AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.

SUPER, SUPER, SUPER!(David Frost)(Interview)(Biography)(The Talk of the Town)

The New Yorker

| October 20, 2003 | Friend, Tad | COPYRIGHT 2003 All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of The Condé Nast Publications Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

Nine of David Frost's fellow-students at Cambridge went on to become Cabinet ministers, but Frost took a different path. Over breakfast last week at the Regency Hotel, the sixty-four-year-old British television personality recalled one of his early comedy routines: "It had an unctuous commentator trying to maintain the tone of a royal broadcast while commentating on the fact that the royal barge was, in fact, sinking." He cleared his throat: " 'And the Queen, smiling radiantly, is swimming for her life. Her Majesty is wearing a pale-blue taffeta dress, with matching lace . . .' " When Frost laughs, his long, fine eyelashes wipe the lenses of his glasses like scrubbers in a car wash.

By the age of twenty-three, Frost was the host of the popular satiric program "That Was the Week That Was." Soon he was hosting an American version of the show and then, in rapid succession, talk and variety shows on both sides of the Atlantic. He had a knack for the redundant, tripartite catchphrase: "Hello, good evening, and welcome!," "Marvellous, smashing, terrific!," and, of course, "Super, super, super!" Frost's bright, sedulous manner made his guests shine; when Richard Nixon decided, in 1977, to explain himself after his resignation, he selected Frost as his interlocutor. Nixon tried to break the ice before the taping by saying to Frost, "Did you do any fornicating this weekend?" For once, Frost was nearly dumbstruck.

Frost now embodies the establishment; he is, courtesy of the Queen whom he almost drowned in his imagination, Sir David Frost. Although his hair has thinned and his double-breasted blue suit protrudes at the waist, he remains springy and game. On Wednesday night, his newest show, a return to his roots in satire and sketch comedy called "The Strategic Humor Initiative," debuts on PBS. Frost will be based in a studio in London, and he will trade witty remarks, via satellite, with two younger co-hosts--Jimmy Tingle, in Boston, and Mary Walsh, in Toronto. ("Walsh, I am told, represents Canada's thriving satire industry," he said.) As he discussed the new show--amid lengthy digressions about the "smashing" interviews he had recently conducted with his good friends Vladimir Putin, ...

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, journals, and more
David Frost to host King World's 'Inside Edition."
Press release article from: PR Newswire October 27, 1988 700+ words
DAVID FROST TO HOST KING WORLD'S 'INSIDE EDITION...winning international television personality David Frost has been signed by King World to host...producer and world-renowned interviewer, David Frost is the perfect choice to host 'Inside...
PorchLight Entertainment acquires interactive multimedia rights to ''David...
Press release article from: Business Wire February 15, 1996 700+ words
...prized, historic library of Sir David Frost's videotaped interviews with...history,'' stated Johnson. ``David Frost's interviews with the presidents...multimedia development of the ``David Frost Presidential Interviews'' will...
Sir David Frost to Conduct Interviews with 1996 Vice Presidential Candidates
Newspaper article from: U.S. Newswire September 18, 1996 700+ words
News Advisory: Sir David Frost will interview vice-presidential...PBS series, "...talking with David Frost." The one-hour program will...season of "...talking with David Frost," now the longest running interview...
David Frost Interviews Christian Coalition Executive Director Raplh Reed
Newspaper article from: U.S. Newswire May 15, 1995 700+ words
...Christian Coalition, will be Sir David Frost's guest for the May broadcast...monthly PBS series, "Talking with David Frost." Reed is considered one the...Virginia Beach, Va. "Talking with David Frost" is a co-production David Paradine...
David Frost Interview with Dole and Perot to Air Friday
Newspaper article from: U.S. Newswire October 29, 1996 700+ words
...Dole and Ross Perot will be Sir David Frost's guests on a special one-hour...Dole and Ross Perot Talking with David Frost" airing Friday, Nov. 1, at...January 1995, on "Talking with David Frost," Dole said for the first time...
Sir David Frost to Interview Sen. Robert Dole
Newspaper article from: U.S. Newswire January 23, 1995 700+ words
...Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.) will be Sir David Frost's guest on "...talking with David Frost," airing Friday, Feb. 3, at 10 p.m...television series "The Next President with David Frost." Frost's interview with Dole is the...
Intriguing look at TV interview's dilemma.(Richard M. Nixon's interview with...
Newspaper article from: Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) Shapiro, Howard April 23, 2007 700+ words
...history, British talk-show host David Frost finally got Nixon to assess his...dilemmas: Frost -- now, Sir David Frost -- is an entertaining, party...Cork. The cast: Michael Sheen (David Frost), Frank Langella (Richard Nixon...
David Frost joins "Entertainment Tonight-This Week" as special correspondent,...
Press release article from: PR Newswire January 16, 1987 700+ words
...ANGELES, Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- David Frost, the internationally renowned...We feel that the addition of David Frost to our reporting staff represents...Was The Week That Was" and "The David Frost Show," as well as many British...
For more facts and information, see all results
©2009 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
About us | FAQs | Contact us | Privacy policy | Terms and conditions
Other Gale sites: Encyclopedia.com | HighBeam Research | Acquire Content | Books & Authors | Goliath | MovieRetriever | Smart QandA