Dick Cavett, a guy I've always admired in any number of ways, has been a chronic sufferer of capital-D Depression for some time. As he got the problem under some control, he went public with his story in a series of fascinating, touching talk show appearances that I'm sure helped a lot of people…including many who had much tinier, manageable versions of the ailment he had in spades. One interview I recall — on Larry King Live, I believe — included a caller who practically begged Cavett to give the names of the medications that had helped him. Cavett wisely refused and then respectfully lectured the caller that he (she?) had to find a doctor caring and learned enough to prescribe what could be effective in his (her?) specific case. He said something to the effect of, "What worked for me might not work for you. In fact, it might make things worse. What you need to do is address the problem on a basic level. Asking what I took so that you might find some way to get your hands on it shows that you're missing the whole point."
Recently, Mr. Cavett wrote this column for The New York Times in which he talked a little about his problem, then followed it with this column in which he said more. They're a little self-congratulatory and he does manage to name-drop three of his Big Four — Olivier, Brando and Woody Allen — in them. (Apparently, Kate Hepburn said nothing even vaguely relevant on the topic.) But I think Cavett's so bright and useful that I forgive him his occasional excesses and I suggest you give his pieces a quick read…or a deeper one if the topic looms large in your life. And don't skip over the comments from his readers which are very much a part of his little lecture.
When I see some of the amateurs and inept provocateurs who manage to get an hour of cable time, at least for a few ratings periods, I wonder why no one has offered Dick Cavett one of those time slots. Maybe he wouldn't want it but nothing the man ever did on television was not worth watching. The last time he had such a show, much of his old roster of guests was still available and he did shows with them that were interesting…but pale, anticlimactic versions of earlier, better conversations. Now, almost all of those folks are gone and I think it would be interesting to drop the guy into a new world of talking heads and see what happened. It might be exciting but even if it wasn't, he couldn't get lower numbers than Tucker Carlson or Glenn Beck.