Memorable Moments on Television

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

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About

“I remember where I was when I heard John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I remember where I was when I heard that Martin Luther King had been shot. People remember where they were when they watched Roots. It’s one of those milestones that’s embedded in our consciousness - one of those things by which we measure time and measure ourselves.” - LeVar Burton, Actor

Interviewees discuss memorable moments on television.

Highlights

LeVar Burton on how Roots was a seminal event in people's lives and has become part of history

Mitzi Gaynor on singing "Georgy Girl" on The 1967 Academy Awards - the most heralded performance on an Oscar broadcast

Tom Freston on the launch of MTV and the MTV logo

Sonia Manzano on the Sesame Street episode "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" (airdate: November 24, 1983)

Walter Cronkite on announcing the assassination of President Kennedy; the emotional impact of that day

Who talked about this topic

Edie Adams

Edie Adams on how Ernie Kovacs would tune a television

Edie Adams on memorable moments from Ernie Kovacs' acts and shows - playing the giant piano

Jason Alexander

Jason Alexander on shooting the finale of Seinfeld

Steve Allen

Steve Allen on his early recollections of TV - Kathy Fiscus falling down the well and the idea of event television

Steve Allen on announcing wrestling for ABC television

Steve Allen on announcing wrestling for ABC television and how his gift for ad-libbing helped

Steve Allen on Kim Novak as a guest on Tonight

Steve Allen on the openings of The Tonight Show

Steve Allen on dressing as a cop and going out onto the street for The Tonight Show

Steve Allen on sketches outside the studio on The Tonight Show

Steve Allen on the fake car accident stunt on The Tonight Show

Steve Allen on musical guests on The Tonight Show - Duke Ellington

Steve Allen on sketches on The Tonight Show - The Question Man

Steve Allen on sketches on The Tonight Show - Crazy Shots

Steve Allen on a tug-of-war with an elephant on The Steve Allen Westinghouse Show

Steve Allen on a tea-bag sketch on The Steve Allen Westinghouse Show

Steve Allen on funny phone call sketches on The Steve Allen Westinghouse Show

Debbie Allen

Debbie Allen on the episode of A Different World that dealt with the L.A. riots

Robert G. Anderson

Robert G. Anderson on the 60 Minutes piece on Dr. Kevorkian and the issue of doctor-assisted suicide

Robert G. Anderson on the 60 Minutes piece "The Archbishop" (Robert Sanchez) of New Mexico who was accused of molesting children

Edward Asner

Ed Asner on "Lou Grant"'s "I hate spunk!" from The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Ed Asner on the classic The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust"

Ed Asner on The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode "Chuckles Bites The Dust"

Larry Auerbach

Larry Auerbach on the final episode of M*A*S*H: "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen"

Thomas Azzari

Thomas Azzari on designing the bedroom set for the final Newhart episode

Thomas Azzari on set designing for the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

Reza Badiyi

Reza Badiyi on creating the iconic title sequence for The Mary Tyler Moore Show - he came up with her famous hat toss

Paris Barclay

Paris Barclay on directing Jimmy Smits' last episode of NYPD Blue

Donald Bellisario

Donald Belisario on the final episode of Quantum Leap

Donald Belisario on Dean Stockwell's difficulty with the Quantum Leap episode "The Leap Home"

Harve Bennett

Harve Bennett on the importance of the made-for-TV movie A Woman Called Golda

Shelley Berman

Shelley Berman on the night Jack Paar walked off The Jack Paar Show

Ken Berry

Ken Berry's long F Troop tracking shot

Steve Binder

Steve Binder on directing Diana Ross in Central Park (1985)

George Bodenheimer

George Bodenheimer on ESPN televising the America's Cup sailing event for the first time in 1987

Mili Lerner Bonsignori

Mili Lerner Bonsignori on the See It Now episode "The Case Against Milo Radulovich A0589839"

Mili Lerner Bonsignori on the See It Now episode on Senator McCarthy and McCarthy's response

Mili Lerner Bonsignori on the See It Now episode on Annie Lee Moss

Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine on winning the Oscar for Marty and having a bet with Jerry Lewis

Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain on the Haiti episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

Anthony Bourdain on the Beirut episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations

Bernie Brillstein

Bernie Brillstein on Jim Henson as Muppet Ralph on The Jimmy Dean Show

Manager Bernie Brillstein on The Muppets appearance on Saturday Night Live

Bernie Brillstein on the creation of The Blues Brothers

Alton Brown

Alton Brown on favorite episodes of Good Eats

Carol Burnett

Carol Burnett on her appearance on The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show and the beginning of the ear tug

