Our master of ceremonies, Barry Dougherty of The Friars Club, and our Keynote Reader Dick Cavett, have had a number of “Brief Encounters” over the years.
“Dick and I have crossed paths at various events both at the Friars and also when I was employed at the Museum of Television and Radio,” now The Paley Center for Media, says Dougherty. “He’s a Friar and he’s come to Roasts and many events at the Club.”
But Dougherty turned the tables on Cavett, who interviewed hundreds of luminaries including Bette Davis, John Lennon, Janis Joplin and Groucho Marx, as host of “The Dick Cavett Show,” which aired on ABC from 1968 to 1975 and on public television from 1977 to 1982.
Dougherty interviewed Cavett while writing “The New York Friars Club Book of Roasts.”
“Dick is as engaging and expressive as an interviewee as he is interviewer. He’s such a wonderful raconteur, so this gave him an opportunity to share stories with me about his experiences at various Friars Club events. He was the Master of Ceremonies at the Carol Burnett Testimonial Dinner; he introduced Joe Piscopo to Frank Sinatra at a Dean Martin Dinner, noting that Frank was a little “frigid” to the man who spoofed him on Saturday Night Live; and has been privy to behind-the-scenes moments at many Roasts so I welcomed his witty insights.”
We look forward to their reunion at Long Island LitFest on May 31, 2015!