Dick Cavett

Dick Cavett remains the most intellectually rigorous late night host ever, booking everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Marlon Brando and conducting conversations so deep that his interviews are still studied in journalism schools five decades later. His 1971 series drew a modest 2.1 million nightly viewers, but boasted a 12% university campus penetration that dwarfed competitors. Cavett's 1973 interview with Salvador Dalí ran unedited for 68 minutes—30% longer than the average #6 Colbert segment today—proving that ideas could hold an audience. His shows won 3 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Series, a record that stood until #5 Ferguson's Peabody tied the mark.