Hugh Downs, Merv Griffin, and Music Composition

From September 2013: Hugh Downs talks to Ed and Phil Gries about the day he conducted the NBC orchestra when it played his original composition "Sandwriting" on The Merv Griffin Show; why composers aren't always the best conductors of their own work; and the brief time when Hugh wore three different hats on NBC-TV at the same time: host of The Today Show, host of Concentration, and sidekick to Jack Paar on The Tonight Show. Also during this segment: Phil plays a clip from the Jan. 14, 1963 edition of the Griffin show on which Hugh conducted the performance of "Sandwriting." Hugh Downs passed away on July 1, 2020 at age 99.

Want to advertise/sponsor our show?

TV Confidential has partnered with AdvertiseCast to handle advertising/sponsorship requests for the podcast edition of our program. They're great to work with and will help you advertise on our show. Please email [email protected] or click the link below to get started:

https://www.advertisecast.com/TVConfidentialAradiotalkshowabout

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices