Don Mischer at the 2009 Emmy Nominations

Executive Producer of this year's Primetime Emmy Awards & Archive Interviewee, Don Mischer, was interviewed this morning at the nomination ceremony (at 6am!). He was happy to discuss the upcoming broadcast and the talents of this year's hosts, Neil Patrick Harris:


Don Mischer is a Producer and Director who has worked on numerous awards shows including the Tony Awards, The Emmy Awards, the Kennedy Center Honors. The 61st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast on CBS September 20, 2009. For a complete list of this year's nominees, please visit emmys.com

Detailed Interview:
Producer/Director Don Mischer was interviewed for four hours plus in Los Angeles, CA. Mischer talked about his interest from an early age in television production (“I came of age as television came of age”). He spoke about his schooling and how he had planned to be an academic professionally but continued to be interested in television, with thoughts of being a television cameraman. He described how President Kennedy’s assassination and it’s aftermath illustrated the power of television and how the coverage affected him so personally that he decided to follow his dream and enter the television business. He spoke about getting a grant from the Ford Foundation, which allowed him to study the craft of television at his local television station. He described his work for the USIA, creating programs to be distributed internationally, working with top talent and learning to appreciate professional standards. He talked about his freelance work including how he came to work with Al Perlmutter on the landmark show The Great American Dream Machine. He acknowledged declining an offer to work on NBC’s Saturday Night Live instead choosing ABC’s Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell, describing how and why the show flopped. He talked about some of the acclaimed specials he helmed in the 1970s, including the 75th Anniversary of the Ford Motor Company and Motown 25 (and Michael Jackson’s introduction of the “Moonwalk”). He discussed launching the Kennedy Center Honors, for which he has been long associated. He talked about producing the Barbara Walters Specials, commenting on their significance to Walters’s early work at ABC. He spoke about creating a rapport with celebrities and the importance of an open, creative environment to ensure the success of a show. Mischer gave his impressions of such diverse talent as: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Robin Williams, and Ellen DeGeneres. He gave an overview of the production of several of the ongoing award shows he has helmed including the Tony Awards and the Emmy Awards (extensively commenting on the postponements of the 53rd Annual, following the 9/11 attacks). He talked about the NFL’s interest, in 1993, to revamp the halftime Superbowl show and Mischer’s production of the halftime shows over the years. He spoke about the Olympics Opening Ceremony highlight when Muhammed Ali lit the cauldron at the Atlanta Games, as well as the impact that 9/11 had on the Salt Lake City Olympic Games. The interview was conducted by Beth Cochran on November 7, 2008