Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett (/ˈkævᵻt/; born November 19, 1936) is an American television personality and former talk show host notable for his conversational style and in-depth discussions. Cavett appeared regularly on nationally broadcast television in the United States in five consecutive decades, the 1960s through the 2000s.

In recent years, Cavett has written a column for the online New York Times, promoted DVDs of his former shows as well as a book of his Times columns, and hosted replays of his classic TV interviews with Groucho Marx, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Garland, Marlon Brando, John Lennon and others on Turner Classic Movies channel.

Early life

Cavett was born in Nebraska, but sources differ as to the specific town, locating his birthplace in either Gibbon, where his family lived, or nearby Kearney, the location of the nearest hospital. Cavett himself, in an interview with Carol Burnett on The Dick Cavett Show, stated that Gibbon was his birthplace. His mother, Erabel "Era" (née Richards), and his father, Alva B. Cavett, both worked as educators. When asked by Lucille Ball on his own show about his heritage, he said he was "Scottish, Irish, English, and possibly partly French, and, and uh, a dose of German." He also mentioned that one grandfather "came over" from England, and the other from Wales. Cavett's grandparents all lived in Grand Island, Nebraska. His paternal grandparents were Alva A. Cavett and Gertrude Pinsch. His paternal grandfather was from Diller, Nebraska and his paternal grandmother was an immigrant from Aachen, Germany. His maternal grandparents were the Rev. R.R. and Etta Mae Richards. The Rev. Richards was from Carmarthen, Wales, and was a Baptist minister who served parishes across central Nebraska. Cavett himself is an agnostic.