On this date in Madman history, journalist David Frost would conduct his first of 20 some odd interviews with former President Richard Nixon. Over the next month or so, Frost would interview Nixon near his California home for an hour or two every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. It was Nixon's first interview since he resigned from office in 1974. It was also an series of interviews that would take David Frost from satirical newsman to serious newscaster.
This whole event is in one way or another Family Madman. My father was a huge fan of Nixon. He idolized the man. A member of the young Republicans when Nixon was in office, my dad NEVER thought that the President did any wrong in the Watergate scandal.
As for myself, I have an affinity for David Frost. Frost was the Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert of his time. In the 60s, he hosted a satirical news show called 'That Was The Week That Was.' The show skewered everything from the Royal Family to the Beatles. This series only lasted 2 years but it would spawn another David Frost lead vehicle called 'The Frost Report.' Several of the writers of that 'news show' would go on to make comedy history.
Do these names sound familiar? John Cleese. Graham Chapman. Eric Idle. Michael Palin. Terry Jones.
These guys would go on to form the legendary comedy troupe Monty Python's Flying Circus. And it all started thanks to David Frost.
I'll return to the Frost/ Nixon interviews later. But I really thought it was important to note that they began 40 years ago today. Before I go, here's one of my favorite Monty Python clips. It has nothing to do with Nixon and yet everything to do with Frost.
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