John Updike and John Cheever on The Dick Cavett Show

[@richardburton5706]

What a marvelous heartwarming conversation. and a display of interesting personalities.

[@mattmacneil3424]

wonderful interview. all three of them are such cordial guys. I'd never heard john cheever speak before.

[@adamsasso1]

Same, and he’s one of my favorite writers. That’s what drew me to this video. I was not disappointed!

[@terrenceolivido741]

what i found with Cheever is his particular class that he wrote about is unfathomable to most of America - even more so today. Updike wrote about sex, so that is some connection to the casual reader. My most important writer personally is never ever mentioned - Henry Miller.

[@robertcotgrave5920]

I'd like to think that people still read books. I'm discovering these amazing people and it's incredible.

[@jonharrison9222]

Did you really think they didn’t?

[@nledaig]

Two great writers and two very interesting men. Do Americans still make programmes like this or is it just junk like the weird liberal bsers

[@kingy002]

Millions are reading books, and quality ones, right at this very minute.

[@ModMokkaMatti]

Mr. Ross' lover man, John Cheever, author of the Cheever Letters.

[@joralemonvirgincreche]

I came here to hear the "pure Bostonian catarrhal dialect" of John Cheever as someone described it, and stayed for the whole interview. What a great interview.

[@lynnturman8157]

Read these two writers and you will discover an America Lost that you will not find in any other medium, be it music or movies or newsreels.

[@Feralcycler]

Recently started reading Cheever’s short stories and I am loving them.

[@Lostmychops]

I envy you! I’ve read them all, but I wish I could go back to a time before I had. You should read his novel ‘bullet park’ too. It’s a remarkable and quite brilliant book IMO.

[@hayleyanna2625]

Thank you for sharing this. Two exceptional writers.

[@dualmp8]

my two favorite writers

[@timothymeehan181]

I’m late to Cheever. Been reading all of his short stories over the last 4-5 years, and realize now how much Mathew Weiner and his writers were channeling him(& John O’Hara) when they were writing all of those brilliant, literary(& literate) Mad Men episodes….🙏🎭

[@terrenceolivido741]

First, John Updike was the kindest person. It really does stand out in his life. He encouraged all other writers and he just seemed to spread himself like a supportive blanket. John Cheever ... Here we hear John seemingly affecting a British upperclass accent. I had connection with rich NorthEast families. I never heard anyone with that accent. Having said that, i would like to think of these two like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. For al the unhappiness of life - and large portions seemingly self-created - we have in contrast the incredible specialness of the pairs mentioned above. Almost god-like role models. There are a lot of great heroes if you look. You have to let the fakers, the poseurs and the inevitable minor-flaws of the real heroes go-by. I do find greatness is in the eye of the beholder. People who have given-up usually only want to tear down everyone to their miserable level.

[@jonharrison9222]

Cheever all but prayed for the failure of The Coup and was pretty scathing about Updike privately. Updike was mostly decent besides the bed-hopping and serial adultery. Wasn’t too kind on his fellow American authors: some of the worst reviews Toni Morrison and Denis Johnson ever had came from him.

[@terrenceolivido741]

@@jonharrison9222 Updike indeed followed the emerging " free sex " culture that was coming on. he may also have determined the salacious aspect would help his books sell. having said that, the idea of keeping " the pulse " of American culture was part of his vision as an author. If he lived to our day he probably would have returned to his conservative roots and started to be more critical. ... my take.

[@iancrombie8862]

Discovered John Cheever when i discovered he wrote short story of The Swimmer..

[@JCPJCPJCP]

A very good movie was made of that story. "The Swimmer," 1968, starring Burt Lancaster.

[@Lostmychops]

@@JCPJCPJCP Cheever has a cameo in it. Apparently he was quite drunk at the time, although that wasn’t unusual…

[@Urban-Spaceman]

I miss intelligent talk shows with humble, intelligent guests.

[@Lucian-mg9mw]

I was just watching the Seinfeld episode about the Cheever letters and then I see this. What else can I say?

[@liammcooper]

Any chance you could get Dec. 23, 1977 (ep. 48) of Dick Cavett with just John Cheever as guest?

[@user-rz6bc2cl3c]

Wow! What society could have been like, 3 cordial, reasonably intelligent men sitting around enjoying what was then called 'a conversation'.

[@forced-into-Google-Handle]

anyone know what year it is in this clip ?

[@terrenceolivido741]

Now we have travelled so far ... America. Look, Look at these giants - anything more i would say would demean them.

[@Brandon-tk2rw]

This is the first time I've heard Cheever's New England/Transatlantic accent... It really does sound suss af.

[@jonharrison9222]

?

