"How Late Night TV Made Fun Of Washington D.C. This Year"... That's the topic for former NBC executive Rick Ludwin's annual talk to Miami University students on Thursday, Oct. 19.
Ludwin - who was NBC's executive over Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien, Jay Leno, "Saturday Night Live," "Seinfeld," David Letterman and Johnny Carson - returns to his alma mater for a 36th consecutive year to talk TV trends.
I've caught most of his talks, and always learn lots about television. He always brings along great video clips, and Thursday's presentation should be loaded with laughs from Fallon, O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmell, John Oliver, "SNL," "The Daily Show" and others.
In past years he's talked about the history of "SNL" and "Seinfeld," and given inside looks at shows hosted by O'Brien, Fallon, Leno and others.
The presentation is free and open to the public 7 p.m. Thursday in Williams Hall 107C, the main TV studio on the Oxford campus.
The 1970 Miami graduate from Cleveland worked 30 years as a NBC executive, including 25 years as the vice president in charge of late-night television over the "Tonight Show" (from Carson through Fallon), plus NBC's"Late Night" "SNL" and "Seinfeld." He's now a consultant based in Hollywood.
Ludwin has been a generous Miami supporter through his Richard Ludwin Scholarships; the William Utter Scholarships in Media & Culture; and the Rick Ludwin Collection, part of the Walter Havighurst Special Collections at Miami's King Library.