Skip to main content

When Morley Safer played pool with Jackie Gleason


One of 60 Minutes' most classic scenes aired this week in 1984 — but it almost never happened. Morley Safer had just finished interviewing comedian-actor Jackie Gleason, the television powerhouse of the 1950s and 1960s who lives on in reruns of "The Honeymooners." The cameras were breaking down, and Gleason started to leave. But Safer had one more question, so the cameras rolled again.

 "Tell me something," Safer asked. "'The Great One.' Where did that come from?"
"[That question] falls into the category of 'How We Tend to Overlook the Obvious,'" writes current 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager in his new book, Fifty Years of 60 Minutes: The Inside Story of Television's Most Influential News Broadcast.
When the story aired on October 28, 1984, Fager writes, 60 Minutes creator and then-executive producer Don Hewitt said it was the best profile 60 Minutes had ever done.
As Fager explains, producer Alan Weisman approached the story as if he were directing a film: "He wanted the interview shot at a dark, smoky bar, and he wanted Jackie Gleason lit like Don Corleone in The Godfather, with one side of his face in shadow." Safer said the atmosphere put Gleason at ease.
When the interview ended, the two played a few games of pool. In the video player above are some never-before-seen clips of those games. In a previous interview with 60 Minutes Overtime, Safer explained how one game progressed.
"I went first," he recalled. "And I did something I hadn't done for I don't know how long: I ran about six or seven balls. And Gleason thought he'd been hustled. He was looking over at 'em. And he would be angrier, angrier. And he is renowned for his temper. But I finally got so nervous, I blew the shot, the next shot. And then he just cleaned the table."
With his pool reputation reestablished, Gleason was primed for the question about his nickname.
"Well," he answered, "Orson Welles called me 'the Great One' first, and then Lucy [Lucille Ball] started to call me that, and I'm not really offended by it."
"Did you ever really believe it?" Safer asked.
"You just saw me play pool, didn't you?" Gleason said.
With that, he put down his pool cue and walked out of frame. Weisman used it to end the piece.
"You couldn't have scripted it better if you'd tried," Fager writes. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

South Korean opposition leader: Nukes are the only way to guarantee peace

Seoul needs nuclear weapons of its own if it is to negotiate with North Korea on an equal footing, a leading South Korean opposition figure says. A once marginal call for South Korea to add nuclear weapons to its arsenal has gained momentum and support in recent months as Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities have gone from theoretical threat to present danger. "Only by deploying tactical (nuclear) weapons on South Korean territory can we negotiate with North Korea on an equal footing," said Hong Jun-pyo, who will travel to Washington next week to press his case to US lawmakers. Hong leads the conservative Liberty Korea Party, which was formed from the rump of President Park Geun-hye's Saenuri Party after it collapsed amid infighting and finger pointing in the wake of her impeachment on corruption and other charges. While Moon Jae-in, who beat Hong to replace Park as President in May, still has widespread support, Hong represents a growing swell of dissent from con...
Post a Comment
Read more

US has drones and hundreds of troops in Niger. Here's why

The killing of four American soldiers  has drawn attention to the role of US troops in western Africa, where several terror networks roam freely. In the region, the US has enemies all around. Niger shares a border with Mali, where an al Qaeda affiliate and other Islamist groups thrive in the vast desert. It also borders Libya, where ISIS and other extremists are regrouping, and Nigeria, where Boko Haram is a major challenge. The Defense Department said 50 ISIS-affiliated fighters ambushed the soldiers on October 4, leaving two others wounded. As a debate rages over President Donald Trump's phone calls to the soldiers' grieving families, here are things to know about the US operations in Niger: American troops have been in Niger for years The US has previously said it has troops there. But it did not go into much detail. In 2013, the White House announced that then-President Barack Obama had deployed 100 military personnel to Niger. Burnett on Trump politicizing soldier...
Post a Comment
Read more

Break the Internet: Nikki minaj

Let me just start by saying that I don't like Nicki Minaj -- I love Nicki Minaj. I have always loved her music, her vibe and her approach…she's in your fucking face. She was a star from the first moment she gave us the one-two punch of her verse on Kanye's “Monster" and her debut album, Pink Friday. She's appeared on every track that we know and love, and has collaborated with just about everyone cool. Funny fact, an image of Nicki sitting with Anna Wintour at New York Fashion Week (a gift to me from photographer Patrick McMullan) has been a centerpiece of my art collection in my home. Nicki has been on my mind for years. We have never called an issue Break the Internet since we did it back in 2014 with Kim Kardashian. It takes a certain type of talent, with an awesome fan base and the ability to put trust in PAPER to work our magic. I have always loved all of the looks that Nicki has done (and she has done them all). Her style (typically anchored by her off-t...
Post a Comment
Read more