Dick Cavett Talks Time Evelyn F. Burkey Helped Him Avoid Getting Fired, Writing As “A Branch Of The Arts That Needs Preserving” – WGA Awards

deadline.com:

At Sunday’s WGA Awards, late-night host, comedian and writer Dick Cavett received the Evelyn F. Burkey Award, speaking in his acceptance speech about what writing means to him.“Writing is one of the great bastions of civilizations.

It’s a branch of the art that needs preserving,” he said in the pre-taped segment, “and I thought I’d try to get through this without using the word ‘honor,’ but this is an honor.”The honoree, who hosted multiple iterations of The Dick Cavett Show over the course of almost two decades, also fondly recalled time spent with the innumerable literary icons that graced his show. “I have been lucky to spend time with some of the most colorful, wonderful people in this county and the world, and they were writers.

Ms. Burkey, whose name is on this award, was a real character. She’s done millions of good things for writers, helped them immensely,” he said. “Once a jerky producer tried to fire me from a show and I called her.

She said, ‘He wants to fire you? Ask him if he wants the show to go on the air tonight.’ He did, and I was back the next day.”Presenting the award to Cavett at the virtual ceremony was Late Night‘s Seth Meyers, who also appeared in a pre-tape, noting that the honor being given to Cavett is known to writers as “the award with the longest name.”Meyers referred to Cavett as a “true giant of late-night television” who “changed the game forever” starting in 1969. “He was and is cerebral, insightful, quick-witted, and kind,” said Meyers. “He always had a writer’s sensibility and understood that without writers, there is no art, media or entertainment.