ALEXANDER KING SEGMENTS FROM NBC'S "TODAY" SHOW
AND "THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW" (TV)
Summary
This tape presents two segments in which raconteur Alexander King is interviewed in conjunction with the publication of his book "Rich Man, Poor Man, Freud and Fruit: Advice to Amorous Ladies." In the first segment, from the early morning "Today" show, Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters welcome King, who explains that his book is intended to help women find husbands. Asked by Downs whether women are in need of this advice, the author opines that American females are currently "quite bewildered" -- in part because of the women's liberation movement. He asserts that his book will stand out from the crowd because it does not deal with the mechanics of sex, a subject that in his opinion has been too much analyzed. It covers strategies for landing a wide variety of men, King explains, adding, "Women, fortunately for everybody, are amazingly indiscriminate." The author discusses his own marital track record -- on his fifth wife, he is a great-grandfather -- and enlightens Downs and Walters about some of the foibles of wealthy males. In the second segment, King visits with Merv Griffin and Griffin's sidekick, the dour Arthur Treacher. They briefly discuss Jack Paar, who made King a household word by inviting him frequently onto his late-night talk show; they also touch on the recent power blackout in New York City. King moves on to a discussion of his book, noting that the word "fruit" in the title refers to homosexuals, whom he believes many women date and marry. Although he reveals that he is puzzled by this practice, he assures Griffin that he is not in favor of banning homosexuality. Asked by his host to repeat a story he told once on Paar's program, he says that he cannot repeat a funny story as he is not a professional comedian. He adds that he will be happy to tell another story. First, however, he expounds a bit about the nature of television, asserting that he is disappointed in the medium of late, feeling that it underestimates its audience. Nevertheless, he says, the medium has its good points. "TV did, after all, defeat Nixon," he smiles. In addition, he notes that he approves of programs such as Griffin's and Paar's, in which all sorts of people appear and, in his words, "at any minute the real can happen." He then launches into the promised story, which revolves around dentists in Vienna. He reveals that he scorns the Viennese although he was born in the Austrian capital himself. "Dreadful people," he insists. "But one thing you've got to admit about them. They haven't come down a bit. They were always dreadful." He exits with a reminder about his book, and Griffin starts to recount a series of disasters that have befallen his program before the tape ends abruptly. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1964
- RUNNING TIME: 0:44:08
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T:06239
- GENRE: Talk/Interviews
- SUBJECT HEADING: Authors; Storytellers
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Hugh Downs … Host
- Merv Griffin … Host
- Barbara Walters … Host
- Alexander King … Guest
- Arthur Treacher … Cast
- Richard M. Nixon
- Jack Paar