Latest News from The Interviews

50 Years Later: A Vaster Wasteland?

 Mon, 05/09/2011 On May 9, 1961 FCC Chairman Newton N. Minow, an appointee of President Kennedy's administration, delivered his historic speech to the National Association of Broadcasters in Washington, DC. The speech is best known for two words he uttered in reference to the programming found on TV stations nationwide: Vast Wasteland . The term became a cultural touchpoint for critics of television, and remains so to this day. Interestingly, in Mr. Minow's Archive of American Television interview, he discusses...

A Conversation with Richard Chamberlain - Now Online

 Wed, 05/04/2011 Actor Richard Chamberlain sat down with the Archive of American Television for three hours and detailed his television work. The entire interview is now online . Below are some excerpts from this extensive interview: Richard Chamberlain on the wild popularity of Dr. Kildare . I think people are fascinated by the medical profession. They’re fascinated by situations of life and death. Everybody knows that someday you’ll get sick or break something, or have a problem and need a doctor and people...

Dan Rather on JFK, 9/11, CBS News, and more

 Mon, 05/02/2011 "For anyone who loves a craft, loves news (reporting)... the bedrock requirement is to love the news, which I did." Watch Dan Rather's full 2005 interview ; he discusses the craft of journalism and the many, many historical milestones he covered both as a reporter and later, as anchor for the CBS Evening News (1980-2005). In this excerpt, he recalls the events of September 11, 2001: About the Interview: Dan Rather was interviewed for nearly eight hours (in two sessions) in New York, NY. He...

ABC's Wide World of Sports debuted 50 years ago today

 Fri, 04/29/2011 "Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports.. the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.. " ABC's Wide World of Sports debuted on April 29, 1961 as a summer replacement show with host Jim McKay . The show featured a wide variety of sporting events, introducing surfing, gymnastics, rodeo, and more to the American audience. The introductory slogan was written by Stanley Ralph Ross . The theme music was composed by Charles Fox . Sportscaster Al Michaels on what made Wide...

"Mad Men's" Matthew Weiner responds to critics and more in an extended interview

 Thu, 04/28/2011 Just as last-year's Mad Men season came to a close, creator and TV writer ( Becker, The Sopranos , Mad Men ) Matthew Weiner was interviewed for four hours about his entire career to-date by the Archive of American Television. Mad Men fans: he discussed the creation and development of Mad Men in great detail, including decisions about the style and costuming of the show, the direction, the editing, and casting of the main characters and storylines. See Matthew Weiner's full interview here . When...

Katie Couric discusses her legacy at CBS Evening News

 Wed, 04/27/2011 Katie Couric sat for her Archive of American Television Interview in 2010, and talked about her long career in television journalism, including her tenure as a host on NBC's Today show. While Connie Chung, Barbara Walters, and others had co-hosted the nightly evening news, Couric became the country's first solo, permanent, female nightly news anchor when she joined CBS's Evening News in 2006. Today she announced she would be stepping down from that post. In this interview excerpt, she discusses...

"I Love Lucy" writer Madelyn Pugh Davis dies at 90

 Thu, 04/21/2011 Sad news, we've learned that legendary comedy writer Madelyn Pugh Davis died on April 20th at the age of 90. Best known for her work on Lucille Ball's shows including I Love Lucy , The Lucy Show , and Life with Lucy , she also wrote for Steve Allen , The Mothers-In-Law , Alice and more. The Archive of American Television interviewed Madelyn and her lifelong writing partner Bob Carroll, Jr. in 1997. Madelyn Pugh Davis on being one of the first female writers hired at CBS radio as a junior writer...

Scripting Reality: "An American Family" comes Full-Circle

 Wed, 04/20/2011 40 years ago, in 1971 in suburban Santa Barbara, TV history was quietly being made as cinematographers Alan and Susan Raymond , along with producer Craig Gilbert, brought their cameras into the home and lives of the Loud family. The culmination of their work, the 12-part An American Family , aired on PBS in 1973, and has since been considered the first true "reality" series. Now, the genre comes full circle with a fully scripted version of the story as HBO premieres Cinema Verite , a docudrama...

Veteran Comedy Writer Sol Saks has Died

 Tue, 04/19/2011 We've just learned that veteran comedy writer Sol Saks, best known in television as the creator of the classic sitcom Bewitched , passed away on April 16th at the age of 100. The Archive interviewed Mr. Saks for 2-1/2 hours in 2009. Video clip: Sol Saks on writing the Bewitched pilot Interview description: Sol Saks (1910-2011) learned early that “…with writing. When it ‘works’ you’re anonymous. When it doesn’t work you’re fired.” Sol Saks was a comedy writer during radio days (“Duffy’s Tavern...

"Judge Judy" v. Judith Sheindlin: behind the lace collar

 Fri, 04/15/2011 Judith Sheindlin's complete interview is online, and we've posted some "Judge Judy-isms" for you, edited by Pop Culture Passionistas: On why people "love to hate" to watch Judge Judy . On the best advice Judge Judy has had Judge Judy was almost... "Hot Bench"! "Umm is not an answer"- some favorite Judy-isms! On the secret to her success: comedic timing! On what it means to be the "truth machine" On the impact Judge Judy has had and her message for naysayers. For the complete interview with...