Dick Cavett | |
|---|---|
 Cavett in 2010 | |
| Born | Richard Alva Cavett (1936-11-19)November 19, 1936 (age 89) Buffalo County, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale University (BA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1959–present |
| Spouses | |
Richard Alva Cavett (/ˈkævɪt/; born November 19, 1936) is an American television personality, comedian and former talk show host. He appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States from the 1960s through the 2000s.[1]
In later years, Cavett has written an online column forThe New York Times, promoted DVDs of his former shows as well as a book of hisTimes columns, and hosted replays of his TV interviews withBette Davis,Lucille Ball,Salvador Dalí,Lee Marvin,Groucho Marx,Katharine Hepburn,Judy Garland,Marlon Brando,Orson Welles,Woody Allen,Ingmar Bergman,Jean-Luc Godard,Robert Mitchum,John Lennon,George Harrison,Jimi Hendrix,Richard Burton,Sophia Loren,Marcello Mastroianni,Kirk Douglas,Mae West andBobby Fischer, among others, onTurner Classic Movies.[2][3]
Cavett was born on November 19, 1936, inBuffalo County, Nebraska,[4][5] but sources differ as to the specific town, locating his birthplace in eitherGibbon,[6][7] where his family lived, or nearbyKearney,[8] the location of the nearest hospital. Cavett has said that his birth certificate gives Kearney as his birthplace, but has given conflicting answers on whether he was actually born there.[9][10]
His mother, Erabel "Era" (née Richards), and his father, Alva B. Cavett, both worked as teachers.[11] When asked byLucille Ball on his own show about his heritage, he said he was "Scottish, Irish, English, and possibly partly French, and ... a dose of German." He also mentioned that one grandfather "came over" from England, and the other from Wales.[12] Cavett's grandparents all lived inGrand Island, Nebraska. His paternal grandparents were Alva A. Cavett and Gertrude Pinsch.[13] His paternal grandfather was fromDiller, Nebraska, and his paternal grandmother was an immigrant fromAachen, Germany, which is why he also speaks fluent German. His maternal grandparents were the Rev. R. R. and Etta Mae Richards. The Rev. Mr. Richards was fromCarmarthen,Wales, and was a Baptist minister who served parishes across central Nebraska. Cavett himself is a self-described agnostic.[14]
Cavett's parents taught inComstock, Gibbon, and Grand Island,[15] where Cavett started kindergarten at Wasmer Elementary School. Three years later, both of his parents landed teaching positions inLincoln, Nebraska, where Cavett completed his education at Capitol, Prescott, and Irving schools andLincoln High School. When Cavett was ten, his mother died of cancer at age 36. His father subsequently married Dorcas Deland, also a teacher, originally fromAlliance, Nebraska. On September 24, 1995,Lincoln Public Schools dedicated the new Dorcas C. and Alva B. Cavett Elementary School in their honor.[16][17]
In eighth grade, Cavett directed a live Saturday-morning radio show sponsored by theJunior League and played the title role inThe Winslow Boy. One of his high-school classmates was actressSandy Dennis. Cavett was elected president of the student council in high school, and was a gold medalist at the state gymnastics championship.[18][19]
Before leaving for college, he worked as acaddie at the Lincoln Country Club. He also began performing magic shows for $35 a night under the tutelage of Gene Gloye. In 1952, Cavett attended the convention of theInternational Brotherhood of Magicians in St. Louis, Missouri, and won the Best New Performer trophy.[19] Around the same time, he met fellow magicianJohnny Carson, 11 years his senior, who was doing a magic act at a church in Lincoln.[20]
While attendingYale University, Cavett played in and directed dramas on the campus radio station,WYBC, and appeared in Yale drama productions.[21] In his senior year, he changed his major from English to drama, graduating in 1958. 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 ofVariety or an appropriate piece of company stationery in order to look inconspicuous while sneaking backstage or into a TV studio.[22] Cavett took many odd jobs ranging fromstore detective to label typist for a Wall Street firm, and as acopyboy atTime magazine.[23]
in 1956, Cavett joined theOregon Shakespeare Festival, which is based inAshland, Oregon, for its 16th season. Cavett appeared as the Bishop of Ely and the second murderer inTragedy of Richard the Third; a page to the king inLove's Labour's Lost; servant Gregory inThe Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet; a lord inThe Tragedy of Cymbeline; and Quintus, son of Titus, inThe Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus.[24]
Cavett was cast in a film by theSignal Corps, but further jobs were not forthcoming. He was an extra onThe Phil Silvers Show in 1959, a TV remake of the filmBody and Soul for theDuPont Show of the Month the same year, andPlayhouse 90 ("The Hiding Place") in 1960. He briefly revived his magic act while working as a typist and as amystery shopper in department stores.
