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The Best Seat in the House: The Golden Years of Radio and Television
The creator of such television mainstays as the "Today Show" and the "Tonight Show" discusses his years as president of NBC, his stormy relationship with the head of RCA, and his friendships with television greats. 17,500 first printing.
275 pages, Hardcover
First published December 28, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 8, 2022
Mediocre book on the history of Weaver's involvement with radio and television. There are some parts that are fascinating, others that are downright underplayed and head-scratching. Why would the guy who created Today and Tonight devote almost no space to the programs and instead go on and on about bland unfunny talent that he liked such as Fred Allen?
No doubt Weaver had a huge impact on the history of broadcasting and he loves to brag quite a bit in the book. He was raised a rich kid, went to a snooty college, and didn't really have to work if he didn't want to. He schmoozed his way from job to job, mostly in sales and advertising. Then he slipped into radio and started working his way up based on who he knew and how he was able to present himself so well. Proof that it isn't talent that gets work but who you know, being at the right place at the right time, and being raised by a rich dad.
Once he got the chance to do radio he didn't just do what was asked--he wanted to do some fresh new ideas and he'd take on any task, even if he was unqualified or didn't care for it. Eventually he made his way to New York City, where he worked with major stars before he left a high-paid radio job for working with a tobacco company, something that makes no sense in the book. A number of his decisions to switch jobs seem illogical and he doesn't really explain them, since he often took a huge pay cut. He also loved to take 5-week vacations in the middle of winter to ski in Europe, something which seems like a rich person would do, but it never seemed to impact his jobs.
After the war, which gets more space in the book than some of his greatest success stories, he gets into TV. He does briefly mention his actress wife and two kids, but daughter Susan (Sigourney) barely gets any attention here. His famous brother Doodles only gets a few lines.
Weaver's history of the early days of TV programming is pretty interesting but he brags a lot about coming up with many things that are standard today. I'm sure some would disagree that he was the sole inventor of some things we consider now standard operating procedures. But there is no doubt that Today and Tonight are lasting legacies--problem is they are barely mentioned in the book. He does talk a bit about Dave Garroway, a drug addicted nut who was pretty sleepy on the morning show. Weaver thinks he's one of the great American talents. On the other hand the great Steve Allen is only mentioned briefly and there's no information on how Tonight was developed.
Overall the balance of the book is off. By the time Weaver leaves NBC in 1956 (he quit as chair of the board because two staff members were fired by Sarnoff), he ends it all with only five pages covering the next 40 years of his life! It seems like he made a big mistake quitting the network, and no explanation is given as to why no other TV networks would hire him. Maybe he had a bad reputation that he doesn't care to admit to? He obviously hated his NBC boss, the famous Titanic message receiver who built RCA. But Weaver's impact was felt when his assistant Michael Dann moved to CBS and took over the programming there during the peak 1960s era, with the highest-viewed programs in the history of television.
Worth reading for a television programming nut and those that know the very old names of radio people that Weaver loves to mention. His insistence on devoting so much space to lame Fred Allen is beyond comprehension. The book is very like the medium that Allen lambasted and that Weaver became famous for--incomplete and frustrating but interspersed with some highlights.
No doubt Weaver had a huge impact on the history of broadcasting and he loves to brag quite a bit in the book. He was raised a rich kid, went to a snooty college, and didn't really have to work if he didn't want to. He schmoozed his way from job to job, mostly in sales and advertising. Then he slipped into radio and started working his way up based on who he knew and how he was able to present himself so well. Proof that it isn't talent that gets work but who you know, being at the right place at the right time, and being raised by a rich dad.
Once he got the chance to do radio he didn't just do what was asked--he wanted to do some fresh new ideas and he'd take on any task, even if he was unqualified or didn't care for it. Eventually he made his way to New York City, where he worked with major stars before he left a high-paid radio job for working with a tobacco company, something that makes no sense in the book. A number of his decisions to switch jobs seem illogical and he doesn't really explain them, since he often took a huge pay cut. He also loved to take 5-week vacations in the middle of winter to ski in Europe, something which seems like a rich person would do, but it never seemed to impact his jobs.
After the war, which gets more space in the book than some of his greatest success stories, he gets into TV. He does briefly mention his actress wife and two kids, but daughter Susan (Sigourney) barely gets any attention here. His famous brother Doodles only gets a few lines.
Weaver's history of the early days of TV programming is pretty interesting but he brags a lot about coming up with many things that are standard today. I'm sure some would disagree that he was the sole inventor of some things we consider now standard operating procedures. But there is no doubt that Today and Tonight are lasting legacies--problem is they are barely mentioned in the book. He does talk a bit about Dave Garroway, a drug addicted nut who was pretty sleepy on the morning show. Weaver thinks he's one of the great American talents. On the other hand the great Steve Allen is only mentioned briefly and there's no information on how Tonight was developed.
Overall the balance of the book is off. By the time Weaver leaves NBC in 1956 (he quit as chair of the board because two staff members were fired by Sarnoff), he ends it all with only five pages covering the next 40 years of his life! It seems like he made a big mistake quitting the network, and no explanation is given as to why no other TV networks would hire him. Maybe he had a bad reputation that he doesn't care to admit to? He obviously hated his NBC boss, the famous Titanic message receiver who built RCA. But Weaver's impact was felt when his assistant Michael Dann moved to CBS and took over the programming there during the peak 1960s era, with the highest-viewed programs in the history of television.
Worth reading for a television programming nut and those that know the very old names of radio people that Weaver loves to mention. His insistence on devoting so much space to lame Fred Allen is beyond comprehension. The book is very like the medium that Allen lambasted and that Weaver became famous for--incomplete and frustrating but interspersed with some highlights.
August 26, 2023
I was excited to read this! Pat Weaver has a reputation as one of the early philosopher-kings of television. His three part New Yorker profile paints a picture of someone with deeply considered ideas about the purpose and power of television. He was famous for his debatably inscrutable memos outlining to NBC employees the philosophy behind, say, The Today Show. I think Steve Allen said of him, “Pat Weaver didn’t make great TV shows. He made great memos.” Or something to that effect.
So imagine my frustration that this book contains almost none of his philosophy of television. It’s a straightforward and pretty dull memoir, describing his career in advertising, radio, and television in ways that make none of them seem particularly interesting. He goes on at surprising length about his reaction to that New Yorker profile about himself and has incredible recall for decades-old TV ratings but he almost never gets into why he thought some things worked and some didn’t. He also doesn’t mention much about Chicago television, where he cribbed a lot of his ideas and on-air talent. For me, this book was pretty disappointing.
So imagine my frustration that this book contains almost none of his philosophy of television. It’s a straightforward and pretty dull memoir, describing his career in advertising, radio, and television in ways that make none of them seem particularly interesting. He goes on at surprising length about his reaction to that New Yorker profile about himself and has incredible recall for decades-old TV ratings but he almost never gets into why he thought some things worked and some didn’t. He also doesn’t mention much about Chicago television, where he cribbed a lot of his ideas and on-air talent. For me, this book was pretty disappointing.
February 2, 2021
I just reread this great memoir from the man who invented The Today Show and The Tonight Show.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews