That Was the Broadcaster That Was

David Frost, an integral part of Richard Nixon’s legacy-shopping tour, has died of a heart attack at the age of 74. In more good news for the cruise industry, he had been in the middle of a lecture aboard the Queen Elizabeth at the time. Frost got his start as the perfect straightman to anchor the BBC’s satirical take on world events That Was The Week That Was, which boasted a writing staff that included John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Peter Cook. After 2 successful seasons, the BBC canceled it for fear of affecting the 1964 elections, so Frost brought his show to America under the same title. He returned with The Frost Report, more satire and sketches notable for bringing together Chapman, Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Frost moved from comedy into in-depth interviews, including eight prime ministers and seven US presidents, most notably Nixon two years after his resignation. In those interviews, Nixon alternated between his version of contrition and contentiousness, insisting "When the president does it, that means it's not illegal," in between asking about Frost’s fornicating. Frost was the first host of Inside Edition, lasting just 3 weeks before producers decided that Frost’s combination of wit, gravitas, integrity and intelligence was poorly suited to the program and replaced him with Bill O'Reilly.