Carol Burnett on the famous "Went with the Wind!" sketch on The Carol Burnett Show

Carol Burnett on her Tarzan laugh

Allan Burns

Allan Burns on being a page on "The Battler" starring Paul Newman and James Dean - an episode of Playwrights '56

Show co-creator Allan Burns on Mary Tyler Moore's expertise as an actress that allowed her to play the first part 'serious' of famed The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust," even when she had trouble keeping a straight face during dress rehearsal

LeVar Burton

LeVar Burton on one of his favorite scenes in Roots

Sid Caesar

Sid Caesar on his Pagliacci take-off ("Galipacci") on Caesar's Hour and an ad lib he did "live" when his make-up pencil broke

Vince Calandra

Vince Calandra on the Beatles' arrival in America for their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964

Vince Calandra on security for the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964

Vince Calandra on how he booked the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964

Vince Calandra on the Beatles' historic performance on The Ed Sullivan Show and the backstage scene, getting them through the crowd into the studio

Glenn Gordon Caron

Glenn Gordon Caron on Orson Welles introducing the classic Moonlighting episode "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice"

Marcy Carsey

Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner on when they realized that The Cosby Show would be a hit (the Monopoly scene in the pilot)

Dick Cavett

Dick Cavett on interviewing John Lennon and Yoko Ono and problems with the network

Dick Cavett on interviewing friend Groucho Marx

Richard Chamberlain

Richard Chamberlain on how the forbidden love story of The Thorn Birds made it so popular

Glen Charles

Glen and Les Charles on the series finale of The Bob Newhart Show

Glen and Les Charles on the title sequence of Taxi

Glen and Les Charles on the series finale of Cheers

Les Charles

Glen and Les Charles on the series finale of The Bob Newhart Show

Glen and Les Charles on the title sequence of Taxi

Glen and Les Charles on the series finale of Cheers

Tony Charmoli

Tony Charmoli on receiving a Dance Magazine Award on The Tonight Show for his choreography on Hit Parade and walking off The Tonight Show

Tom Cherones

Tom Cherones on the Seinfeld episode "The Junior Mint"

Tom Cherones on the Seinfeld episode "The Parking Garage"

Tom Cherones on the Seinfeld episode "The Contest"

Tom Cherones on the Seinfeld episode "The Finale"

Tom Cherones on the Seinfeld episode "The Bubble Boy"

Nick Clooney

Nick Clooney on appearing with sisters Rosemary and Betty on The Mike Douglas Show

Andy Cohen

Andy Cohen on announcing the death of Osama bin Laden on Watch What Happens Live

Robert Conrad

Robert Conrad on his Eveready Battery commercial

Bill Conti

Bill Conti on playing Julia Roberts off when her speech went long at The Academy Awards

Tim Conway

Tim Conway and Harvey Korman on "Carol and Sis" on The Carol Burnett Show

Tim Conway on his favorite sketches on The Carol Burnett Show

Jeanne Cooper

Jeanne Cooper on fond memories of working with Morey Amsterdam

Hal Cooper

Hal Cooper on Allan Sherman insisting Bill Cosby be a guest on the Tonight show

Hal Cooper on directing the Maude episode "Maude's Dilemma, Part II"

Bob Costas

Bob Costas on covering the 1986 World Series when the Red Sox almost beat the curse, and the Red Sox finally beating it in 2004

Bob Costas on Kirk Gibson hitting the home-run off Dennis Eckersley in the 1988 World Series

Bob Costas on the Centennial Park bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics

Bill Dana

Bill Dana on the famous kiss between "Archie Bunker" and Sammy Davis Jr. on the All in the Family episode he wrote

Elinor Donahue

Elinor Donahue on singing with Andy Griffith on a Christmas episode of The Andy Griffith Show

Dick Ebersol

Dick Ebersol on how Muhammed Ali came to be involved with the Atlanta Olympics

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert on discussing colorization and a black and white episode of Siskel & Ebert & the Movies

Kevin Eubanks

Kevin Eubanks on Jay Leno's 2009 exit from The Tonight Show and move to a 10pm show (The Jay Leno Show)

Jeff Fager

Jeff Fager on a conflict between then-CEO of CBS Laurence Tisch and 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt over the story of tobacco industry whistleblower Jeffrey Winger, who alleged that the tobacco industry knew the addictive and deadly nature of cigarettes

