Tomorrow with Tom Snyder-Guest: Douglas Edwards, August 28, 1980

Tom Snyder interviews the CBS News veteran. Most commercials are included. Quality varies due to original tape conditions.
Posted for educational and historical purposes only. All material is under the copyright of their original holders. No copyright infringement is intended.

[@johnnysama]

Douglas Edwards. One of the most revered names in TV news, whose career spanned from the early 1940s (before TV) right onto the late 1980s, truly a wonderful professional if there ever was one in the medium. RIP.

[@wmbrown6]

And most important, he kept at it throughout his career, up to his retirement. See my comments above contrasting his trajectory with onetime competitor John Cameron Swayze's.

[@fredwiley3731]

There is NOBODY of Douglas Edwards' stature on TV news today, period.

[@tommyparkerparker]

Douglas Edwards was a class act. One of the best. Tom Snyder a great interviewer and presenter.RIP Doug Edwards and Tom Snyder.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I can't believe how great this is! Douglas Edwards was the pioneer of nightly news and he is hardly to be found on KZbin. Thanks so much for this upload. There are lots of us DE fans out there!

[@frankjenny6332]

The interview looked back to the early days of television some 30 years earlier. As of 2024, the interview is itself 44 years old.

[@dupont416]

This was from an era when TV could still be cerebral, and without screaming matches.

[@postatility9703]

Glad you kept the commercials. It's fun to compare the prices,technology and styles of advertising at that time.

[@AnthropoidOne]

Use to watch Tom in the 70's after Johnny Carson. Early ASMR

[@rickdamico7146]

Oh my, such a class act, and such a gentleman. Listening to this man in this interview is such a wonderful account of television news history.

[@JJJBRICE]

I have always admired Douglas Edwards for remaining at CBS after he was dismissed from the evening news , no apparent hard feelings between he and Cronkite his colleague for many years at CBS . In this present day people would have left gone to another network . Edwards was the host of the Armstrong Circle Theater in its latter days on CBS back I was a youngster .

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I sure do miss Tom Snyder. NBC made a mistake by cancelling him. As great a talent as David Letterman is, the network did not need another comedy show on after "The Tonight Show". Tom was perfect and was for me appointment television. He was serious and fun and just perfect for tv.

[@wmbrown6]

Apparently Letterman himself ultimately agreed with that assessment - given how, many years later, he had Snyder follow him (with "The Late Late Show") for some years on CBS.

[@bluecollarguy67]

Joe Postove No, what happened was that NBC made the horrendously bad decision of thinking that Tomorrow with Tom Snyder would be even better as Tomorrow: Coast to Coast with Tom Snyder and Rona Barrett. NBC stole away Barrett from ABC and needed something to do with her besides her sporadic reporting for TODAY and specials. The expansion of the show to 90 minutes, adding a studio audience, live musical performances and Barrett's on-location reports were all items that Snyder protested, to no avail. The reformatted show limped along for a year and then NBC asked Snyder to move the show back one hour to accommodate David Letterman's new show, which was to follow the Tonight show. Snyder said no to this idea and in effect pulled the plug himself. He did the right thing, Tomorrow was no longer the great show it had been before the reformatting.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Agreed. In those 8 1/2 years Tom Snyder made an indelible print upon broadcasting. There must be between 1 and 2 thousand Tomorrow Shows out there. I hope we get to see them.

[@bluecollarguy67]

This must be my 4th or 5th one that I've seen on KZbin. If you haven't seen the one with Harry von Zell, Don Wilson, John Reed King and George Fenneman, you should!

[@MrJoeybabe25]

I have seen that one Scott and it is a winner. I would download all of the Tomorrow Shows if I had the space (maybe one day they will be there for us). Tom had a love of broadcasting and a rich respect for broadcasters. I think all of the guys on that show with the exception of George Fenneman were in their 70's and starting to slip a little. But Tom was a generous man, and gave great respect to these giants.

[@tw364]

What a pro he was, legend. Class, personified. Douglas Edwards. It seems Tom was a big fan as well. Miss both of these gentlemen.

[@JJJBRICE]

The footage shown at the beginning of the Douglas' narration of the actual sinking of the Andrea Doria , the actresses Ruth Roman and Betsy Drake were aboard that ship but both were saved earlier . Miss Drake lost a book manuscript and many dollars worth of jewelry . Miss Roman 's son was also saved separately saved and reunited .

[@BigBingFan]

Thank you for this upload! Back when News wasn't about "Social Justice," Left-leaning narratives---JUST NEWS! I miss these "buttoned-down" days of Television News. After these past 4 1/2 years of piling up and conveying a knowingly false narrative against the previous President, how refreshing Douglas Edwards AND Tom Snyder would have been to call these news readers out, and just relay the news---not MAKING news, and knowingly broadcast false information. KUDOS to you for this upload! Hope more from this Tom Snyder era can be found and posted.

[@davidbaise5137]

Letterman was okay, but I preferred the Tomorrow Show with Snyder. But hey, even when I was young, I was old!

[@wmbrown6]

Yet with all the ups and downs of his career (not only losing his evening news gig to Walter Cronkite in 1962, but also a late-night local news anchoring stint to a certain Mr. Jim Jensen in 1964), Douglas Edwards remained true to his commitment to news, come what may. One former NBC News producer, in conversation with an ex-CBS News producer, marveled how Edwards, unlike onetime "Camel/Plymouth News Caravan" anchor (and thus, from 1949 to 1956, competitor) John Cameron Swayze, "didn't become a [expletive deleted] watch salesman."

[@MrJoeybabe25]

However, I understand his frustration at working for CBS with nothing to do but read (mostly). They wasted Edwards after he left the Evening News and worse yet, they wasted Cronkite, who was vital at 90. I don't blame DE for considering CNN's offer, by 1980 he was the main radio top of the hour man, and did news-minutes on TV. A huge waste of talent!

[@brocktonma.1816]

Class

[@MrJoeybabe25]

At about 37:00 when DE says Atlanta was in the central time zone at one time, I was a little doubtful, so I looked it up. Indeed it was, years ago. Don't doubt Doug!

[@bobthetvfan]

He should know. He worked at WSB radio in Atlanta before going to CBS.

[@charleswinokoor6023]

Good Bic pen commercial spot.

[@zachhoran]

Douglas Edwards was at the time known for the CBS Newsbreaks that aired in daytime in the 70s and 80s. A web search to IMDB says this aired on 1/16/80 originally.

[@sayhibobbi]

I'm not sure the date is correct on this. Tom & Douglas discuss CNN, which didn't come on air until June 1, 1980.

[@NewsActive3]

The date has been corrected. It actually aired on August 28, 1980 (not sure where the January date originally came from).

[@214jef]

Was that stage manager Mark Kennedy who said I’ll Take Manhattan?

[@214jef]

Probably. He always chimed in with laughs and little comments. Always wondered what happened to him. I miss Tom.

[@philliplbeard1481]

People who cared about the big picture used to have less punk to 'em.

[@penguin44ca]

Andria doria? No match for George Costanza