Dick Cavett has long been the Adlai Stevenson of television. He is a cultivated wit who could not bring himself to talk down to anyone or get anyone to pick up his option. ABC, to its credit, kept giving Cavett another chancethree times in different talkshow slots.
The first, a 1968 morning show, was canceled after ten money-losing months. The second, at midevening, lasted four months. Then, last December, Cavett was given one last shotin late-night competition with NBC's Johnny Carson and CBS's Merv Griffin. That seemed like a more logical hour for Cavett's...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
