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Dick Cavett
<html> <head> <title>Dick Cavett</title> <meta name="googlebot" content="noodp"> <meta name="robots" content="noodp"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon-precomposed" href="/silly-nndb-icon.png" /><style type="text/css"> <!-- .fotmbar { color: #FFFFFF; text-decoration: none} .fotmbar:hover { color: #FFFFFF; text-decoration: underline} .newslink { color: #000000; text-decoration: none} .newslink:hover { color: #000000; text-decoration: none} .proflink { color: #000000; text-decoration: none} .proflink:hover { color: blue; text-decoration: underline} .b1f, .b2f, .b3f, .b4f {font-size:1px; overflow:hidden; display:block;} .b1f {height:1px; background:#e6e6e6; margin:0 5px;} .b2f {height:1px; background:#e6e6e6; margin:0 3px;} .b3f {height:1px; background:#e6e6e6; margin:0 2px;} .b4f {height:2px; background:#e6e6e6; margin:0 1px;} .contentf {background: #e6e6e6; padding: 2px; } .contentf div {margin-left: 5px;} --> </style></head> <body bgcolor=#ffffff> <center> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr><td valign=top><table width=550 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td bgcolor=white><table width="100%" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" background="/nndb.gif"> <tr> <td rowspan="2" align="left" valign="top"><a href="http://www.nndb.com/"><img src="/title.gif" width="260" height="50" border=0 alt="NNDB"></a></td> <td><table width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6"> <tr align="center"> <td width="25%" nowrap><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">This is a beta version of NNDB</font></b></td> </tr> </table></td> </tr> <tr> <td align="right" valign="middle"><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <form action="http://search.nndb.com/search/nndb.cgi" method="get"> <input type="hidden" name="nndb" value="1"></input> <nobr>Search: <select name="omenu"> <option value="unspecified" selected>All Names</option> <option value="living">Living people</option> <option value="dead">Dead people</option> <option value="bands">Band Names</option> <option value="books">Book Titles</option> <option value="movies">Movie Titles</option> <option value="fulltext">Full Text</option> </select> for <input name="query" value="" size=24 maxlength=96> <input type=submit value="Search"> </font></b></nobr></form></td> </tr> </table> <!-- COPYRIGHT (C) 2008 SOYLENT COMMUNICATIONS --> <!-- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED --> <!-- NO PART OF THIS WEBSITE MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION --> <!-- OF SOYLENT COMMUNICATIONS (ON THE WEB, IN PRINT, OR OTHERWISE) --> <!-- --> <!-- SOYLENT COMMUNICATIONS --> <!-- PO BOX 4436, MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 94040 USA --> </td></tr><tr><td bgcolor=red height=2></td></tr><map name=fool><area coords="102,0,240,14" href="/people/384/000022318/bibliography/" alt="bibliography"></map><tr bgcolor=F0F0F0><td bgcolor=F0F0F0 style="padding: 0px 15px 15px 15px;"><img src="/red-profile-2.gif" align="right" height=15 width=240 border=0 usemap=#fool><br clear="all"><table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=100%><tr><td bgcolor=F0F0F0><font size=+3 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Dick Cavett</b></font><p><img src="dickcavett.jpg" height=300 width=233 align=right hspace=10 vspace=10 alt="Dick Cavett"><b>AKA</b> Richard Alva Cavett<p><b>Born:</b> <a href="/lists/841/000106523/" class=proflink>19-Nov</a>-<a href="/lists/935/000105620/" class=proflink>1936</a><br><b>Birthplace:</b> <a href="/geo/471/000081228/" class=proflink>Gibbon, NE</a><br><p><b>Gender:</b> Male<br><b>Religion:</b> <a href="/lists/282/000069075/" class=proflink>Atheist</a><br><b>Race or Ethnicity:</b> White<br><b>Sexual orientation:</b> Straight<br><b>Occupation:</b> <a href="/lists/185/000068978/" class=proflink>Talk Show Host</a><p><b>Nationality:</b> United States<br><b>Executive summary:</b> <i>The Dick Cavett Show</i><p>After graduating from Yale, Dick Cavett worked as a store detective, an amateur actor, and a copy boy at <i>Time Magazine</i>. He liked <a href="/people/007/000025929/">Jack Paar</a>'s <i>Tonight Show</i>, and wrote an opening monologue for Paar, then loitered around NBC headquarters until he saw Paar, and handed it to him. Paar read Cavett's stuff, laughed, and Cavett's days as a copy boy were over. As a writer for <i>The Tonight Show</i> and later <i>The <a href="/people/408/000022342/">Jerry Lewis</a> Show</i>, Cavett met and mingled with comedians, and decided he wanted to do stand-up. His nightclub act led to a daytime talk show on ABC in 1968, which quickly bombed. ABC gave him a nightly show instead, opposite his former <I>Tonight Show</i> co-workers, and Cavett drew highbrow guests, low ratings, and critical raves for five years. He was the intellectuals' darling -- the thinking man's <a href="/people/396/000022330/">Johnny Carson</a>. He could be as funny as of the comedians of his era whose fame has far outlasted his, but Cavett's humor indulged more brain cells. After his second ABC show, Cavett had shows on PBS, USA, CNBC, and probably more, while occasionally acting -- usually playing himself -- in movies and TV sitcoms. <P> Cavett is manic-depressive, a condition he has dealt with since his first major depression in 1959. He started and lost a nationally syndicated radio show in 1996 in just two weeks, when depression kicked