Dick Cavett

I dont know how many of you folks browse youtube not just for music but for clips from old shows, like Letterman with guests like Don Rickles, or old sports clips of great games like Celts/Lakers or boxing like the Thrilla in Manilla and so on...check out some Dick Cavett shows if you do, its so different from anything nowadays with intelligent discourse from writers, actors, musicians it will kind of blow your mind

Watching old Dick Cavett shows is great.  Old Johnny Carson are awesome too.

Gore Vidal & William F Buckley were interesting as they threw barbs at each other & Cavett was a perfect moderator.

I remember popping huge rods watching Sophia Lauren & Raquel Welch sitting with Cavett. He had real quick wit & it was fun watching him with Groucho.

He asked tough questions but not "gotcha" questions like today.  

I have watch a lot of Robin Williams on Johnny Carson which is great,I watch his early shows live but ended up with a job in 80s that I worked weekends so got out of the late nite talk shows,so was watching a bunch of old  Carson shows and happen to catch the last show Robin did on Carson,if you want to see a transformation of someone watch Williams early shows when he was full of life and running all over the stage and into crowd to his last one where I did not even believe it was the same person.

He looked tired and depressed and about as unhappy as someone could be,now I know we change as we get older and it was not that he did not have same energy,that would of just seemed normal to me but he told no jokes and not one smile or laugh,the thought that came to my mind was how did the people that knew him not know he was in trouble.Now I know nothing about his life or even who his wife was or friends he hung out with,if he did,and they could of been trying to get him help but the night he took his life if accident or on purpose it seemed that he had his part of Mansion and family lived in other part,of course I watched it after his death so my brain saw things based on what happened,but watch his first show on Carson when he was doing Mork and Mindy then watch his last one to compare the changes in how he acted,just seemed like the saddest thing.

Carson's Green Room was infamous for the liquor flowing & his guests being bombed before they even sat on the couch. Buddy Hackett was always plastered.

Jonathan Winters was as quick witted as Robin Williams. You could give them any type of prop & they would 10 minutes of standup. 

Carson & Cavett were so different while still being politically acerbic. Cavett made you think about what he said where as Carson was all about timing with his punchline. 

Both were great IMO.

@warrenator

 Great post!

Dick Cavett was awesome. Check out the time John Lennon co-hosted. Obviously Carson and early Letterman is classic stuff. Another great is Tom Snyder, who was a great interviewer.

@iggy0865

 Sorry, I misspoke. John and Yoko actually co hosted on The Mike Douglas show for a week.

Even funnier is that Mike kicks off the festivities by singing Michelle, written by Paul, not John.

You can find this on youtube.

Different era, but I find all of these clips to be of great comfort in these difficult times.

Tom Snyder smoked liked a chimney during his shows which is another thing you'll never see today.

    Dick Cavett had many great Musicians on his shows Like Jimi Hendrix , Janis , George Harrison, etc. and a bunch of People like CSN & Jefferson Airplane right after they all played  Woodstock

    Also I know there are some interviews he did with Groucho Marx  with his sidekick / secretary /sycophant Erin Flemming which are fun to watch.

    Mike Douglas had the Rolling Stones on his show VERY early on ( Maybe their 1st or 2nd tour ) .They play Carol , A Chuck Berry song. And 1 or 2 originals I think

    You can find most of these vids on You Tube 

   Regarding that John Lennon /Mike Douglas spot  : Bill Burr does a Perfect Rant about Yoko Ono butting in when John & Chuck Berry are playing " Memphis"

 Please do yourself a favor and go on You Tube and watch the video .

Think I saw Lennon on Carson but not sure,after Beatles break up Lennon did a bunch of talk shows mostly to talk against War,but if I am right he just did the BS stuff with Carson not the anti war stuff and do not remember Yoko on it,anyone remember the naked pic of Lennon with Yoko on front page of Rolling Stone Mag.,she was not great looking at that time,a bit chunky if memory serves and I remember thinking why,but she was always on his side and never went against him so sometimes it is not always about looks,though she did get in better shape when I saw her later.

Did see Hendrix on Cavett and Janis,then we had about 5 channels on TV and he came on after school with soaps so watch a bit of him then just because,but he had good shows.