Carson, Letterman Reach Accord With Writers

David Letterman could get back on the air and Johnny Carson would have his writers back under agreements both have reached with the striking Writers Guild of America, the union’s president said Wednesday as talks resumed in the 12-week-old strike.

Carson, whose “Tonight Show” resumed production this month when he began writing his own monologues, has signed an independent contract. Letterman, whose “Late Night” is still in reruns, has agreed to sign, Guild President George Kirgo said.

Kirgo said he was confident that the union membership would approve the three-year pacts with the producers of the two shows.

‘New Thinking’

Meanwhile, nearly 100 negotiators, attorneys and onlookers for the striking Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were on hand Wednesday at the alliance’s Sherman Oaks headquarters for the second mediated session in three days.

Alliance spokesman Herb Steinberg said there has been some “new thinking” as a result of Monday’s meeting with a mediator. Asked what areas the new thinking included, Steinberg replied, “The key issues.”

Kirgo did not share Steinberg’s enthusiasm over a possible break in the deadlock.

“We were here eight hours Monday and nothing happened,” he said.

Craft Union Talks

Producers are preparing to begin important talks June 15 with the Hollywood craft unions and Teamsters, whose contracts expire July 31.

If writers are still negotiating by then, sessions would have to be scheduled around the other unions’ talks.

Both sides have suffered from the walkout that began March 7 over the issues of creative control on the set and residual payments for both one-hour syndicated television show reruns and works distributed in foreign countries.