David Susskind
Encyclopedia
David Susskind was a producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a pioneer TV talk show host.
and then Harvard University
, graduating with honors in 1942, and then headed off to World War II. A communications officer on an attack transport, he saw action at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
His first job was as a press agent for Warner Brothers. Next he was a talent agent for Century Artists, ultimately ending up in the powerhouse Music Corporation of America
's newly-minted television programming department, managing Dinah Shore
, Jerry Lewis
, and others. In New York, Susskind formed Talent Associates
, representing creators of material rather than performers. Ultimately, Susskind produced movies, stage plays and television programs.
He married twice, first to Phyllis Briskin, in 1939, and then Canadian-American television personality Joyce Davidson
, in 1966. Both marriages ended in divorce. He had three daughters and a son, along with two stepdaughters by his marriage to Davidson.
legal drama
Justice
, based on case files of the Legal Aid Society of New York. His program, Open End, began in 1958 on WNTA-TV
in New York City, and was appropriately titled: the program continued until Susskind or his guests were too tired to continue. In 1961, Open End was constrained to two hours and went into national syndication
. The show was retitled The David Susskind Show in 1967 and continued until his death in 1987.
During his almost 30-year run as a talk show host, Susskind covered many controversial topics of the day, such as race relations, transexualism and the Vietnam War
. Susskind's interview of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
, which aired in October 1960, during the height of the cold war
, generated national attention.
In 1961, Susskind conducted a series of interviews with former President Harry Truman in Truman's hometown of Independence, Missouri. After picking Truman up at his home to take him to the Truman Presidential Library for the interviews over a number of days, Susskind asked Truman why he hadn't been invited into the home. According to presidential historian Michael Beschloss
, Truman flatly told Susskind, "This is Bess's
house" and that there had never been nor would there ever be a Jewish guest in there.
(1957), The Moon and Sixpence
(1960), Ages of Man
(1966), Death of a Salesman
(also 1966), Look Homeward, Angel
(1972), The Bridge of San Luis Rey
(1958), The Glass Menagerie
(1973), and Caesar and Cleopatra
(1976); the television films Truman at Potsdam (1976), Eleanor and Franklin
(1976), and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
(1977); and the feature film
Loving Couples
(1980). In 1964, he produced Craig Stevens
's acclaimed CBS drama Mr. Broadway
, which left the air after thirteen episodes. He also produced and owns all the rights to the 1961 fourteen-episode macabre
CBS TV series - Way Out. His production company, Talent Associates
, also produced Get Smart
.
in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
.
Personal
Susskind was born in New York City. He attended the University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
and then Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, graduating with honors in 1942, and then headed off to World War II. A communications officer on an attack transport, he saw action at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
His first job was as a press agent for Warner Brothers. Next he was a talent agent for Century Artists, ultimately ending up in the powerhouse Music Corporation of America
Music Corporation of America
MCA, Inc. was an American talent agency. Initially starting in the music business, they would next become a dominant force in the film business, and later expanded into the television business...
's newly-minted television programming department, managing Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
, Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
, and others. In New York, Susskind formed Talent Associates
Talent Associates
Talent Associates, Ltd. , was a production company headed by David Susskind, later joined by Daniel Melnick, Leonard Stern and Ron Gilbert.-Origins:...
, representing creators of material rather than performers. Ultimately, Susskind produced movies, stage plays and television programs.
He married twice, first to Phyllis Briskin, in 1939, and then Canadian-American television personality Joyce Davidson
Joyce Davidson
Joyce Davidson was a Canadian and American television personality.-Career:She was a member of CBC Television's Tabloid, a current affairs program with a light entertainment manner, in the 1950s....
, in 1966. Both marriages ended in divorce. He had three daughters and a son, along with two stepdaughters by his marriage to Davidson.
Talk show
In 1954, Susskind became producer of the NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
legal drama
Legal drama
A legal drama is a work of dramatic fiction about crime and civil litigation. Subtypes of legal dramas include courtroom dramas and legal thrillers, and come in all forms, including novels, television shows, and films. Legal drama sometimes overlap with crime drama, most notably in the case of Law...
Justice
Justice (1954 TV series)
Justice is an NBC half-hour drama television series about attorneys of the Legal Aid Society of New York, which aired from April 8, 1954 to March 25, 1956. In the 1954-1955 season, Justice starred Dane Clark as Richard Adams and Gary Merrill as Jason Tyler. In the 1955-1956 season, William Prince...
, based on case files of the Legal Aid Society of New York. His program, Open End, began in 1958 on WNTA-TV
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
in New York City, and was appropriately titled: the program continued until Susskind or his guests were too tired to continue. In 1961, Open End was constrained to two hours and went into national syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
. The show was retitled The David Susskind Show in 1967 and continued until his death in 1987.
During his almost 30-year run as a talk show host, Susskind covered many controversial topics of the day, such as race relations, transexualism and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Susskind's interview of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, which aired in October 1960, during the height of the cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, generated national attention.
In 1961, Susskind conducted a series of interviews with former President Harry Truman in Truman's hometown of Independence, Missouri. After picking Truman up at his home to take him to the Truman Presidential Library for the interviews over a number of days, Susskind asked Truman why he hadn't been invited into the home. According to presidential historian Michael Beschloss
Michael Beschloss
Michael Richard Beschloss is an American historian. A specialist in the United States presidency, he is the author of nine books.- Early life :...
