The Last Word (American TV series)

An idea of CBS executive Hubbell Robinson Jr. led to his having a discussion with Bergen Evans, which in turn led to the creation of The Last Word. Evans said that Robinson wanted the network to have a program about the English language. As the two of them discussed the topic, they "had a violent argument about what's correct: 'It is I' or 'It is me.'" The program came into existence as a result of that meeting. Otherwise, the panel's composition varied from week to week. Guest panelists included Ilka Chase, John Crosby, Emily Kimbrough, Clifton Fadiman, James Michener, Ogden Nash, S. J. Perelman, Katherine Anne Porter, and Sam Levenson. In May 1957 W. Averell Harriman, governor of New York, contacted Evans, asking for an opinion regarding wording on state tax forms. Harriman wrote, in part, "As we are about to print 20,000,000 new income tax forms I would be most interested to know if you do not think we are right in changing 'different than' to 'different from'." The decision on the program supported use of "different from", and Harriman won a set of Encyclopædia Britannica for the submission. The White House contacted the show in 1958 after "offended purists protested" President Dwight Eisenhower's use of "finalized" in a speech. The panel said the usage was deplorable, but Evans felt that it was acceptable in certain situations. == Production ==

Fred Freed The program was broadcast from 6 to 6:30 p.m. on Sundays. Because it had no sponsor, CBS affiliates in some cities (including Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, and Denver) broadcast locally sponsored programs in place of it. ==Recognition==

The Last Word won a Peabody Award in 1957. The Peabody Awards website contains the comment:A program concerned with words, their meaning, and their use is educational. It is also literary. In the case of The Last Word, it is entertainment and public service—made so by the wit, charm, and erudition of Bergen Evans, John Mason Brown, and their distinguished guest panelists. This sparkling weekly discussion of words, the basis of all understanding and progress, makes it clear that learning can be fun, and that educational programs do not have to be dull. The Last Word has, therefore, rendered the kind of meritorious public service for which the Peabody Awards came into being—and richly deserves the recognition. ==Critical response==

A review of the first two episodes in the trade publication Variety said the program looked like a success for the new year for CBS. It described the show's discussions of the English language as "bright and witty with an appeal that reaches beyond the egghead school." ==Book==

In 1962 Random House published Evans's book Comfortable Words, which resulted from his experiences on The Last Word. Evans said that "astonishing queries" arose during the program's time on TV. He added, "Two things of general interest emerged, the violence of the intolerance felt for any variation from whatever the writers felt to be 'correct', and . . . the extraordinary insecurity that Americans feel about the use of their language." == References ==