in and he simply stopped showing up. He was prescribed antidepressants, and underwent electroshock therapy in 1992. <p><b>Father:</b> (school teacher)<br><b>Mother:</b> (school teacher)<br><b>Wife:</b> <a href="/people/482/000351426/">Carrie Nye</a> (actress, m. 4-Jun-1964, d. 14-Jul-2006)<br><p> High School: Lincoln High School, Lincoln, NE (1954)<br> University: <a href="/edu/480/000068276/">BA English and Drama, Yale University (1958)</a><br><p> <a href="/media/467/000044335/">Time</a> <br> <a href="/honors/534/000044402/">Emmy</a> 3 times<br> Endorsement of <a href="/company/697/000042571/">Apple</a> Apple ][, Apple /// (1981-82)<br> Endorsement of <u>Teacher's Scotch Whisky</u> 1975<br> <a href="/event/034/000125656/">Shock Treatment</a> 1980<br> <a href="/event/993/000159516/">Polygraphed</a> <br> Risk Factors: <a href="/lists/781/000064589/">Depression</a>, <a href="/lists/761/000085506/">Bipolar Disorder</a><br> <p> <font size=-2 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">TELEVISION</font><br> <a href="/tv/860/000207239/">The Dick Cavett Show</a> (1989-96)<br> <a href="/tv/860/000207239/">The Dick Cavett Show</a> (1977-82)<br> <a href="/tv/860/000207239/">The Dick Cavett Show</a> (1969-74)<br> <a href="/tv/700/000044568/">The Tonight Show</a> Writer<br><p> <font size=-2 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR</font><br> <a href="/films/779/000404564/">Jane Fonda in Five Acts (20-Jan-2018)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/781/000404566/">Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (Jan-2018)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/086/000402874/">I Am Not Your Negro (10-Sep-2016)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/519/000400316/">Janis: Little Girl Blue (6-Sep-2015)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/933/000369823/">Excuse Me for Living (12-Oct-2012)</a> <br> <a href="/films/481/000368374/">Woody Allen: A Documentary (30-May-2012)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/663/000267859/">Bobby Fischer Against the World (Jan-2011)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/349/000274524/">Smash His Camera (Jan-2010)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/132/000263340/">Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel (12-Sep-2009)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/658/000086400/">Inside Deep Throat (11-Feb-2005)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/690/000129303/">Duane Hopwood (20-Jan-2005)</a> <br> <a href="/films/922/000039805/">Frequency (28-Apr-2000)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/921/000089654/">Elvis Meets Nixon (10-Aug-1997)</a> · Narrator<br> <a href="/films/808/000032712/">Forrest Gump (23-Jun-1994)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/610/000063421/">Barbarians at the Gate (20-Mar-1993)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/794/000034692/">Year of the Gun (10-Sep-1991)</a> <br> <a href="/films/844/000066646/">Imagine: John Lennon (7-Oct-1988)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/727/000033628/">Moon Over Parador (9-Sep-1988)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/592/000032496/">Beetlejuice (30-Mar-1988)</a> · Bernard<br> <a href="/films/909/000033810/">A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (27-Feb-1987)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/993/000088729/">HealtH (12-Sep-1980)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/971/000119614/">Simon (1980)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/125/000033026/">Power Play (25-Aug-1978)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/847/000032751/">Annie Hall (20-Apr-1977)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/165/000083913/">Janis (18-Oct-1974)</a> · Himself<br> <a href="/films/167/000274342/">Cocksucker Blues (1972)</a> · Himself<br><p> <b>Author of books:</b><br> <i>Cavett</i> (<tt>1974</tt>, memoir; with Christopher Porterfield)<br><i>Eye on Cavett</i> (<tt>1983</tt>, memoir; with Christopher Porterfield)<br><i>Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets</i> (<tt>2010</tt>, memoir)<br><p> <br> <p> <table> <tr> <td align=right valign=middle style="padding-right: 5px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 22px; font-style: italic; color: #ff3333;">New!</span><br> <a href="http://mapper.nndb.com/" class="fotmlink" style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; color: #dd0000;">NNDB MAPPER</a></td> <td valign=middle align=right style="border-left: 1px solid #bbb; padding-left: 5px;">Create a map starting with</td> <td valign=middle align=right><a href="http://mapper.nndb.com/start/?id=22318"><img src="/man.gif" border=0 style="padding: 2px;"></a></td> <td align=left valign=middle> <a href="http://mapper.nndb.com/start/?id=22318">Dick Cavett</a></td> </tr> </table> <font face="Trebuchet MS, arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">Requires Flash 7+ and Javascript.</font> <br><br><p> <font size=-1>Do you know something we don't?</font><br> <font size=-1><a href="http://commentary.nndb.com/submit/feedback/?id=22318" rel="nofollow">Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile</a></font><br> <p> <br><br><p><font size=-1>Copyright ©2019 Soylent Communications</font><p> </td></tr></table> </td></tr> </table> </td> <td width=180 align="center" valign="top" style="padding: 0px 0px 8px 25px;"></td></tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>