The recent death of actor Chad Everett was announced in the various media outlets and carried with it his starring role in the CBS program “Medical Center” many years ago, but there were a few media types who decided to include in the death notice something controversial no one had thought about for more than 40 years. Everett made a comment on “The Dick Cavett Show” about his wife and dog that somewhat infuriated fellow actor Lily Tomlin at the time. Because it was made some 40 years ago and no video of it can be found, it was never an issue nor even discussed. But 2 newspaper columnists decided it was fodder for his obituary and added what some took as a partisan political dig at Everett and Republicans. Choose for yourself on that topic, but this is a perfect lesson in what we preach. It makes no difference who you are or what your position in life and society, every single thing you say has the potential to be recorded in the media and then repeated at the worst times. Was this news? Not in our opinion. But we take an objective stance with our clients and constantly remind them of how comments can be used and, if one is hopefully still alive, they must be able to address it away as soon as possible. Everett cannot answer for himself here, and that may leave some people remembering him for something less than his fine acting career.
INTELLIGENCE: EVEN IN DEATH YOUR WORDS WILL SPEAK TO THOSE SEEKING CONTROVERSY WHERE NONE EXISTS
WashPost, L.A. Times Obits Both Dredge Up ‘Conservative’ Chad Everett Upsetting Lily Tomlin on TV In 1972
By Tim Graham | July 26, 2012
Actor Chad Everett, best known for his role as Dr. Joe Gannon on the CBS drama Medical Center in the 1970s, died of lung cancer at age 75. Oddly, obituary writers in both the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post dragged out an old incident from 1972, when Everett — identified in both newspaper articles as a “conservative Republican” — upset feminist Lily Tomlin on the Dick Cavett Show as he mocked his wife, the actress Shelby Grant.
Everett and Grant married in 1966 and stayed married until she died last year. This is how Matt Schudel revisited it in the Post:
Mr. Everett was long identified as a conservative Republican. In 1972, during an appearance on “The Dick Cavett Show,” he was enumerating his “personal property,” including horses, dogs — and “a wife.” Comedian Lily Tomlin walked off the show in anger.
Scott Sandell in the Los Angeles Times sounded so similar, you would swear he looked over Schudel’s shoulder, or vice versa:
A conservative Republican, Everett made headlines in 1972 after going toe to toe with Lily Tomlin on “The Dick Cavett Show.” Tomlin, a feminist, became outraged after Everett referred to his wife, horse and dog as his “property.” A 1977 Time magazine profile on Tomlin says she was so infuriated that she “stunned even herself” by storming off the set.
A search for this Cavett clip online isn’t easy, but YouTube does have a long interview with Everett and Grant in which their love and respect for each other is quite apparent. Was dredging up this one TV appearance really necessary?
About the Author
Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow Tim Graham on Twitter.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2012/07/26/washpost-la-times-obits-both-dredge-conservative-chad-everett-upsetting-#ixzz21pfJQ3xl
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