, Truman flatly told Susskind, "This is Bess's
Bess Truman
Bess Truman , was the wife of Harry S. Truman and First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953.-Early life:...
house" and that there had never been nor would there ever be a Jewish guest in there.
Producer and legacy
Susskind was also a noted producer, with scores of movies, plays, and TV programs to his credit. His legacy is that of a producer of intelligent material at a time when TV had left its golden years behind and had firmly planted its feet in programming which had wide appeal, whether or not it was worth watching. Among other projects, he produced television adaptations of Beyond This PlaceBeyond This Place (1957)
Beyond This Place is a 1957 American television adaptation from A. J. Cronin's novel, Beyond This Place, which was originally published in 1953. It is not really a film, but a live production broadcast on television, and possibly preserved on kinescope. The show was directed by Sidney Lumet and...
(1957), The Moon and Sixpence
The Moon and Sixpence
The Moon and Sixpence is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham, told in episodic form by the first-person narrator as a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire...
(1960), Ages of Man
Ages of Man (play)
Ages of Man is a one-man show performed by John Gielgud featuring a collection of speeches in Shakespeare's plays. Based on an anthology edited by Oxford professor George Rylands in 1939 that organized the speeches to show the journey of life from birth to death, the show takes its title from...
(1966), Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Premiered at the Morosco Theatre in February 1949, the original production ran for a total of 742 performances.-Plot :Willy Loman...
(also 1966), Look Homeward, Angel
Look Homeward, Angel
Look Homeward, Angel: A Story of the Buried Life is a 1929 novel by Thomas Wolfe. It is Wolfe's first novel, and is considered a highly autobiographical American Bildungsroman. The character of Eugene Gant is generally believed to be a depiction of Wolfe himself. The novel covers the span of time...
(1972), The Bridge of San Luis Rey
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
The Bridge of San Luis Rey is American author Thornton Wilder's second novel, first published in 1927 to worldwide acclaim. It tells the story of several interrelated people who die in the collapse of an Inca rope-fiber suspension bridge in Peru, and the events that lead up to their being on the...
(1958), The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie (1973 film)
The Glass Menagerie is a 1973 American television movie based on the 1944 play of the same name by Tennessee Williams. It is directed by Anthony Harvey and stars Katharine Hepburn, Sam Waterston, Joanna Miles and Michael Moriarty. It marked the third screen adaptation of the play.The Glass...
(1973), and Caesar and Cleopatra
Caesar and Cleopatra (play)
Caesar and Cleopatra, a play written in 1898 by George Bernard Shaw, was first staged in 1901 and first published with Captain Brassbound's Conversion and The Devil's Disciple in his 1901 collection, Three Plays for Puritans. It was first performed at Newcastle-on-Tyne on March 15, 1899...
(1976); the television films Truman at Potsdam (1976), Eleanor and Franklin
Eleanor and Franklin
Eleanor and Franklin is a television movie released on January 11, 1976, starring Edward Herrmann as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Jane Alexander as Eleanor Roosevelt. It is the first part in a two-part biopic based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling biography with the same...
(1976), and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years is a made-for-television movie that was a sequel to the previous year's Eleanor and Franklin. Originally airing on March 13, 1977, it was part of a two-part biopic directed by Daniel Petrie based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer prize-winning biography...
(1977); and the feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
Loving Couples
Loving Couples (1980 film)
Loving Couples is a 1980 American romantic comedy film written by Martin Donovan and directed by Jack Smight.The plot offers a comic spin on adultery. When Greg crashes his sports car, doctor Evelyn comes to his rescue, and the two soon are engaged in an affair...
(1980). In 1964, he produced Craig Stevens
Craig Stevens (actor)
Craig Stevens was an American motion picture and television actor.-Early and personal life:Born Gail Shikles, Jr., in Liberty, Missouri, his father was a high school teacher....
's acclaimed CBS drama Mr. Broadway
Mr. Broadway
Mr. Broadway is a 13-episode CBS adventure and drama television series starring Craig Stevens , formerly of Peter Gunn, as New York City public relations specialist Mike Bell. The program aired at 9 p.m. Eastern time Saturdays from September 26 to December 26, 1964...
, which left the air after thirteen episodes. He also produced and owns all the rights to the 1961 fourteen-episode macabre
Macabre
In works of art, macabre is the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere. Macabre works emphasize the details and symbols of death....
CBS TV series - Way Out. His production company, Talent Associates
Talent Associates
Talent Associates, Ltd. , was a production company headed by David Susskind, later joined by Daniel Melnick, Leonard Stern and Ron Gilbert.-Origins:...
, also produced Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
.
Death
Susskind suffered a heart attack and died in New York City in 1987. He is interred at Westchester Hills CemeteryWestchester Hills Cemetery
The Westchester Hills Cemetery, approximately 20 miles north of New York City, was established at 400 Saw Mill River Road in Hastings-on-Hudson, Westchester County, New York. It welcomes the burial of Christians and Jews, and many well-known entertainers and performers are interred there...
in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in the southwest part of the town of Greenburgh. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 7,849. It lies on U.S. Route 9, "Broadway" in Hastings...
.