Hal Gurnee

In his four-hour interview, Hal Gurnee talks about his early years, and his first job in television, working at the DuMont Network with stars like Dennis James and Jackie Gleason. He describes starting as a director on Tonight Starring Jack Paar, detailing many aspects of the show, including favorite guests, announcer Hugh Downs, trips to Cuba and the Berlin Wall, and Paar’s infamous walk-out. He recounts directing a few other talk and variety shows, like The Jimmy Dean Show, The Garry Moore Show, and Jack Paar’s comeback attempt on ABC, Jack Paar Tonite. Gurnee discusses his long association with directing David Letterman’s talk shows, starting with The David Letterman Show in 1980, Late Night with David Letterman, and Late Show with David Letterman. He speaks of many aspects of Letterman’s shows including famous bits like Stupid Pet Tricks, memorable guests like Madonna and Andy Kaufman, and directing remotes out of the studio, one of which featured Johnny Carson in a cameo. He concludes by discussing what he enjoyed about directing television, and giving an overview of his career. Ron Simon conducted the interview on December 14, 2018 in New York, NY.