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A Televised Life
Macmillan
October 2010
On Sale: October 12, 2010
400 pages ISBN: 0312382863 EAN: 9780312382865 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Biography
A rich biography of one of the most important cultural
figures of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s—maverick television
producer and talk show host David Susskind
A flamboyant impresario who began his career as an agent,
David Susskind helped define a fledgling television
industry. He was a provocateur who fought to bring
high-toned literary works to TV. His series East Side/West
Side and N.Y.P.D. broke the color barrier in casting and
brought gritty, urban realism to prime time. He indulged his
passion for issues and ideas with his long running
discussion program, first called Open End and then The David
Susskind Show, where guests could come from The White House
one week and a whore house the next. The groundbreaking
program made news year in and year out. His legendary live
interview with Nikita Khrushchev at the height of the Cold
War inflamed both the political and media establishments. Susskind was an enfant terrible whose life—both on and off
the screen—makes fascinating reading. His rough edges,
appetite for women, and scorn for the business side of his
profession often left his own career hanging by a thread. Through extensive original reporting and deep access to
David Susskind’s personal papers, family members and former
associates, Stephen Battaglio creates a vivid portrait of a
go-go era in American media. David Susskind is as much a
biography of an expansive and glamorous time in the
television business as it is the life of one of its most
colorful and important players.
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