How and When the Tone and The Tongues Changed in the World of TV’s Political Punditry … Mail! We Get Mail! … Mike Huckabee Asks — What’s Love Got to Do With it?
“THE ONLY pro, or crypto Nazi I can think of is yourself.”
“Now, listen you queer, quit calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in the goddamn face and you’ll stay plastered.”
So it went between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley in 1968, on the air, over ABC-TV during the 1968 Presidential campaign.
Yes, children, a lack of civility is not a 21st century phenomenon.
Prepping for the big fight.
ON July 13th, in Manhattan, there will be a screening of the documentary, “Best of Enemies,” which focuses on the fiery clashes between Vidal and Buckley, during the incendiary political year of 1968. Directed by Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville, this pretty much puts to rest the idea that people beating each other up, on TV, is something new. The film is subtitled “2 Men. 10 Debates. Television Would Never Be The Same.” Indeed! From then on, tongues were looser, language more extreme — remember Joe Pyne, or David Susskind? (Susskind could be a nasty piece of work, but he preferred to sit back, smirk, and watch his guests go at each other.)
The screening is hosted by The Common Good. Call 212-599-7040 for tix and location
- Liz Smith for New York Social Diary, READ MORE
