Word: hartman
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...that order. Hartman's ego is reported to be enormous. No one is allowed to stand in his light. Sandy Hill, Lunden's energetic predecessor, was much admired by the Good Morning staff but got along with Hartman so poorly that she hardly talked to him on camera, finally leaving to become the show's roving correspondent. Lunden, by contrast, is no threat to anybody. "The reason that she's risen is that she's a pretty girl with an empty head who doesn't bother anybody," is the bitter comment...
Still, perhaps Hartman may be forgiven his high opinion of himself-and his reported $680,-000-a-year salary. He made the show a success, and he still works 14 or 15 hours a day, preparing for interviews and deciding who and what will be on the show. Though he has no experience in journalism, Hartman, who earned a degree in economics from Duke, has a characteristic required of any good journalist: curiosity. "His appeal is that he seems genuinely interested in the world," says his new competitor, Kuralt. "He is quite good at what he does...
However big his ego, moreover, Hartman does not let guests or viewers see it. "I'm no star, but David went out of his way to be friendly to me," says Dr. Robert Dupont, ex-director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "On the other hand, I did four hours of filming with Dick Cavett, and at the end of it he didn't even remember my name...
...Since Hartman was the key to that success, the network even tried to clone him. NBC executives quietly approached another actor, Alan Alda of MASH, to see if he would like to replace Brokaw. Alda was flattered but said...
...Hartman's moment of truth came when he was discussing a complicated legal case with a woman lawyer. In the middle of her explanation, she fainted. Cool as always, Hartman signaled for a commercial, checked her pulse, and lifted her onto a couch. Another kind of frisson came when he was interviewing Muham mad Ali, and Ali called him "the Great White Dope" - to the secret delight of some on the staff...