The One About When Groucho Marx and Dick Cavett Became Great Friends - The New York Times

On a blistery summertime time successful 1961, a young TV writer and aspiring comedian named Dick Cavett attended the ceremonial of George S. Kaufman, the renowned wit and antheral of letters. There helium saw 1 of his heroes, Groucho Marx. Cavett approached Marx, and managed to archer him that helium was a large fan.

Without missing a beat, Marx responded: “Well, if it gets immoderate hotter, I could usage a large fan.”

“That was the opening of our friendship,” Cavett said past month. “I thought, good God, I’ve talked to him for existent minutes now. Nobody’s going to judge this. And abruptly helium said: ‘Well, you look similar a bully young man. I’d similar you to person luncheon with me.’”

Now, 61 years later, their narration is the taxable of a caller PBS documentary, “Groucho & Cavett,” which premieres connected Tuesday arsenic portion of the “American Masters” series.

In a video interrogation from his location successful Ridgefield, Conn., Cavett, 86, recalled with fondness his aged friend, whose affection and mentorship changed the young Cavett’s life. As a writer for “The Tonight Show,” Cavett went connected to constitute for Marx erstwhile Marx joined a little rotation of hosts aft Jack Paar near the show, successful 1962. Starting successful 1968, erstwhile Cavett got his ain programme connected ABC, “The Dick Cavett Show,” Marx was a predominant guest.

“There was thing similar it connected tv then, and there’s thing similar it connected tv now,” Bader said. “It was really an intelligent speech with radical you attraction about, wherever successful different settings, you conscionable spot them trying to beryllium clever for 8 minutes.”

Bader’s archetypal passionateness was Groucho — “I was an teen Marx Brothers fanatic,” helium said. As a kid helium would beryllium by the tv and portion Marx’s Cavett appearances with a cassette recorder. In college, Bader got the accidental to conscionable Cavett, and helium asked him a barrage of questions astir Marx, which Cavett was blessed to answer.

By then, Bader was besides a Cavett fan: “I realized helium had got immoderate beauteous absorbing radical on,” helium said. “It wasn’t conscionable Groucho.” He went connected to go friends with Cavett, producing a bid of DVD compilations of the amusement and yet making a documentary, “Ali & Cavett: Tale of the Tape,” astir Cavett and his predominant impermanent Muhammad Ali. But the 1 helium truly wanted to marque was “Groucho & Cavett.”

You ne'er knew what you mightiness get erstwhile Marx walked onto Cavett’s signifier — helium was a impermanent 7 times — but past that was existent of “The Dick Cavett Show” successful general. Across 4 decades and successful assorted iterations, the amusement was a aboriginal clip capsule of the politics, letters, movies, creation and euphony of its day. Indeed, if you were a taste fig and you didn’t sojourn Cavett’s amusement astatine the tallness of its power successful the 1960s and ’70s, it was astir arsenic if you didn’t exist.

The show’s ascendancy coincided with the popularization of stone ’n’ rotation subculture, and Cavett took each comers, making them accessible to a wide viewership, successful part, by keeping a ft planted firmly successful the intelligence traditions of his mentors. Rock artists were among his astir memorable guests, including Janis Joplin (who seemed to person a blast), Jimi Hendrix (exhausted, but engaged) and John Lennon and Yoko Ono (quite serious, arsenic usual).

“It’s comic due to the fact that I ne'er gave a damn astir stone ’n’ rotation until they started appearing connected my show,” said Cavett, who conscionable turned 86. “I deliberation Janis Joplin was partially liable due to the fact that she had specified a bully clip and she told everybody astir it. And past I began to get them 1 aft the other.”

Marx remained friends with Cavett passim the turbulent ’60s and gave him vocation advice. As explained successful the film, Marx saw an appealing contradiction successful Cavett, the Yale-educated Nebraskan, the erudite hayseed. Marx encouraged his young person to prosecute this thought done humor, and Cavett obliged.

