Nixon, Lennon, Fonda, Ali: How David Frost Booked, Charmed, Probed World's Biggest Newsmakers & Stars
More than 10,000. That's how many interviews Sir David Frost conducted across his extraordinary career in television, spanning almost 50 years.
Frost is best known for his historic conversation with former President Richard Nixon, which created a sensation when it was broadcast in 1977. That encounter became the basis for the 2006 play Frost/Nixon, written by Peter Morgan (The Crown), and two years later a film directed by Ron Howard, starring Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen as Frost.
More from Deadline
He Became The World's Most Successful Artist Before Imploding: Thomas Kinkade's Contradictions Revealed In Miranda Yousef Documentary – Doc Talk Podcast
Doc Talk Podcast: Oscar Winner Alex Gibney Opens Secret Vault Of Political Cash In 'The Dark Money Game'
White House Correspondents' Dinner Flies First Amendment Flag High Even With Trump Snub, Few Hollywood Power Players In Attendance
The new MSNBC documentary series David Frost Vs examines some of the greatest interviews conducted by the Television Hall of Fame inductee, including that incredible sit-down with Nixon as well as eye-opening discussions with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Elton John, Muhammad Ali, Jane Fonda, Nixon's Vice President Spiro Agnew and more. On the latest episode of Deadline's Doc Talk podcast, we explore the series with executive producer Wilfred Frost, one of David's sons, who went into the family business himself as a presenter on Sky News and contributor to NBC News, CNBC and MSNBC.
The younger Frost tells us how his father's background as a Methodist minister's son helped prepare him for a career in TV. And he shares behind-the-scenes stories from David Frost's conversations with Lennon, Ono, Nixon and more, along with details on his dad's relationship with actress and singer Diahann Carroll (they were engaged for three years in the early 1970s). He also tells us what he thinks of Sheen's portrayal of his pop in Frost/Nixon.
David Frost conducted a dozen interviews with Ali across more than three decades. Wilfred explains how, in his dad's first conversation with the boxing legend, he managed to challenge the heavyweight champion on a contentious point regarding race relations without destroying their budding relationship. It was vintage Frost – probing and incisive yet charming and warm.
That's on the new episode of Doc Talk, hosted by Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave, Shirley) and Matt Carey, Deadline's documentary editor. The pod is a production of Deadline and Ridley's Nō Studios.
Listen to the episode above or on major podcast platforms including Spotify, iHeart and Apple.
Best of Deadline
'Ginny & Georgia' Season 3: Everything We Know So Far
Everything We Know About The 'Reminders of Him' Movie So Far
2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Diplomatic win for UK hosting US-China trade talks
Sky News understands that the Trump administration approached the UK government to ask if it would host round two of the US-China trade talks. This is a useful 'diplo-win' for the UK. The first round was held in Geneva last month. News of that happening came as a surprise. The Chinese and the Americans were in the midst of a Trump-instigated trade war. President Trump was en route to Saudi Arabia and suddenly we got word of talks in Switzerland. They went surprisingly well. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent and his Chinese counterpart He Lifeng, met face-to-face and agreed to suspend most tariffs for 90 days. But two weeks later, the Trump administration accused Beijing of breaking the agreements reached in Geneva. Beijing threw the blame back at Washington. On Wednesday, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping spoke by phone. The Chinese claimed this call was at the Americans' request. Either way, the consequence was that the talks were back on track. "I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi of China, discussing some of the intricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, trade deal," President Trump said this week. From that call came the impetus for a second round of talks. A venue was needed. In stepped the UK at short notice. Beyond being geographically convenient, UK government sources suggest that Britain is geopolitically in the right place right now to act as this bridge and facilitator. The UK-China relationship is in the process of a "reset". Other locations, like Brussels or other EU capitals, would have been less workable. Crucially too, for the UK, this is also potentially advantageous as it seeks to get its own UK-US trade agreement, to eliminate or massively reduce tariffs, over the line. Talks on reaching the "implementation phase" have been near-continuous since the announcement last month, but having the American principals in London is a plus. Sideline talks are possible, but even the presence of the US team in the UK is helpful. Read more from Sky News:Man wrongly deported from US to El Salvador has been returned to face criminal chargesMore than 40 'narco-boat' drug smugglers arrested in major police sting For all the chaos that President Trump is causing with his tariffs, he has instigated face-to-face conversations as he seeks resets. Key players are sitting down around tables - yes, to untangle the trade knots which Trump tied, but this whole episode has pulled foes together around the same table; it has forced relationships and maybe mutual understanding. That's useful. And for this next round, between superpowers, the UK is the host. Also useful.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump tariff policy is 'chaos and absurdity': Rep. Dean on asking Trump Commerce Secy. about bananas
MSNBC's Ali Velshi is joined by Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Madeleine Dean, to discuss the House Appropriations Cmte. testimony by Trump Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and why he struggled to explain the administration placing tariffs on bananas which can only be grown in a few places inside the United States.
The Hill
4 hours ago
- The Hill
Van Hollen on Abrego Garcia's return to US: ‘A victory for the Constitution'
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) celebrated the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly deported and detained in El Salvador's CECOT prison, calling it 'a victory' for the rule of law. The Trump administration doubled down on the deportation, accusing Abrego Garcia, who illegally immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador in 2011 but was later protected from removal to his home country, of having gang ties. His legal team has denied these allegations and urged for his return to the U.S. On Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi, after months of fighting against Abrego Garcia's return in court, announced that he was transported back to U.S. soil to face criminal charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. 'This is a victory for due process. It's a victory for the Constitution. It should not have taken this long. I mean … the Trump administration dragged its feet for a very long time and ignored a 9 to 0 order from the Supreme Court,' Van Hollen said during a Friday appearance on MSNBC. 'But it's important that Abrego Garcia now come home and have his due process rights upheld in a court of law,' he added. The Maryland lawmaker visited Abrego Garcia while he was detained overseas to check on his well being and champion his release from El Salvadoran custody, which White House officials originally said would never happen. Van Hollen on Friday said that the court battle Abrego Garcia will now face should have been launched prior to his removal. 'If they're now going to take this case into the courts, as they should have, you know, from the beginning, before they just took him off the streets of Maryland and deposited him in a gulag in El Salvador, then that is — that is the due process that we've been fighting for,' he said. 'And, again, not just for his case, but for others. And — and I think that Americans understand that everybody deserves to have their rights, you know, respected. That's what the Constitution is for.' Abrego Garcia's attorney said on Friday that the criminal case is just another attempt to persecute his client. 'This shows that they were playing games with the court all along. Due process means the chance to defend yourself before you're punished, not after. This is an abuse of power, not justice,' attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg previously told The Hill in a statement. 'The government should put him on trial, yes—but in front of the same immigration judge who heard his case in 2019, which is the ordinary manner of doing things, 'to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador,' as the Supreme Court ordered.'
