David Howard Susskind (December 19, 1920 – February 22, 1987) was an American producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a TV talk show host. His talk shows were innovative in the genre and addressed timely, controversial topics beyond the scope of others of the day. His first job after the war was as a press agent for Warner Brothers. Next, he was a talent agent for Century Artists, ultimately ending up in the Music Corporation of America's newly minted television programming department, managing Dinah Shore, Jerry Lewis, and others. In New York, Susskind formed Talent Associates, representing creators of material rather than performers. In 1954, Susskind became a producer of the NBC legal drama Justice, based on case files of the Legal Aid Society of New York. His program Open End began in 1958 on New York City's commercial independent station WNTA-TV and was so titled because the program continued until Susskind or his guests were too tired to continue. In 1961, Open End was constrained to two hours and went into national syndication. The show was retitled The David Susskind Show for its telecast on Sunday night, October 2, 1966. In the 1960s it was the first nationally broadcast television talk show to feature people speaking out against American involvement in the Vietnam War. In the 1970s it was the first nationally broadcast television talk show to feature people speaking out for gay rights. The show continued until its New York outlet canceled it in 1986. During his close to three-decade run, Susskind covered many controversial topics of the day, such as race relations, transsexualism, and the Vietnam War. His interview with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, which aired in October 1960, during the height of the Cold War, generated national attention. It is one of the very few talk show telecasts from the era that was preserved and can be viewed today. In a now notorious interview with then 25-year-old Muhammad Ali during a recently-unearthed 1968 appearance on the British program The Eamonn Andrews Show, Susskind displayed an intense antipathy and vitriol towards the famous boxer, whom he excoriated with withering criticism for refusing to be conscripted into the U.S. military for the Vietnam War. Some commentators have described this as a racist attack. Susskind was also a noted producer, with scores of movies, plays, and TV programs to his credit. His legacy is that of a producer of intelligent material at a time when TV had left its golden years behind and had firmly planted its feet in programming which had wide appeal, whether or not it was worth watching.

Filmography

• 2020David Susskind Archive: I Was a Hitman for the Mafia — Director
• 1986Ike — Executive Producer
• 1984J.F.K.: A One-Man Show — Executive Producer
• 1983Rita Hayworth: The Love Goddess — Executive Producer
• 1981Casey Stengel — Executive Producer
• 1981Crisis at Central High — Executive Producer
• 1981Dear Liar — Executive Producer
• 1981Fort Apache, the Bronx — Executive Producer
• 1981The Bunker — Producer
• 1980Father Figure — Executive Producer
• 1980Loving Couples — Executive Producer
• 1980Mom, the Wolfman and Me — Executive Producer
• 1980The Plutonium Incident — Producer
• Blind Ambition — Executive Producer
• 1979Sex and the Single Parent — Executive Producer
• 1979The Family Man — Executive Producer
• 1979Transplant — Executive Producer
• 1979Walking Through the Fire — Executive Producer
• 1978Breaking Up — Executive Producer
• 1978Home to Stay — Executive Producer
• 1978Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II — Executive Producer
• 1978The World Beyond — Executive Producer
• 1978Tom and Joann — Executive Producer
• 1978Who'll Save Our Children? — Executive Producer
• 1977Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years — Executive Producer
• 1977Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye — Executive Producer
• On Our Own — Executive Producer
• 1977Tell Me My Name — Executive Producer
• 1977World of Darkness — Executive Producer
• Alice — Producer
• 1976Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson — Executive Producer
• Eleanor and Franklin — Executive Producer
• 1976Harry S. Truman: Plain Speaking — Producer
• 1975A Moon for the Misbegotten — Producer
• 1974Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore — Producer
• 1974Crown Matrimonial — Producer
• 1974The Country Girl — Producer
• 1973Howard Hughes: the Watergate Connection — Director
• 1973The Glass Menagerie — Producer
• 1972Harvey — Producer
• 1972If You Give a Dance, You Gotta Pay the Band — Producer
• 1971All the Way Home — Producer
• 1971The Price — Producer
• 1971The Pursuit of Happiness — Producer
• 1970Lovers and Other Strangers — Producer
• 1968A Hatful of Rain — Producer
• 1968Laura — Executive Producer
• 1968Of Mice and Men — Executive Producer
• 1967Dial M for Murder — Producer
• 1967Johnny Belinda — Producer
• 1967Mark Twain Tonight! — Producer
• N.Y.P.D. — Creator
• 1967The Desperate Hours — Executive Producer
• 1967The Diary of Anne Frank — Producer
• CBS Playhouse — Producer
• 1966Death of a Salesman — Producer
• 1966The Glass Menagerie — Producer
• 1966The Human Voice — Producer
• 1965Eagle in a Cage — Producer
• Mr. Broadway — Producer
• 1963David Susskind Archive: Interview With Dr. Martin Luther King Jr — himself, Director
• East Side/West Side — Producer
• 1963The Power and the Glory — Producer
• 1962At the Drop of a Hat — Producer
• 1962Hedda Gabler — Producer
• Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine — Himself, Cameo
• 1962Requiem for a Heavyweight — Self - Trailor Narrator (uncredited), Producer
• 1962The Lost Apple — Producer
• 1961A Raisin in the Sun — On-screen Trailer Narrator (uncredited), Producer
• 1960Mrs. Miniver — Producer
• 1960Ninotchka — Producer
• 1959Back to Back — Producer
• 1959Medea — Producer
• 1959Meet Me in St. Louis — Producer
• 1959Miracle On 34th Street — Producer
• Play of the Week — Producer
• 1959The Moon and Sixpence — Producer
• Too Young to Go Steady — Producer
• 1958The Winslow Boy — Producer
• 1958Three Plays by Tennessee Williams — Executive Producer
• DuPont Show of the Month — Producer
• 1957Edge of the City — Producer
• Hallmark Hall of Fame — Producer, Executive Producer
• Armstrong Circle Theatre — Producer
• David Susskind Archive: Gay Rights Pro and Con — Director
• David Susskind Archive: Truman Capote Tells All — Director

Appearances as themselves (13)

• 2013The Trials of Muhammad Ali — Self (archive footage)
• 2012The David Susskind Show: Give 'em Hell Harry — Self
• 1980Simon — Himself
• 1975Fear on Trial — Self
• Saturday Night Live — Self (uncredited)
• 1970The Carol Lawrence Show — Self
• The Dick Cavett Show — Self - Guest
• The Phil Donahue Show — Self
• The Merv Griffin Show — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self
• The David Susskind Show — Self - Host
• What's My Line? — Self