A fond farewell, with thanks, to standout broadcast journalist David Frost, who died yesterday at the age of 74.
His resume was long and distinguished, and included stints as a comedian and game-show host. He’s most remembered, though, as a hard-hitting interviewer—and certainly most remembered here in the U.S. for his
1977 on-the-record discussions with former president Richard Nixon. The wide-ranging interviews, recorded over a month-long span, resulted in some of the most-watched political news programming ever, both here and in the U.K. It was in response to one of Frost’s questions regarding the illegality of the Watergate coverup that Nixon pronounced one of his most infamous assertions: “When the president does it, that means it is not illegal.”
The legacy of Frost’s career, which surely must include the moral imperative for journalism to confront power, is left for us to ponder and discuss. And we will.
But at the risk of being frivolous, I’ll abstain from that now and just mention this: David Frost died yesterday aboard the Cunard Line’s MV Queen Elizabeth. Is it just me, or is that one classy way to go?
