strong affinity for the culture of the Sioux and other native tribes of the Great Plains and has owned many artifacts. This interest ultimately would lead to his TV interview with Dr. John Neihardt.

Related Topics:
Sioux - Great Plains

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