The Many Interviews of Dobie Gillis

Last week we chronicled NBC’s promotion/publicity campaign to make TV audiences aware of its eight-hour miniseries, “Noble House.”

Included in our survey: All the interviews done by leading lady Deborah Raffin, who did lots of talking about the series, and leading guy Pierce Brosnan, who did less talking but still lots.

It was Raffin’s listing that got a CBS publicist to bragging that star-producer Dwayne Hickman had done lots more interviews for the TV movie, “Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis,” which ran opposite the opening-night installment of “Noble House.”

He was right.

At least judging from the interview schedule compiled as a joint venture of CBS publicity, 20th Century Fox TV publicity and Anita Alberts & Associates, which is Hickman’s personal publicist.

It included:

National Television

“Entertainment Tonight,” syndicated

“Good Morning America,” ABC

“This Morning,” CBS

“Hour Magazine,” syndicated

“PM Magazine,” syndicated

“Entertainment Report,” syndicated

“Hollywood Insider,” USA Network

“Show Biz Today,” Cable News Network

“Sonya’s Place,” Cable News Network

“The Wil Shriner Show,” syndicated

“Crook and Chase,” Nashville Network

“Win, Lose or Draw,” syndicated

“Super Password,” NBC

“Blackout,” CBS

Channel 9, Australia

Local Television

“A.M. Los Angeles,” KABC, L.A.

KCBS News, L.A.

KTTV News, L.A.

“Live at 5,” WNBC, New York

WCBS News, New York

Channel 9 News, WOR, New York

Newspapers

New York Daily News

Los Angeles Times (Outtakes)

Los Angeles Herald Examiner

Boston Globe

Philadelphia Inquirer

Dallas Morning News

Chicago Sun Times

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Detroit Free Press

New Orleans Times Picayune

Daily News, San Fernando Valley

Milwaukee Centinel

Orange County Register

USA Today

Daily Review (Bay Area)

L.A. Weekly

Hollywood Reporter

Daily Variety

Beverly Hills 213

Wire Services, Syndicates

Associated Press

UPI

United Features

N.E.A.

TV Update

TV Data

TV Key

Gannett Newspapers

Knight-Ridder

National Radio

ABC Radio, servicing 150 stations

UPI Radio, 1,000 stations

Associated Press Radio, 1,000 stations

“Larry King Show,” 500 stations

Westwood One, 1,000 stations

Copley Radio, 1,100 stations

Cutler Productions, 800 stations

Master Control Radio, 900 stations

Bonnie Churchill, syndicate

Radio New England, 90 stations

Canadian Broadcasting, syndicate

Plus these CBS, ABC, NBC and independent stations throughout the country:

WNBC, New York

WZFM, New York

KFWB, L.A.

KRLA, L.A.

KMPC, L.A.

WLUP, Chicago

WLS, Chicago

KNBR, San Francisco

KGO, San Francisco

KING, Seattle

KIRO, Seattle

KLIF, Dallas

KOA, Denver

KNUS, Denver

WJNO, Fort Lauderdale

WQFM, Milwaukee

WJR, Detroit

KARN, Little Rock

KRMG, Tulsa

WWL, New Orleans

CJOR, Vancouver

KXL, Portland, Ore.

KMOX, St. Louis

KTOK, Oklahoma City

WDHA, Rochester, N.Y.

WSPD, Toledo

WDWS, Champaign, Ill.

KFRU, Columbia, Mo.

WQMI, Portsmouth, N.H.

KORD, Pasco, Wash.

WFAD, Middlebury, Vt.

KVEN, Ventura

KHSL, Chico

WJBC, Bloomington, Ill.

WROK, Rockford, Ill.

Magazines

TV Guide

People

Los Angeles

Woman’s World

Teen Tiger Beat

Star

National Enquirer (for this one, Hickman revealed his most embarrassing moment!)

Globe

L.A. ‘Star Weekend’

For this three-day gathering, CBS flew out reps from the following affiliated TV stations (they stayed at the Sheraton Inn in Redondo Beach), then had them meet stars--including Hickman--via in-person, round-table interviews. Hickman also did on-air promos (“Hi, this is Dwayne. Join me later tonight for . . . “) for those in attendance.

WTKR-TV, Norfolk,

WISH, Indianapolis

WSPA, Spartanburg, S.C.

WBMG, Birmingham, Ala.

WOWK, Huntington/Charleston, W. Va.

KCCI, Des Moines

KWTV, Oklahoma City

WCCSC, Charleston, S.C.

WTVT, Tampa

WUSA, Washington

WNEV, Boston

KDKA, Pittsburgh

WKRG-TV, Mobile, Ala.

KFMB, San Diego

WTVJ, Miami

KSL-TV, Salt Lake City

WBNS, Columbus

KIRO, Seattle

WREG, Memphis

WRGB, Albany, N.Y.

WCCO, Minneapolis

KMGH, Denver

KCTV, Kansas City, Mo.

KOIN, Portland, Ore.

WHIO, Dayton

WBTV, Charlotte, N.C.

WTVF, Nashville

KTSP, Phoenix

To boot, CBS Entertainment had Hickman tape on-air promos for 65 other affiliates that hadn’t sent reps to the gathering!

In January Hickman also showed up at CBS’ annual media relations press tour in L.A., where he dished with TV editors/writers of 80 newspapers from across the country.

So what did all this media schmoozing get “Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis”?

Ratings-wise, it came in third. But considering the humongous hype generated for ABC’s Winter Olympics coverage and NBC’s lavish “Noble House,” “Dobie” didn’t do badly at all against the Goliaths. It got a 15 rating (each rating point represents 886,000 households), not that far behind the Olympics (18.2 rating) and “Noble House” (17.9).