David Frost, the ‘On-Air’ legend

David Frost was a fearless broadcaster who helped pioneer political satire on television and interviewed President Nixon over Watergate. Frost’s development into a serious political interviewer culminated in his exclusive series of interviews with the disgraced former US President Richard Nixon in 1977. He passed away on August 31, 2013 aboard a cruise ship, the MS Queen Elizabeth

Lata Jain

Friend, hero, Arsenal fan and the greatest, balkiest, most charming TV interviewer ever. You guessed it right: It’s David Frost. David's career spanned across many fields including journalism, comedy writing and daytime television and The Frost Report. From viewers to world leaders, thousands share their memories of the broadcasting great. David Frost is considered as one of best interviewers because his sheer niceness could lull you into saying things you didn't intend to and that’s what the world tweeted on his death.

Frost spent more than half a century in television. In his early years, Frost was involved in several comedy and satire programs on the BBC, most notably That Was the Week That Was and The Frost Report. The program launched the TV careers of Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker (The Two Ronnies) and John Cleese. It was on The Frost Report where Cleese first worked with Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, thus planting the seeds for what would become Monty Python.

After spending most of the 1990s and the early 2000s hosting the Sunday program Breakfast with Frost, he joined Al Jazeera English in 2006 where he remained until his death.

David Frost was a fearless broadcaster who helped pioneer political satire on television and interviewed President Nixon over Watergate. Frost’s development into a serious political interviewer culminated in his exclusive series of interviews with the disgraced former US President Richard Nixon in 1977. Frost was praised for his tough questioning during which the cagey Nixon was finally persuaded to make some candid remarks about the Watergate affair that had led to his resignation in 1974.

The exchanges, which became the subject of a play and a film, Frost/Nixon (2008), made Frost world-famous. In all, he was the only person to have interviewed the past eight British Prime Ministers as well as seven US Presidents including George W. Bush — the only one missing from his list was President Obama. On the surface, the television interview, according to Frost, is a very simple format: “Two people sitting across one another and having a conversation,” says David. “But underneath it’s often a power struggle, a battle for the psychological advantage with both sides trying to hold on to the initiative. Silences are a fascinating subject for an interviewer,” he commented.

Frost was the news, he was successful and he made a great deal of money. He had set up David Paradine Ltd in 1966 as a vehicle for his own interests and earnings; he was a joint founder of London Weekend Television. In 1972, he became chairman and a major shareholder in Equity Enterprises, a publicly quoted company which was to be converted into an investment trust and managed by Slater Walker.

Lord Birt, the former head of the BBC who produced David’s famous series of interviews with Richard Nixon, said his fearless style of interrogating politicians had made possible programmes like Newsnight and Radio 4’s Today. Frost interviewed the legendary heavyweight boxer Ali, then 32, inside a boxing ring, ahead of his landmark fight with George Foreman, when most people wrongly thought Ali would lose. But Ali was animated and brimming with confidence in the interview.

In 1985, Frost grilled Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher about the sinking of the Argentine ship Belgrano by a British submarine that killed 323 sailors during the Falklands conflict. David Frost will most likely be remembered for his Nixon interviews but he was more than just a TV personality. His Woman’s Wellbeing Charity work was immense. He supported and promoted this charity for 30-years. David also supported the Alzheimer’s Research Trust and the Motor Neuron Disease Association, as well as many others through his various speaking engagements. His time spent helping wellbeing of women will never be forgotten, nor will television, both owe an enormous debt of gratitude to an extraordinary talent.