Cavett was acopyboy atTime magazine[25] when he read a newspaper item aboutJack Paar, then host ofThe Tonight Show. The article described Paar's concerns about his opening monologue and constant search for material. Cavett wrote some jokes, put them into aTime envelope, and went to theRCA Building. He ran into Paar in a hallway and handed him the envelope.[25] He then went to sit in the studio audience. During the show, Paar worked in some of the lines that Cavett had fed him.[25]
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 wrote for Paar the famous line "Here they are,Jayne Mansfield" as an introduction for the buxom actress.[26]
Cavett appeared on the show in 1961, acting as interpreter for Miss Universe of 1961,Marlene Schmidt of Germany.[citation needed]
While atTime, Cavett wrote a letter to film comedian Arthur Jefferson, better known asStan Laurel of the comedy teamLaurel and Hardy. The two soon met at Laurel's Hollywood apartment. On the evening of that first visit, Cavett wrote a tribute to him that Paar read on his show. Laurel saw the broadcast which he deeply appreciated. Cavett visited the legendary comedian several times. Their final time together came three weeks prior to Laurel's death in 1965.[27]
In his capacity as talent coordinator forThe Tonight Show, Cavett was sent to the Blue Angel nightclub to seeWoody Allen's act, and immediately afterward struck up a friendship. The very next day, the funeral of playwrightGeorge S. Kaufman was held at theFrank E. Campbell funeral home. Allen could not attend, but Cavett did, where he metGroucho Marx in an anteroom. From the funeral, Cavett followed Marx (who later told Cavett that Kaufman was "his personal god") three blocks up Fifth Avenue to thePlaza Hotel, where Marx invited him to lunch.[25]
Years later, Cavett gave the introduction to Marx's one-man showAn Evening with Groucho Marx atCarnegie Hall and began by saying, "I can't believe that I know Groucho Marx."[28][29]
Cavett continued withThe Tonight Show as a writer after Johnny Carson assumed hosting duties. For Carson he wrote the quip "Having your taste criticized byDorothy Kilgallen is like having your clothes criticized byEmmett Kelly." Cavett appeared on the show once, to do a gymnastics routine on the pommel horse. After departingThe Tonight Show, Cavett wrote forJerry Lewis's ill-fated talk show.
Cavett began a brief career as a stand-up comic in 1964 atThe Bitter End in Greenwich Village.[30] His manager wasJack Rollins. One of his jokes from this period was:
I went to a Chinese-German restaurant. The food is great, but an hour later you're hungry for power.[25][26][30]
Cavett also played Mr. Kelly's in Chicago andEnrico Banducci'shungry i in San Francisco. In San Francisco, he metLenny Bruce, about whom he said, "I liked him and wish I had known him better ... but most of what has been written about him is a waste of good ink, and his most zealous adherents and hardest-core devotees are to be avoided, even if it means working your way around the world in the hold of a goat transport."[31]
In 1965, Cavett did some commercial voiceovers, including a series of mock interviews withMel Brooks forBallantine beer.[32] In the next couple of years he appeared on game shows, includingWhat's My Line. He wrote forMerv Griffin and appeared on Griffin's talk show several times, and then onThe Ed Sullivan Show. In the late 1960s or early 1970s, he narrated aNational Association of Broadcasters PSA featuring A Boy Wandering Around a Forest.[citation needed]
After doingThe Star and the Story, a rejected television pilot withVan Johnson, Cavett hosted a special,Where It's At, forBud Yorkin andNorman Lear.[33]
In 1968, Cavett was hired by ABC to hostThis Morning.[30][34] According to aNew Yorker article, the show was too sophisticated for a morning audience,[30] and ABC first moved the show to prime time, and subsequently to a late-night slot opposite Johnny Carson'sThe Tonight Show.[30][35]
Intermittently since 1968, Cavett has been host of his own talk show, in various formats and on various television and radio networks:
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Dick Cavett on Fame, George Harrison and The Worst Interview He Ever Did, 14:08, The Greene Space at WNYC & WQXR[36] | |
| Lester Maddox and Jim Brown Get Into Heated Debate on Segregation, 13:14,The Dick Cavett Show, December 18, 1970 |
