1973 Fiction winner Eudora Welty on the PBS incarnation of The Dick Cavett Show in 1979. (Dick Cavett/Shout Factory)
Over 40 years, on various networks and in different time slots, Dick Cavett set a new standard for the television talk show, influencing current hosts such as Stephen Colbert and Seth Myers. Although he got his start as a writer for future competitor Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show," Cavett — particularly during his 1969-1975 late night run on ABC — eschewed the earlier series' promotional approach in favor of an eclecticism that embraced such disparate talents as David Bowie, Jackie Robinson and Katharine Hepburn.
Like Carson, Cavett has retained ownership of his series. The free streaming service Tubi now features 12 seasons of content drawn from nearly all of the iterations of the show, including interviews with 1995 Poetry finalist Allen Ginsberg, 1973 Fiction winner Eudora Welty, 1982 & 1991 Fiction winner John Updike and two-time Pulitzer winner Norman Mailer. Mailer was a particularly frequent guest on the ABC show (culminating in a battle of wits with longtime frenemy Gore Vidal), and their 1991 conversation reveals an intimate familiarity.
Over the past year, Cavett's production company has begun to post archival clips on YouTube. The channel recently featured a rare 1972 clip in which 1948 & 1955 Drama winner Tennessee Williams discusses his relationship with Marlon Brando and the unusual prevalence of Southern writers. When Cavett asks Williams if his output would have differed if he had been born elsewhere, the playwright quips: "Well, I hope I wouldn't be Ohio Williams."