Jeff Fager on the Abu Ghraib story on 60 Minutes II

Jamie Farr

Jamie Farr on cross-dressing as "Klinger" on M*A*S*H and reaction from fans from the "Big Mac" episode

Jamie Farr on the final episode of M*A*S*H

June Foray

June Foray on providing the voice for "Talky Tina" on The Twilight Zone: "Living Doll"

Tom Freston

Tom Freston on the launch of MTV and the MTV logo

Mitzi Gaynor

Mitzi Gaynor on singing "Georgy Girl" on The 1967 Academy Awards - the most heralded performance on an Oscar broadcast

Mitzi Gaynor on appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, the same night The Beatles were on

Mitzi Gaynor on performing "I Can Cook, Too" on her television special Mitzi ... A Tribute to an American Housewife

Larry Gelbart

Larry Gelbart on what to him represented the best of television; those moments when it brought the country together as a family, as in the Kennedy funeral, or the Challenger launch

Frank Gifford

Frank Gifford on securing an exclusive pre-game interview for CBS with Vince Lombardi before the first Super Bowl in 1967

Frank Gifford on working on Wide World of Sports and memories of the terrorist attack in Munich at the 1972 Olympics

Leonard Goldberg

Leonard Goldberg on William Blinn adding narration to the TV movie Brian's Song

Leonard Goldberg on the episode of Charlie's Angels where we finally see "Charlie"

Leonard Goldberg on the people helped by the TV movie Something About Amelia (which dealt with incest)

Gary David Goldberg

Gary David Goldberg on the Emmy-winning "A My Name is Alex" episode of Family Ties

Leonard H. Goldenson

Leonard Goldenson on airing The McCarthy Hearings in their entirety on ABC

Julian Goodman

Julian Goodman on NBC's coverage of JFK's assassination

Julian Goodman on NBC's coverage of Lee Harvey Oswald's death - TV's first live murder

Julian Goodman on news coverage of the 1968 Democratic Convention

Curt Gowdy

Curt Gowdy on Ted Willams last game

Walon Green

Walon Green on the live episode of ER, "Ambush," and on George Clooney getting nervous as the airdate drew near

Everett Greenbaum

Everett Greenbaum on the death of "Col Henry Blake" on M*A*S*H

Marge Greene

Marge Greene on Ernie Kovacs nailing her in a coffin on Kovacs on the Corner

Jon Hamm

Jon Hamm on going to dark places while playing "Don Draper" on Mad Men and how "Don's" journey ends in the final episode (the Coca-Cola commercial)

Earl Hamner, Jr.

Earl Hamner on working on the TV version of Heidi and the broadcast's memorable interruption of a football game

Ellen Holly

Ellen Holly on being at the 1963 March on Washington with her aunt Anna Arnold Hedgeman

Monica Horan

Monica Horan on finding out that the characters of "Robert" and "Amy" were getting married on Everybody Loves Raymond

Monica Horan on some of her favorite episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond, "Robert's Wedding" and the "Italy" episode with Ray Romano

Monica Horan on meeting Tim Conway and his comments on the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, "Robert Moves Back" and her memories of performing in that episode

Ron Howard

Ron Howard on using the death of a pet in real life to reach the emotions needed in The Andy Griffith Show episode "Opie the Birdman"

David Jacobs

David Jacobs on the "Who Shot J.R.?" storyline on Dallas

David Jacobs on the Bobby out of the shower/last season was all a dream storyline on Dallas

Chuck Jones

Chuck Jones on How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones on MTV and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video

Bob Keeshan

Bob Keeshan on "Lucky", the puppet before "Howdy Doody" and "Howdy Doody" running for President

Bob Keeshan on remaining in character as "Clarabell the Clown", and his opinion on the Howdy Doody finale where "Clarabell" spoke for the only time

David E. Kelley

David E. Kelley on writing the L.A. Law episode "Good to the Last Drop" (with the famous elevator shaft scene)

David E. Kelley on favorite episodes or issues on Boston Legal - the finale

Barry Kemp

Barry Kemp on the Newhart series finale

Michael Patrick King

Michael Patrick King on Carrie ending up with Big, and revealing his name

William Klages

William Klages on working on JFK's inauguration, which Frank Sinatra produced

Jack Klugman

Jack Klugman on "The Blacklist" episode of The Defenders and winning an Emmy for the role

