American television personality, comedian, and former talk show host best known for "The Dick Cavett Show," which ran from the late 1960s through the 1990s. Cavett is considered one of the most intellectually-oriented interviewers in television history, having hosted luminaries from John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix to Katharine Hepburn and Marlon Brando. Cavett was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein by filmmaker Woody Allen and maintained a documented social relationship with Epstein from at least 2012 through 2017.
He attended multiple dinners and lunches at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse, often alongside Allen and Soon-Yi Previn. Records show invitations in February 2012, January 2013, and multiple occasions through 2017, including documented lunch and dinner visits in December 2016 and February 2017. Beyond social events, Cavett engaged in direct email correspondence with both Epstein and his longtime assistant Lesley Groff.
In a December 2016 email to Groff; later forwarded to Epstein; Cavett wrote playfully about a political anagram: "The letters in PRESIDENT TRUMP; re-arranged; spell: MR. PUTIN'S RED PET." He signed off, "Thanks, Lesley. The chicken matter touches my heart.
Dick C." Epstein's one-word reply, sent in December 2017, was: "Shame." This correspondence, recovered in DOJ-released EFTA documents, reveals a relaxed, familiar tone between Cavett and Epstein's household. Cavett's executive assistant Lisa Troland also communicated with Epstein's staff about pricing and budgets related to a PBS television project, indicating the relationship had a professional as well as social dimension. With 903 document mentions, Cavett is among the most frequently appearing celebrities in the Epstein files.
No allegations of wrongdoing have been made against Cavett in connection with Epstein's crimes, and he has not been named in any civil or criminal proceedings.