David Susskind

David Susskind was the first TV producer to become a TV star. His freewheeling discussion program Open End, later known as The David Susskind Show, brought the turbulent issues of the 1960s and provocative social trends of the 1970s into the nation's living rooms at a time when television was tame. Susskind grilled everyone from a Mafia hit man to transsexuals to a famously hilarious Mel Brooks. Behind the camera, he was a high-minded, flamboyant New York impresario who took risks and railed against the Hollywood establishment. He battled the TV network practice of blacklisting, brought great actors such as Sir Laurence Olivier to prime time and fought to make gritty shows (East Side/West Side, N.Y.P.D., Death of a Salesman) that accurately reflected the human condition. His feature film output included such groundbreaking works as A Raisin In the Sun and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Through it all, Susskind was an enfant terrible with an insatiable appetite for women and a scorn for the business side of his profession that left his career hanging by a thread more than once. David Susskind: A Televised Life is a wild ride through an expansive and glamorous time in the entertainment industry and an incisive look at one of its most colorful and influential players.