Cavett has been nominated for at least 10Emmy Awards and has won three. In 1970, he co-hosted the Emmy Awards Show (from Carnegie Hall in New York) withBill Cosby (from Century Plaza in Los Angeles).[37] His most popular talk show was his ABC program, which ran from 1969 to 1974. From 1962 to 1992,The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was arguably the most popular late-night variety and talk show. Unlike many contemporary shows that attempted to compete with Carson in the same timeslot but were quickly cancelled, Cavett managed to remain on the air for five years despite ABC being a smaller network with fewer affiliates than NBC at the time.[38]
Cavett earned a reputation as "the thinking man's talk show host" and received favorable reviews from critics.[2][34] As a talk show host, Cavett has been noted for his ability to listen to his guests and engage them in intellectual conversation.[18][25]Clive James described Cavett "as a true sophisticate with a daunting intellectual range" and "the most distinguished talk-show host in America."[18] He is also known for his ability to remain calm and mediate between contentious guests[25] as well as his resonant voice.[18][35]
Cavett's show often focused on controversial people or subjects, often pairing guests with opposing views on social or political issues, such asJim Brown andLester Maddox.[39]
On February 11, 1970, Cavett hosted a tribute to the life and works ofSir Noël Coward, who had just been knighted in December 1969. Coward appeared as a guest, along withAlfred Lunt,Lynn Fontanne,Tammy Grimes, andBrian Bedford, each of whom were enjoying a successful run on Broadway in the revival of Coward's play,Private Lives. In reviewing the show forThe New York Times, television criticJack Gould said, "The age of youth? Balder dash! The over‐70 set walked off yesterday morning with a television program that combined the engaging qualities of lightly recalled nostalgia, the sophisticated stiletto, and a demonstration of genuine affection that had more substance than adolescent wails on how love will save the world. Sir Noël Coward, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, friends of a lifetime, met on Dick Cavett's show on the American Broadcasting Company network. They exchanged quips, pleasantries and thoughts about the theater with the beguiling charm of talented luminaries. Mr. Cavett was clearly overawed, and for once, the ad libs frequently went over his head. It was an enchanting show ... and the badinage was warm and delightful ... a fun night, and to take out of context a line or here or there could not convey the whole. To go to bed with a chuckle provided by gifted and nice people, onstage as off, is review enough."[40]
One show from June 1971 featured a debate between future senator and presidential candidateJohn Kerry and fellow veteranJohn O'Neill over theVietnam War.[41] O'Neill had been approached by the Nixon administration to work through the Vietnam Veterans for a Just Peace to counter Kerry's influence on the public.[42][43] The debate went poorly for the pro-war side, so angering President Nixon that he is heard discussing the incident on theWatergate tapes, saying, "Well, is there any way we can screw him [Cavett]? That's what I mean. There must be ways."H.R. Haldeman, White House Chief of Staff, answered, "We've been trying to."[44][45] Cavett's name comes up a total of 26 times on the tapes, as he repeatedly highlighted the wrongdoings of the Nixon administration on his show.[46]
Cavett hosted many pop stars, both in interview and performance, such asDavid Bowie,Sly Stone,[47]Jimi Hendrix andJanis Joplin.[48] Several of his Emmy Award nominations and one Emmy Award were for Outstanding Musical or Variety Series, and in 2005 Shout Factory released a selection of performances and interviews on a three-DVD set,The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons, showcasing interviews of and performances by rock musicians who appeared on the Dick Cavett show from 1969 to 1974.[49][50]
Clips from his TV shows (actual or enacted for the occasion) have been used in films, for exampleAnnie Hall (1977),Forrest Gump (1994),Apollo 13 (1995),Frequency (2000) andApollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022) Cavett was surprised at footage from his TV show appearing inApollo 13. He said at the time of the film's release, "I'm happily enjoying a movie, and suddenly I'm in it."[51]
Cavett has appeared as himself in various other television shows, such asThe Odd Couple as well as serving as a host forSaturday Night Live in 1976. He also had a cameo role inWoody Allen'sAnnie Hall (1977) and he played himself in the moviePower Play (1977).
