Kup's Chicago - Irv Kupcinet [105]
In the next few pages, let me tell you about some of the many fascinating moments connected with At Random since the show began. I think these stories will reveal a great deal, not only about me and my guests, but about Chicago and about television in general.
As befits a simple production built around conversation, At Random began simply – with a conversation. Frank Atlass, who was then managing Chicago’s CBS-TV station, WBBM-TV, was looking for a new Saturday night program. I previously had appeared for a time on a variety program on WGN-TV, and then on a news-interview-commentary show on WBKB and WBBM-TV and, most recently, I had been on NBC-TV’s America After Dark, with my fellow columnists Hy Gardner, Earl Wilson, Bob Considine, Paul Coates, and Vernon Scott. Atlass suggested that I drop in to discuss program ideas.
Conversation already was well established on CBS Radio. The newly launched Open End, in New York, was finding an enthusiastic audience. No doubt with both of these “talk shows” in mind, Atlass said:
“I’d like to try a conversation show here. But let’s not make it a copy. Let’s come up with our own format.”
Chicago-style TV is traditionally low-budgeted and low-keyed. It was in that tradition that we formulated At Random. Variety, spontaneity, and lively, sophisticated conversation – these were to be its keynotes. For the most part I think we have achieved them.
Variety?
The first show featured actor Sidney Poitier, Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon, singer-actor-comedian Sammy Davis, Jr., Congressman James Roosevelt of New York, and actress Ruth Roman. The conversation moved effortlessly from subject to subject – and the subjects included Hollywood, American Presidents, the attitudes of foreign nations toward the United States, race relations, and the water table of North America.
It was Senator Morse who introduced the subject of the water table. Throughout history, he said, civilizations have risen and fallen with the amount of water available to them. Rome fell, in part, because of a water shortage, and the pattern can be traced throughout history. Maintaining an adequate water supply is already a problem in large areas of the American West. And the Senator made it clear that, while the front pages are full of more dramatic news of nuclear weapons and the national debt, much of the real business in Washington involves the careful study and evaluation of such long-range concerns as the anticipated water supply at the turn of the next century.
Nobody could have guessed in advance that such a technical subject would have come up in an informal discussion among this group, and in such a compelling fashion. The diversity of the panel and the fact that no limits were set on the subject matter to be discussed were responsible. Variety helps make the show.
So does spontaneity. Unlike other discussion shows, At Random never lists in advance the subjects likely to be covered. We expect the program’s information content to be high, but beyond that, we never know what to expect. Conversation is all we are after – witty, free-wheeling conversation that is warm and informal and informed.
Spontaneity cannot be faked. And we don’t try to fake it. But there are a few “secrets” which we use to help keep our conversationalists both relaxed and stimulated. These were formulated with the help of my first assistants on the show, producer Jerry Levin and director Phil Ruskin. My present producer, Paul Frumkin, director Ruskin, and I still use these techniques.
One concerns the atmosphere in the studio. On most other programs guests are not brought onto the set until a few moments before sign-on. On At Random, our guests are usually seated and talking at least fifteen minutes before the program begins. Normally, guests still are talking when I excuse myself from the group