Skip to Content

Jerome Rodale, a Jewish playwright, editor, author and publisher, was a guest on the Dick Cavett Show on June 5, 1971, when he dropped dead of a heart attack while the show was taping.

Wile Cavett was discussing politics with journalist Pete Hamill, Rodale’s head dropped to his chest and he let out what sounded like a snore. “Are we boring you, Mr. Rodale?” asked Cavett. There was no response — Rodele was dead.

Ironically, Rodale, 72, was on the show to promote organic faming and a healthy lifestyle, and had just said, “I never felt better in my life,” and “I’ve decided to live to be a hundred.”

The show was never broadcast, and the video footage was never released. The master tape of Rodale’s on-air death, complete with medics rushing to the stage, remains locked up in Cavett’s home.

You can watch a video clip from the popular Dick Cavett Show below. See if you can guess his guest: