David Susskind

Entertainer, Producer. He received recognition with his American television show, "The David Susskind Show," which ended September of 1986 after a nearly 30-year run on the air scheduled in the late-night spot for Sunday 1:30 AM to 3:30 AM on Channel 5 in New York, the former WNEW-TV, which is now WNYW-TV. In the last two years before his sudden death from a heart attack, he had produced four television specials on famous personalities: Winston Churchill, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson and Pope John XXIII. Over the years, he had worked in many aspects of the entertainment business including being a press agent for Warner Brothers; a talent scout owning his own firm, Talent Associates Ltd.; an impresario or a career manager for celebrities such as Jerry Lewis, Dinah Shore and others; and producer of films, plays, and television programs ranging from drama to discussion shows to entertainment specials. He produced five Broadway shows, including "Rashomon" in 1959 and made 13 films including "Requiem for a Heavyweight" in 1961. From 1958 to 1966, he hosted and produced the television show, "Open," which was a interview program with guests such as Rod Serling, Ernie Kovacs, James Baldwin and William F. Buckley. His shows addressed timely, controversial subject beyond the scope of everyday life, often drew controversy, and in today's world, would not be politically correct subjects. He was the recipient of 27 Emmy Awards, three Peabody Awards, and other honors for television productions. He was the recipient for the Most Outstanding Drama Emmy Award in 1966, 1967, 1976, and 1977, in addition to being nominated four other times. Although David Howard Susskind was born in New York City, his Jewish parents, Benjamin and Frances Lear Susskind, moved the family to Brookline, Massachusetts when he was a child. He attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison for two years but finished his degree graduating with honors in 1942 at Harvard University. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy until 1946. He married and divorced twice and was the father of a son, Andrew, who followed in his father's footstep in a television producer career, and three daughters. In 1988 he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. Stephen Battaglio's 2010 biography, "David Susskind: A Televised Life," gives the details of his busy man's life starting in the pioneer years of television.