Cavett was present when actorMarlon Brando broke the jaw of paparazzo photographerRon Galella on June 12, 1973. Galella had followed Cavett and Brando to a restaurant after the taping ofThe Dick Cavett Show in New York City.[52]
Cavett appeared inKate & Allie (1986),Cheers (1983), and inRobert Altman'sHealth (1980). In a cameo inA Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), as part of a dream sequence, he turned intoFreddy Krueger and slashed his guest,Zsa Zsa Gabor, halfway through the interview. InTim Burton'sBeetlejuice (1988), he played a rare cameo as a character (Delia's agent) other than himself. Cavett often appeared on television quiz and game shows, includingWhat's My Line?,To Tell the Truth,Password, and the$25,000 Pyramid.
Cavett narrated theHBO documentary seriesTime Was. Each episode covered a decade, ranging from the 1920s to the 1970s. The show originally aired in November 1979 and ran for six months.[53] Cavett hosted a documentary series forHBO in the early 1980s titledRemember When . . . that examined changes in American culture over time and he hosted HBO's monthly review seriesHBO Magazine.[53]
In April 1981, Cavett traveled to Stockholm, Sweden, to interview pop groupABBA on the occasion of their tenth anniversary as a group. The special, titledDick Cavett Meets ABBA, was taped by the Swedish TV networkSVT and was broadcast mainly in Europe.
In 1988, Cavett made a special appearance onWheel of Fortune during their week of shows atRadio City Music Hall, walking on stage after someone solved the puzzle "Dick Cavett". In 1974, Cavett's company, Daphne Productions, co-produced with Don Lipp Productions a short-lived ABC game show,The Money Maze, although Cavett's name did not appear on the credits.[citation needed] He also had a brief stint as the Narrator inStephen Sondheim'sInto the Woods.[54]
In 1995, Cavett lent his voice forThe Simpsons episode "Homie the Clown". He also appeared in footage fromThe Dick Cavett Show inRobert Zemeckis'Forrest Gump (1994), andRon Howard'sApollo 13 (1995).
From November 2000 to January 2002, he played the narrator in a Broadway revival ofThe Rocky Horror Show.[25]
Cavett is featured in the 2003 documentaryFrom the Ashes: The Life and Times of Tick Hall about the fire that destroyedhis home in Montauk, New York and his effort to rebuild it.[55]
Cavett's signature tune has long been a trumpet version of the vocalise "Glitter and Be Gay" fromLeonard Bernstein'sCandide. The tune was first played at the midpoint of his ABC 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.[25]
In 2008, Cavett entered an Iraq war dispute with aNew York Times blog entry criticizing GeneralDavid Petraeus, stating "I can't look at Petraeus—his uniform ornamented like a Christmas tree with honors, medals, and ribbons—without thinking of the greatMort Sahl at the peak of his brilliance." Cavett went on to recall Sahl's expressed contempt for GeneralWilliam Westmoreland's display of medals, and criticized Petraeus for not speaking in plain language.[56]
In 2011, Cavett appeared as a talking head in theRobert Weide two-part documentary seriesWoody Allen: A Documentary forAmerican Masters which aired onPBS.