When Cavett got his ain show, helium was speedy to publication his hero. Marx would sing songs (“Lydia the Tattooed Lady”), archer stories and prosecute with the adoring audience. But mostly helium would riff with his young protégé, who ever seemed arsenic if helium couldn’t judge helium was sitting determination with Groucho Marx.

“I deliberation I was successful a authorities of exalting disbelief and joyousness that I had Groucho sitting determination and being Groucho Marx,” Cavett said. “I don’t retrieve being nervous, but I was conscionable truthful damn grateful that I yet had him wherever I wanted him, truthful to speak. And that it was going well, and that it was wonderful.”

Much of the time, Cavett was successful stitches — Marx was, successful that sense, 1 of the fewer guests who could render him speechless. “Virtually everything helium says, if helium wants it to beryllium and helium usually does, tin beryllium funny,” Cavett said. He rattled disconnected immoderate of his favorites. Like: “I’m not a vegetarian, but I devour animals who are.” Or: “Those are my principles, and if you don’t similar them … well, I person others.” (This writer’s favorite, from “Animal Crackers”: “One greeting I changeable an elephant successful my pajamas. How helium got successful my pajamas, I don’t know.”)

Cavett wasn’t excessively shabby himself.

“It was similar you were listening to idiosyncratic successful the ’60s from the Algonquin Round Table,” said Ron Simon, the caput of the curatorial section and elder curator astatine the Paley Center for Media, who has done respective events with Cavett. “He could ever travel up with the precise word. And surely determination is simply a small spot of Groucho successful Dick Cavett and his humor. So Cavett was talking to 1 of his idols, and that made it special.”

It’s casual to spot what Marx admired successful his young friend. Cavett was soft-spoken but razor-sharp and unflappable, adjacent erstwhile chaos was breaking retired astir him. (Listen to his dependable hardly alteration erstwhile successful 1971 helium offers a pugnacious Norman Mailer “two much chairs to incorporate your elephantine intellect.”) For a time, helium grew his sandy hairsbreadth long. He grew a beard. Richard Nixon wanted to destruct him.

But his temperament didn’t change: He was insatiably funny and quick, whether helium was talking to Truman Capote, Lillian Gish, Ronald Reagan, Sly Stone oregon Orson Welles. Today, 1 tin scarcely ticker a documentary astir a late-60s oregon ’70s taxable without a vintage Cavett clip popping up — Zelig-like, helium stamps his people connected the taxable astatine hand.

Cavett knows helium had the goods backmost then. “When I spot myself connected Decades, I’m often amazed astatine however bully I am,” helium said, referring to a web that carries reruns of his show. “That’s a unspeakable happening to accidental successful public, but I’m wholly entertained by myself.”

Marx was entertained, too. He saw successful Cavett a kindred spirit, a chap wit.

“Groucho was young successful mind, though aged successful assemblage astatine that point,” Bader said. He was inactive wide beloved, known for the tv amusement “You Bet Your Life,” which helium hosted from 1947 to 1961. The counterculture had embraced the anarchic tone of movies similar “The Cocoanuts” (1929), “Duck Soup” (1933) and “A Night astatine the Opera” (1935). He was a benignant of éminence grise successful American comedy, inactive revered by younger comics similar Cavett. And Marx successful crook ne'er bushed of the signifier lights.

“Dick gave Groucho this wide unfastened forum, which helium didn’t needfully person erstwhile helium went connected different shows,” Bader said. “He would conscionable instrumentality over.”

Cavett tears up successful the movie arsenic helium recalls Marx’s decease successful 1977 astatine property 86. “We had mislaid Captain Spaulding,” helium says successful the film, referring to the sanction of the quality Marx played successful the 1930 movie “Animal Crackers.” For 9 years, their relationship was a joyous on-air affair.

But helium inactive has the memories and stories, which helium loves to share. Like the clip a mates recognized the 2 men connected a New York sidewalk and the antheral asked Marx to accidental thing insulting astir his wife.

Marx paused, Cavett told me, past replied: “‘Well, with a woman similar that, you should beryllium capable to deliberation of your ain insults.’

“Let’s enactment it his way,” Cavett added. “I’ve ne'er enjoyed a impermanent more.”