Let's Talk

Part of the Encore Film Book Classics series, this is a reprint of the original text to Let's Talk! America's Favorite Talk Show Hosts by James Robert Parish. Television talk shows have been a favorite genre of the medium since the early days of American commercial TV at the start of the 1950s. It has remained an enduring format (with numerous variations and offshoots) over many decades, highlighted by an amazing array of distinctive program hosts, every one of whom had his/her own unique personality that attracted a wide viewing public. Each of the twenty-three chapters is devoted to the professional and off camera life of a genre pioneer/favorite who played such a key role in the phenomenal history of American TV shows. Among the many colorful superstar personalities profiled in this volume are: Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, Joan Rivers, Sally Jessy Raphael, Jack Paar, Geraldo Rivera, Whoopi Goldberg, Virginia Graham, Oprah Winfrey, David Frost, Merv Griffin, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Regis Philbin, Mike Douglas, Larry King, Vicki Lawrence, Phil Donahue, Dinah Shore, Arsenio Hall, Dick Cavett, Kathie Lee Gifford, David Letterman, and Jay Leno. This then is the fascinating and compelling world of Let's Talk! America's Favorite Talk Show Hosts.