A couple of folks have written me to ask, "Hey, wasn't that Dick Cavett doing the voiceover for that trailer for The Producers?" I don't think so but some of it sure sounds like him. Actually, the first part of the V.O. sounds to me like New York announcer Mel Brandt trying to sound like Dick Cavett and the second part sounds like Dick Cavett trying to sound like Mel Brandt…which is not to say I'd bet that it's either of them.
Let's kick this around for a moment. The Producers was released on March 18, 1968. Dick Cavett's first daily talk show debuted March 4 of that year. We don't know if the trailer in question was done prior to the movie's release or some time later but even if it was done before, Mr. Cavett was probably rather busy prepping his new show…too busy to hop over to a recording studio for an hour to do a job that a thousand other SAG members in Manhattan could have done.
Then again, Cavett had done a number of radio spots with Mel Brooks before this. Then again, that trailer sure doesn't give the impression that Mel Brooks was involved in its making.
So I dunno. Would the friend of Mr. Cavett's who studiously reads this site like to ask him?