Charles Grodin with Emerson College

In his one-and-a-half-hour interview for the American Comedy Archives at Emerson College, Charles Grodin (1935-2021) talks about his writing career, and writing for specific audiences. He describes his acting training under Uta Hagen, who taught the importance of listening and knowing your lines cold. He speaks of appearing in several feature films, including “Rosemary’s Baby,” “King Kong,” and “Catch-22.” He discusses his talk show “persona,” perfected on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman. Grodin details his experiences as the host of his own show on CNBC, as well as his time as a commentator for 60 Minutes. He chronicles his many dealings with agents and managers over the years, and opines on the role of comedy in history. Jenni Matz and Bill Dana conducted the interview on February 23, 2005 in New York, NY.