In December 2012, for their annual birthday celebration to "The Master",The Noël Coward Society invited Cavett as the guest celebrity to lay flowers in front of Coward's statue at New York'sGershwin Theatre, commemorating the 113th birthday of Sir Noël. Coward had made an appearance on Cavett's ABC late-night television show in 1970 after being knighted byQueen Elizabeth II in December 1969.[40]
Cavett starred inHellman v. McCarthy (Literary Legends Declare War!) in New York City's Abingdon Theatre. Cavett re-enacted his show of January 25, 1980, when literary criticMary McCarthy appeared as a guest, and declared every word playwrightLillian Hellman wrote was "a lie, including 'and' and 'the'." Hellman later sued McCarthy for libel. The suit spanned more than four years. Cavett's off-Broadway play opened March 14, 2014, and closed April 13, 2014, in its limited run.[57] He subsequently came to Los Angeles to appear in a production atTheatre 40, and delighted audiences by remaining onstage after the performance and doing a 10-minute monologue.
In January 2020, Cavett appeared onThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert promoting the new HBO special,Ali and Cavett: The Tales of the Tapes. There he talked about his career as a comedian and talk show host, as well as his relationship withMuhammad Ali.[58][59]
Cavett has co-authored two books with Christopher Porterfield:Cavett (1974), his autobiography, andEye on Cavett (1983). Cavett has also written a blog, published byThe New York Times, entitled "Talk Show: Dick Cavett Speaks Again".
In January 2020, when Cavett appeared as a guest onLate Show with Stephen Colbert,Colbert stated that he was a huge admirer of Cavett, and had seen all of his talk shows. Colbert also stated, "People ask me who my influences are, and of courseJohnny Carson, and of courseDavid Letterman, but the one people don't automatically know is what a huge influence you were on me, the way you interviewed people was so honest, you had such interesting and unusual guests and asked such interesting and deep questions".[60]
Cavett was portrayed by Erin Gann in Episode 8 of the first season ofMinx. He appeared as himself in episodes ofCheers andThe Simpsons.Cavett appeared as himself on an episode ofGossip Girl from season 5, episode 18, entitled "Con Heir", where he is a guest at a party and talks with Serena. He also appeared as himself in a Season 3 episode ofBored to Death, where he has invited protagonist Jonathan Ames to appear on his talk show.
While taking a class atYale School of Drama as an undergraduate, Cavett met his future wife, Caroline Nye McGeoy (known professionally asCarrie Nye), a native ofGreenwood, Mississippi. After graduation, the two acted in summer theater inWilliamstown, Massachusetts; and Cavett worked for two weeks in a local lumberyard to be able to buy an engagement ring. On June 4, 1964, they were married in New York. They remained married until Nye's death in 2006.[61] In 2010, Cavett married authorMartha Rogers in New Orleans, Louisiana. From this marriage, Cavett has two stepchildren. Rogers and Cavett reside inRidgefield, Connecticut.[62] They were formerly residents of Montauk, Long Island,[63] and sold their estate there in 2021 for $23.6 million.[64]
Cavett has openly discussed his bouts of clinical depression, an illness that first affected him during his freshman year at Yale.[65] According to an interview published in a 1992 issue ofPeople magazine, Cavett contactedNathan Kline in 1975 seeking treatment. Kline prescribed antidepressant medication, which according to Cavett was successful in treating his depression.[66]
In 1980, Cavett experienced what he characterized as his "biggest depressive episode". While on board aConcorde before takeoff, Cavett broke out into a sweat and became agitated. After he was removed from the plane, Cavett was taken toColumbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, where he later underwentelectroconvulsive therapy. Regarding this method of treatment, Cavett is quoted as saying, "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."[66]
He was also the subject of a 1993 video produced by the Depression and Related Affective Disorders Association calledA Patient's Perspective.[67]
In 1997, Cavett was sued by producer James Moskovitz forbreach of contract after failing to show up for a nationally syndicated radio program (also calledThe Dick Cavett Show).[68][69] Cavett's lawyer, Melvyn Leventhal, said at the time that Cavett left because of amanic-depressive episode.[68] The case was later dropped.[67]