Harvey Korman

Tim Conway and Harvey Korman on "Carol and Sis" on The Carol Burnett Show

Steve Levitan

Steve Levitan on his favorite episodes of Just Shoot Me ! - including "Slow Donnie"

Judith Light

Judith Light on her One Life to Live character "Karen Wolek" and her famous courtroom scene

Kurt Loder

Kurt Loder on MTV's coverage of Live Aid

Chuck Lorre

Chuck Lorre on how Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction at the Superbowl changed things on Two and Half Men; on dealing with censorship

Susan Lucci

Susan Lucci on breaking her Emmy losing streak in 1999

Bob Mackie

Bob Mackie on designing the Queen Elizabeth gown for Whoopi Goldberg for the 1999 Academy Awards

Delbert Mann

Delbert Mann on Paddy Chayefsky's production "Marty" on Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse

Bob Markell

Bob Markell on an extraordinary scene for Stage 67, now saved in the Academy archives

Dick Martin

Dick Martin on Richard Nixon's cameo on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In

Dick Martin on directing the series finale of Newhart and its surprise ending

Bob McGrath

Bob McGrath on how Will Lee's passing was handled on Sesame Street - the famous "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" episode

Bob McGrath on filming the emotional scene of episode "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" when "Big Bird" comes to understand that "Mr. Hooper" has died

Bob McGrath on memories working with guest star Linda Bove on Sesame Street and the far-reaching impact of an episode about hearing impairment

Ed McMahon

Ed McMahon on the famous Ed Ames tomahawk throwing incident on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Ed McMahon on the second-to-last show for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, featuring Bette Midler and Robin Williams

Burt Metcalfe

Burt Metcalfe on the death of "Col Henry Blake" on M*A*S*H

Producer Burt Metcalfe on the most effective line in M*A*S*H: "The Interview"

Burt Metcalfe on the M*A*S*H finale "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen"

Burt Metcalfe on the next-to-last M*A*S*H episode "As Time Goes By"

Burt Metcalfe on the reception of the M*A*S*H finale "Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen"

Walter C. Miller

Walter C. Miller on Eminem and Elton John's duet on The Grammys

Don Mischer

Don Mischer on Super Bowl 49 - how Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" led him back to the halftime show

Don Mischer on producing the 1996 Atlanta Olympics with Muhammad Ali carrying the torch

John Moffitt

John Moffitt on The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (cont.)

Mary Tyler Moore

Mary Tyler Moore on The Mary Tyler Moore Show episode "Chuckles Bites the Dust" (airdate: October 25, 1975)

Bill Moyers

Bill Moyers on the "Daisy" ad for the 1964 Presidential campaign

Roger Mudd

Roger Mudd on reporting on the passage of the Civil Rights Bill

Roger Mudd on covering Bobby Kennedy's Presidential bid and standing next to Ethel Kennedy when Bobby was assassinated

Diana Muldaur

Diana Muldaur on her L.A. Law character Rosalind Shays falling down the elevator shaft

Jonathan Murray

Jonathan Murray on Kevin and Julie's fight on the first season of The Real World

Bob Newhart

Bob Newhart on the surprise ending of the Newhart series finale and the "red herring" ending that was written to elude the press

Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols on the famous Star Trek scene where her character kisses William Shatner's character in TV's first interracial kiss; the response from the South

Don Pardo

Don Pardo on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and having to read the announcement of his death

Marty Pasetta

Marty Pasetta on Vanessa Redgrave's infamous protest speech at The Academy Awards

Marty Pasetta on Charlie Chaplin appearing on the first Academy Awards he directed

Marty Pasetta on The Academy Awards infamous streaking incident

Marty Pasetta on Marlon Brando refusing his Oscar

Suzanne Pleshette

Suzanne Pleshette on her cameo on the series finale of Newhart

Tom Poston

Tom Poston on the final episode of Newhart

Hector Ramirez

Hector Ramirez on working on Elvis Presley's concerts for television

Lee Rich

Lee Rich on the "House Divided" episode of Dallas which generated the question, "Who Shot J.R.?"

