We Cried


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

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"At President Kennedy's funeral when young John-John came out and saluted.... I still think it's the best single, most impressive, most dramatic television shot in the history of television." - Julian Goodman, NBC Executive

Interviewees discuss the memorable television moments that made us cry.

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Memorable Moments on Television
Highlights
Julian Goodman on NBC's coverage of JFK's assassination
Joan Ganz Cooney on the Sesame Street episode following actor Will Lee's death,  "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" (airdate: November 24, 1983)
Jim McKay on having to tell the world that the Israeli hostages taken at the 1972 Olympic games, were "all gone"
Fred Rogers on addressing the assassinations of President Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Tim Russert on the Meet the Press broadcast following 9/11 and the tribute to Father Mychal Judge
Walter Cronkite on announcing the assassination of President Kennedy; the emotional impact of that day
Who talked about this topic

Alan Alda

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Alan Alda on the M*A*S*H episode "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet"-- its dramatic significance and Alda's critique of a scene in which he cries on camera

Larry Auerbach

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

Paris Barclay

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

Steven Bochco

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Steven Bochco on portraying the death of "Sgt. Phil Esterhaus" after actor Michael Conrad dies during series production

Stan Chambers

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Stan Chambers on reporting at the scene of the 1949 Kathy Fiscus tragedy -- a story that was followed nationwide
Stan Chambers the conclusion of the 1949 Kathy Fiscus tragedy and some of the details of the coverage as well as the influence it had for how television covered live news events
Stan Chambers on covering the Los Angeles riots in 1993
Stan Chambers on covering the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968
Stan Chambers on KTLA's breaking the news story of the Rodney King beating by Los Angeles police officers
Stan Chambers on a photo of his coverage of the 1949 Kathy Fiscus tragedy
Stan Chambers on a screen photo of his breaking the Rodney King beating story on KTLA

Les Charles

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Glen and Les Charles on the series finale of Cheers

Glen Charles

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Glen and Les Charles on the series finale of Cheers

Joan Ganz Cooney

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Joan Ganz Cooney on the Sesame Street episode following actor Will Lee's death,  "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" (airdate: November 24, 1983)

Warren Cowan

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Publicist Warren Cowan on the televised Kathy Fiscus tragedy 

Walter Cronkite

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

Sam Donaldson

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Sam Donaldson on questionning Ronald Reagan about the failure of O-rings in the Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy
On the September 11, 2001 attacks and his view of generational historical moments

Jamie Farr

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

Frank Gifford

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

Leonard Goldberg

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

Julian Goodman

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

Everett Greenbaum

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

Ron Howard

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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"

Irma Kalish

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Irma Kalish on how writing the All in the Family  episode dealing with cancer helped her friend, and impacted her feeling about her profession "you never know how many people you've touched"

Rocky Kalish

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Irma Kalish on how writing the All in the Family  episode dealing with cancer helped her friend, and impacted her feeling about her profession "you never know how many people you've touched"

Bob Keeshan

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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

Gavin MacLeod

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Gavin MacLeod on "The Last Show," the final episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Sonia Manzano

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Sonia Manzano on the Sesame Street episode "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" (airdate: November 24, 1983)
Sonia Manzano on the death of Muppet creator Jim Henson

Bob McGrath

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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

Jim McKay

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Jim McKay on having to tell the world that the Israeli hostages taken at the 1972 Olympic games, were "all gone"

Burt Metcalfe

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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 next-to-last M*A*S*H  episode "As Time Goes By"

Al Michaels

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Al Michaels on reporting the earthquake during the 1989 World Series Game 3 in San Francisco

Roger Mudd

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

Bob Newhart

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

Carroll O'Connor

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Carroll O'Connor on his acting with Danielle Brisebois in the Archie Bunker's Place episode "Archie Alone," that reveals Edith Bunker's death

Don Ohlmeyer

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Don Ohlmeyer on Jim McKay's amazing job covering the 1972 Munich Olympics

Don Pardo

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

Marty Pasetta

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

Fred Rogers

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Fred Rogers on addressing the assassinations of President Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

Marion Ross

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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"

Tim Russert

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Tim Russert on the Meet the Press broadcast following 9/11 and the tribute to Father Mychal Judge

Ralph Senensky

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Ralph Senensky on directing the "Grandma Comes Home" episode of The Waltons

Caroll Spinney

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"Big Bird" performer Caroll Spinney on telling Will Lee ("Mr. Hooper") he loved him, during what turned out to be Lee's last day of shooting; on "Farewell, Mr. Hooper"

Jean Stapleton

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

Keith Thibodeaux

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Actor Keith Thibodeaux on being on the "Lucy Meets the Moustache" (the last) episode of I Love Lucy 

Stanford Tischler

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

James Wall

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James Wall on stage-managing CBS's coverage of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s funeral

Joseph M. Wilcots

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Joseph M. Wilcots on staging the Roots scenes in which "Kunta Kinte's" foot is cut off and where "Kissy" is taken from her family

Jeff Zucker

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

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