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| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | VD Blues | Himself/host | |
| 1977 | Annie Hall | Himself | |
| 1978 | Power Play | Himself | |
| 1980 | Simon | Himself | |
| 1980 | Health | Himself | |
| 1981 | Rich and Famous | Himself | Uncredited |
| 1983 | Parade of Stars | Fred Allen | |
| 1987 | A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | Himself | |
| 1988 | After School | Himself | |
| 1988 | Moon over Parador | Himself | |
| 1988 | Beetlejuice | Bernard | |
| 1991 | Year of the Gun | Ben Gershon | |
| 1994 | Forrest Gump | Himself | |
| 1995 | Apollo 13 | Himself | |
| 1996 | Good Money | Doug | |
| 1997 | Elvis Meets Nixon | Narrator | |
| 2000 | Frequency | Himself | |
| 2000 | Behind the Seams | Detective | |
| 2001 | From The Ashes: The Life and Times of Tick Hall[70] | Himself | |
| 2005 | Duane Hopwood | Fred | |
| 2012 | Excuse Me for Living | Reverend Pilatus | |
| 2012 | Driving Me Crazy | Mr. Johnson | |
| 2014 | River of Fundament | Wake Guest |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | The Phil Silvers Show | Student in Front Row | Episode: "Bilko's Godson" |
| 1959 | DuPont Show of the Month | Unknown | |
| 1960 | Playhouse 90 | Unknown | Episode: "The Hiding Place" |
| 1960–1984 | The Tonight Show | Marlene Schmidt / Guest host | Also writer |
| 1963 | The Jerry Lewis Show | — | Writer |
| 1966–1967 | What's My Line? | Occasional Guest Panelist | |
| 1968–1986 | The Dick Cavett Show | Himself (host) | |
| 1971 | The Most Deadly Game | Himself | Episode: "I, Said the Sparrow" |
| 1972 | Alias Smith and Jones | Sheriff | Episode: "21 Days to Tenstrike" |
| 1974–1975 | Feeling Good | Himself (host) | Children's Television Workshop,PBS[71] |
| 1975 | The Odd Couple | Himself | Episode: "Two Men on a Hoarse" |
| 1976 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | |
| 1983 | The Edge of Night | Moe Everhardt | |
| 1983 | Cheers | Himself | Episode: "They Called Me Mayday" |
| 1984 | Hotel | Himself | Episode: "Outsiders" |
| 1986 | Kate & Allie | Himself | Episode: "High Anxiety" |
| 1987 | Amazing Stories | Himself | Episode: "Mirror, Mirror" |
| 1988 | Another World | Oliver Twist (magician/hypnotist) | |
| 1990 | True Blue | Unknown | Episode: "Blue Monday" |
| 1993 | Barbarians at the Gate | Himself | Television film |
| 1995 | The Simpsons | Himself | Episode: "Homie the Clown" |
| 2011 | Bored to Death | Himself | Episode: "The Black Clock of Time" |
| 2011 | Woody Allen: A Documentary | Himself | Two part documentary,PBS |
| 2012 | Are We There Yet? | Harold Bradlee | Episode: "The Spelling Bee Episode" |
| 2012 | Gossip Girl | Himself | Episode: "Con Heir" |
| 2014 | Theatre Talk | Himself (Guest) | Episode: Dick Cavett (2014) |
| 2016 | Childrens Hospital | Himself | Episode: "Show Me a Hero" |
| 2017 | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee | Himself | May 31, 2017 |
| 2020 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Himself | Episode: "Patrick Stewart/Dick Cavett" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Otherwise Engaged | Simon | Broadway |
| 1988 | Into the Woods | The Narrator | Broadway |
| 2000–02 | The Rocky Horror Show | Narrator | Broadway |
My birth certificate says I was born in Kearney [Nebraska] – but it was Gibbon.
We lived in Gibbon, Nebraska, but they had not acquired a hospital so... I was born Kearney, Nebraska.
I'm not an atheist exactly, but remain what you might call 'suggestible.' (Is there a category of almost-atheist? A person who does not have the courage of his nonconvictions? I guess Woody Allen has, as so often, had the ultimate comic word on the subject. 'You cannot prove the nonexistence of God; you just have to take it on faith.')
In 1997, a huge fire burned Tick Hall to the ground, leaving only the blackened chimney standing. The loss was a blow to the community and Tick Hall's owners – talk-show host Dick Cavett and his wife, actress Carrie Nye – who lived there for 30 years. Because of its historic and artistic importance, the Cavetts embarked upon an ambitious three-year project – rebuilding Tick Hall exactly as it was.
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by | College Bowl host 1987 | Succeeded by Peyton Manning 2021 |