Lee Rich on Patrick Ewing leaving and returning to Dallas - the previous season was all a dream

Hank Rieger

Hank Rieger on "the Heidi incident" when NBC aired the beginning of Heidi instead of the end of a football game

Geraldo Rivera

Geraldo Rivera on airing the Zapruder film on his news series Good Night America

Geraldo Rivera on hosting The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault

Geraldo Rivera on getting his nose broken on The Geraldo Rivera Show

Fred Rogers

Fred Rogers on doing a special broadcast after Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated

Phil Rosenthal

Phil Rosenthal on the "Wallpaper" episode of Everybody Loves Raymond

Phil Rosenthal on the series finale of Everybody Loves Raymond

Marion Ross

Marion Ross on the final episode of Happy Days, which featured the marriage of "Joanie" and "Chachi," and the return of Ron Howard as "Ritchie Cunningham"

Jay Sandrich

Jay Sandrich on the I Love Lucy episode "Lucy Does the Tango" (1957) in which Lucy dances and crushes the eggs she's trying to hide from Ricky

Jay Sandrich on the episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show that won Mary Tyler Moore an Emmy

Jay Sandrich on a favorite episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show: "Toulouse-Lautrec is one of my Favorite Artists"

Bob Schiller

Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf on the "Lucy Does the Tango" episode of I Love Lucy

Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf on the final episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, "Lucy Meets the Mustache" with Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams

Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf on the famous two-part abortion episode on Maude

Thomas Schlamme

Thomas Schlamme on watching the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention with his father

George Schlatter

George Schlatter on Richard M. Nixon's appearance on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In

Paul Shaffer

Paul Shaffer on Sonny and Cher's reunion (November 13, 1987) on Late Night with David Letterman

Jack Shea

Jack Shea on "George Jefferson's" walk on The Jeffersons

Jack Shea on directing Leonardo DiCaprio on Growing Pains

David Shore

David Shore on House coming to an end

John Silva

John Silva on early KTLA news broadcasts, including the Kathy Fiscus story

Garry Simpson

Garry Simpson on Frank Lloyd Wright appearing on Wide Wide World

Sid Smith

Sid Smith on Jimmy Durante's Mrs. Calabash line on The Jimmy Durante Show

Jean Stapleton

Jean Stapleton on how All in the Family used comedy to expose social issues, including bigotry

Jean Stapleton on the decision to have the character of "Edith Bunker" die, in the Archie Bunker's Place episode "Archie Alone"

Ben Starr

Ben Starr on writing the episode of the Brady Bunch ("The Personality Kid") which includes the famous line "pork chops and apple sauce"

Ben Starr on writing the All in the Family episode in which "Gloria " has a baby

Jerry Stiller

Jerry Stiller on working with Michael Richards on the Festivus episode of Seinfeld

Stanford Tischler

Stanford Tischler on the classic M*A*S*H episode "Abyssinia, Henry" and when he was informed about the show's ending

Neil Travis

Neil Travis on how being on location for Roots helped inform his editing, leading to his Emmy win

Ret Turner

Ret Turner on dressing Cher in her infamous Academy Awards dress

Leslie Uggams

Leslie Uggams on her relationship with her Roots character, "Kizzy" and on the impact of Roots around the world

Leslie Uggams on the success of Roots and what it taught Americans about their own history

Leslie Uggams on the impact of Roots when it aired in 1977

Clint Walker

Clint Walker on guest-starring on The Jack Benny Show

Keenen Ivory Wayans

Keenen Ivory Wayans on improv on In Living Color; on the sketch "Driving Miss Daisy"; every second take would be improvised and that was usually the take selected for the show

Keenen Ivory Wayans on Public Enemy's appearance on In Living Color and what it meant to have them appear on TV

Keenen Ivory Wayans on the In Living Color sketch "Brother's Brothers" being based on Tom and Dick Smothers

Keenen Ivory Wayans on the In Living Color character "Homie the Clown" based on comedian/writer Paul Mooney

Bob Weiskopf

Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf on the "Lucy Does the Tango" episode of I Love Lucy

Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf on the final episode of The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, "Lucy Meets the Mustache" with Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams

Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf on the famous two-part abortion episode on Maude

Tom Werner

Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner on when they realized that The Cosby Show would be a hit (the Monopoly scene in the pilot)

Tucker Wiard

Tucker Wiard on funny moments on The Carol Burnett Show

Tucker Wiard on Dan Quayle's comment about the character of "Murphy Brown"

Terence Winter

Terence Winter on the series finale of The Sopranos

Jeff Zucker

Jeff Zucker on the first episode of Saturday Night Live following 9/11

Alan Zweibel

Alan Zweibel on the first episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by George Carlin, and on how Lorne Michaels handled it

Alan Zweibel on Gilda Radner's cancer, and on her guest-starring on It's Garry Shandling's Show

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