[@jamesp7588]

😂😂😂😂 I absolutely agree. Sus as fukc haha

[@terrenceolivido741]

I have criticized so much ..., going back to this interview i am grateful it happened and it is important to see them. I discovered after this interview - if i am correct - Cheever was dying of cancer and died shortly thereafter. It is hard for me not to love these two and - forgive me if i am repeating - this makes me think of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. In all that falls apart - never forget - my friends, our heroes. Life is an heroic endeavor and some people express it better in their art. I also see how an honest author - and these are - is perplexed by life as everyone, yet they produce their " fine art " and are also perplexed by it.

[@dwaynesbadchemicals]

Murica is too dumbed down for a show like this to survive anymore. That’s a shame.

[@kreek22]

The entire American Empire has suffered a decline in humane learning. Nor have those few places still outside of it taken up any of the slack.

[@terrenceolivido741]

" Things ain't like they used to be ..., and never was ."

[@jonharrison9222]

@@kreek22 Visited all of them, have you…?

[@kreek22]

@@jonharrison9222 Dysgenics.

[@HMinot]

I heard Cheever deliver a vespers talk at Milton Academy. Including a hint of smut.

[@jonharrison9222]

John. Europe did not like having American missles on its turf, thereby making themselves automatic and more immediate targets, not least because it was done without the direct approval of its citizenry. Not exactly rocket science, perhaps.

[@norrispulliam7810]

There was a time when people actually read books and had attention spans long enough to finish entire chapters of novels .instead of Twitts and instaneous meaningless drivel. two literary Geniuses .

[@milesknightestrada3286]

There are remarkably many people who remain devoted to literature today as ever they did in the past. I predict that we shall see a resurgence reading and writing in the next few years that will endure until the days run out.

[@Brandon-tk2rw]

"instead of tweets and drivel." -"instaneous" [sic] adds nothing to the sentence -"meaningless" is implied in the word drivel, i.e., nonsense -maybe next time use something like "thumb-twitching palaverist" if you want to use some literary effect to drive your point home

[@Brandon-tk2rw]

@@milesknightestrada3286 Conversely, the literary arts have always been the hobby horse of the upper class and will continue to be so.

[@norrispulliam7810]

@@Brandon-tk2rw you are a complete moron how would you transliterate that?English major?

[@WordoftheElderGods]

oh shut up

[@marlafelcher295]

Great. Love both of their books and stories. But so reminded how happy I am that the world of WASP male privilege is over.

[@LouiseOrrock]

Did Dick Cavett stay up all night so as to look more interesting?

[@stutzbearcat5624]

He tried mightily! 🤣😂🤣

[@britteach]

I watched Dick Cavett because his handler's always seemed to invite interesting guests to his show. Sadly though, Cavett is often disappointing and an ignorant host. In one interview with Anthony Hopkins he spent more time talking about himself than about Hopkins. Here again, Cavett is woefully unprepared. If he had ever read anything written by Cheever and Updike, you wouldn't be able to tell here. His questions are inane and his comments light, superficial and ultimately meaningless. If it wasn't for the good graces of Updike bailing him out, this interview would have been a washout. I admire both authors greatly and had hoped to have gained some insight into specific stories and novels that they both wrote. But Cavett didn't do his homework here and once again failed to do his job as an interviewer.

[@hunter23138]

I hear you. Cavett's job seems to be to create a bridge between the literary sphere and pop culture and manages to do that, while, like you say, coming across as a bit dumb.

[@terrenceolivido741]

sure, Cavett at times came accross in other interviews as a complete bore. However, as i said in a comment above , well, it was graceful and nice just to see these two enduring authors relaxed and together and nicely dressed ... Things have gotten so stupid in America ... I will leave you to fill in my point, because my age and the incessant stupidity has tired me out.

[@MsMiika13]

Couldn't disagree more. Cavett is a wise, insightful & clever interviewer. He gets his guests to reveal true bits of themselves. His role is to inquire. He is able to elicit.

[@zoaxanthellae]

I sort of get this, but I much prefer this more conversational and open-ended style to an interviewer straining to show how smart they are -- and I'd guess both Johns had had enough encounters with literature fans to not want another. To me the lack of specificity gives the guests a space to fill

[@terrenceolivido741]

@@zoaxanthellae I think " Charlie Rose " was a good interviewer. Cavett had to do regular interview on a schedule and did not have enuf time to prepare. I also noticed in other interviews that Cavett had an ego and certainly wanted to appear witty and smart. A great interviewer asks good questions and shuts up. Alex Jones has bizarly been shutting up more and more these last few years and letting people answer questions.

[@Ssenivac]

This dude is one of the worst interviewers of all time. He’s far more interested in what he has to say rather than what his guests have to say.