The Dick Cavett Show: Comic Legends
Dick Cavett's popular talk show was a staple of '60s and early '70s pop culture, known for the charm and wit of its host as well as for the quality of its guests. This collection of episodes showcases the array of comic talent that visited Cavett on his show, which includes Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Carol Burnett, the Smothers Brother, Groucho Marx, and Jerry Lewis.
Member Reviews
A Trip Back in Time - TheShamus
The "Dick Cavett Show: Comedy Legends" is not the compilation of short comedy routines from well known comics I had been expecting. Although there are exceptions, this is mostly full 60 or 90 minute shows where the comedian is interviewed by host, Dick Cavett.
For those not familiar with Cavett, he got into show business through writing jokes for the Jack Parr show. Most of the best moments of his show are shared with his personal friends like Groucho Marx, Bill Cosby and Woody Allen. Cavett asks "soft" questions to his guests (much like Larry King). He helps to segway into the next schtick. Cavett's strength is being able to come up with questions and coax his guests -- and maintain the squeaky clean image of network television at that time.
Woody Allen is entertaining for the entire interview. In one case, he proves how adept he is at playing clarinet in a jazz band.
Mel Brooks performs as some of his established characters ... and demonstrates the art of improvisation.
Bill Cosby shows why his comedy is timeless in talking about the human condition.
Groucho Marx and Bob Hope are examples of specimens from another entertainment era. This was a "friendly" (and nostalgic) forem to make a TV appearance.
This DVD is a slice of 1970's American popular culture (in as much as 'sterile' American 1970's network TV reflected popular culture). If are interested, this DVD is packed with content and special features (with modern show introduction from Cavett).
If you are looking for performances, there are better DVD's out there which capture these performers at their best.
/\/\/\/\ the Shamus /\/\/\/\Legends is Right - heywriterboy
I've never seen Bob Hope not do schtick. Whether it's Cavett's obvious reverence for Hope, or just the fact that Hope seems to be enjoying himself, the less guarded approach gives some great insights -- into close calls, U.S. Presidents and their golf handicaps, or his early life Hope answers every question and lets the mask drop just a bit. If you're used to the prepackaged to the hilt, canned nature of interviews on Letterman or Leno, it's a bit of a revelation. As for Groucho, well, yeah -- you have to love him or not. But his interview is a fascinating capsule of its time. You can see how he's clearly from a different age, but still engaged with the world around him. The stories about Thalberg and Margaret Dumont are sublime. The performance of Lydia The Tatooed Lady is touching. I guess by the date I was just about to turn one when this first aired. I'm glad I got a chance to see it in full, as it was then. The first disc's other show is Woody Allen -- but if anything, Allen is doing his very standard 1969 era schtick. Ruth Gordon is more of the revelation. A woman who entered Show business in 1915. It's a time trip. It really is. And Cavett's current intros provide a sense of just how far things have changed. The context he provides is interesting -- and the peek into the past this affords is priceless.Talk Show Heaven - SheckyGrey
Name one other DVD set in which you can see Woody Allen do push-ups, Groucho Marx just months before he lost his mind, and Bob Hope call Jack Benny a homosexual?
At the start of March, a four disc DVD collection called Dick Cavett’s Comic Legends was released, and of course this is grand news to comedy fans and talk show aficionados alike. When I say talk show I don’t mean Ricki Lake or Larry King Live or even the Late Show with David Letterman. There was a time when talk shows were something very different. They actually incorporated the art of chat as opposed to the contemporary trend of celebrities appearing merely to endorse their latest product, movie, book, or record. In the late sixties and throughout much of the seventies, talk shows became a forum for ideas, reflecting much of what was going on in culture itself. In the late 60s ideas were being discussed and debated everywhere. Politicians were regularly dismissed for the shallowness they truly represented, and suddenly the art of philosophy became widespread and mainstream. And so, along with the Tonight Show with Jack Paar, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, and the long dismissed Mike Douglas Show, Dick Cavett showcased a degree of both spontaneity and intellectualism in the oft-shallow late night network television realm.
Dick Cavett has been ridiculed relentlessly for the past twenty-five odd years, mostly due to his notorious penchant for shameless name-dropping. Although, let’s face it, if you were going out to dinner with Groucho Marx on Fridays and Woody Allen on Saturdays, you’d be tempted to do the same. And so Dick Cavett’s Comic Legends does indeed feature these two notables, and mutual Cavett boosters. But unlike some other recent DVD & VHS collections of the classic talk shows, this series is not a frustrating array of “Best Of” highlights. They are hour long episodes of the Dick Cavett Show aired in their entirety. And it is bliss.
Member Reviews
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A Trip Back in Time - TheShamus
The "Dick Cavett Show: Comedy Legends" is not the compilation of short comedy routines from well known comics I had been expecting. Although there are exceptions, this is mostly full 60 or 90 minute shows where the comedian is interviewed by host, Dick Cavett. ...Legends is Right - heywriterboy
I've never seen Bob Hope not do schtick. Whether it's Cavett's obvious reverence for Hope, or just the fact that Hope seems to be enjoying himself, the less guarded approach gives some great insights -- into close calls, U.S. Presidents and their golf handicaps, ...Talk Show Heaven - SheckyGrey
Name one other DVD set in which you can see Woody Allen do push-ups, Groucho Marx just months before he lost his mind, and Bob Hope call Jack Benny a homosexual?
At the start of March, a four disc DVD collection called Dick Cavett’s Comic Legends was ...