David Niven on Visiting San Simeon | The Dick Cavett Show

Oscar-winner David Niven discusses what it was like being invited to San Simeon.

Date aired - November 25th 1981 - David Niven

Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.

His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.

Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.

#thedickcavettshow #DavidNiven #DickCavett

[daviddewitt]

Mr. Niven wrote me two letters. One from his house in France and one from his house in Switzerland replying to letters I sent him. He was very kind and one of the most generous actors who was extremely popular and successful not only as an actor but as an author. I cried like a baby when I learned he had passed away.

[kellycoleman]

My sister gave me a copy of his autobiography, ‘The Moon’s a Balloon’. It was fascinating look at the golden age of Hollywood in the 1930’s. Very candid. Several years ago I toured Hearst castle. I was blown away by the massive amounts and size of the artwork and antiquities Hearst imported from Europe.

[davidahlstrom]

What a gentleman David Niven was. I read when passed away in 1983, the biggest bouquet of flowers sent to his memorial was from the porters at Heathrow airport. He was always both generous and kind to the airport staff and knew them by name. About everyone who knew Mr. Niven spoke very highly of him (and a veteran of the Second World War).

[LPJack]

RIP and long live David Niven (March 1, 1910 – July 29, 1983), aged 73
You will always be remembered as a legend.

[niklar]

Someone once described David Niven, as the greatest Gentleman he had ever met.
I think that becomes obvious in all his interviews.
.

[artfernandez]

Mr. Niven was always the epitome of class, decency, accessibility, charm and respectful sense of humor. Not to mention a consummate dedicated actor always conveying deep thought and emotion in all his movies. Saw Mr. Niven in Bridge over the River Quay when I was a child and again in my adult years and remember how moving and intense his acting in this movie. I'm 70 yrs. old now (2022) and remember many of David Niven's earlier movies. I believe a fun adventure movie Mr. Niven made Around the World in 80 Days with the famous Mexican comic actor Cantinflas!

[Heritagex]

My grandfather WO2, H Bell served with him before WW2 he was then full a Lieutenant in the Seaforth Highlands, POP had very fond memories of him, at the time he wasn’t cut out to be in the army, however when WW2 came knocking he reached the rank of Lt. Col. in the commando’s, thank you for your service and RIP, SIR.

[maxbeale]

David Niven was such an amazing actor and a great story-teller. He actually talked about his visit to Saint Simeon in his book, BRING ON THE EMPTY HORSES

[kriskarr]

What a lovely person. "Humble". I am really enjoying these interviews from the past. Thank you Dick Cavett. Now I know why I haven't watched TV in the last 20 years. It's become an immense wasteland filled with toxic people.

[deecee]

After watching the delightful David Niven interviews on Cavett I have a problem. I look for his appearances on other talk shows --- and there aren't nearly enough of them.
He will be truly missed.

[florencioq]

A true, natural talent. The description of the phone call is hilarious.😄

[mozart]

Great interview, thank for posting. I could listen to Niven for hours.

[tompahdea]

San Simeon really was a wonderful place. Visited it in the 80s. In 1990 I was asked by a friend to go along with him to deliver some medication one of the Hearsts forgot before taking off to Palm Springs that morning. We made a stop in Beverly Hills, were given a paper sack lunch by the housekeeper and sent on our way. My friend said that if she had let us in on the right of the driveway we would have seen the compound.
After a drive of about two hours we finally got out of the van with the dogs and went into the backyard to see if the dog already there got along. I was asked to take the medication into the darkened house for the guy inside. He was a spitting image of the portrait on the book released in the late 1980s on San Simeon including being stiff as a corpse with just about as much charm. He got the medication (I was told it was prescription but that was back in the day of much of any medication was "happy-making" medication). He being much older than myself, say in his late forties or early 50s would mean that he is probably dead by now.
Funny how it became known the family retained visitation rights to the Castle after a bombing incident influenced by "Tanya" having been kidnapped some months earlier. When the police thought that they had holed up the "SLM" in a south-central house the exploding bullets etc made interesting live broadcast television on that afternoon's news broadcast as everyone had to view but avoid the ballistics. With the crawl space beneath the one story "bungalow" meant that we had to endure a burn to the ground experience on a hot day before it was found out no one was at home.

[mariadacre]

One of my favourite actors and its a shame here that you can see the onset of MND just beginning to start.

[ShoelessNomadThailand]

I visited Hurst Castle 30 years ago and was over welled as an Englishman what relics for Europe he had collected. Will never forget the swimming pool the Hollywood used in Spartacus. The cinema and monks dinning hall. Truly amazing place.

[SeanBond]

The best! Ty so very much! Luv&Peace! Ceers!

[westfield]

I wish I had been alive in the 1920’s. Los Angeles must have been so magical. Clean, wide open spaces, exciting.

[gtlfb]

I could listen to his anecdotes all day. Marion Davies was, by all accounts, a delightful woman, funny and a true friend. Many in Hollywood lamented that Hearst insisted on her starring in creaky costume dramas, when her real strength was comedy.

[giovanni]

Decades ago me and the Mrs. went to San Simeon and after the tour we went away dazzled, to say the least.

[cynthiaennis]

The best guest I’ve ever seen on this show! ♥️🌹