I faced network censorship in the heyday of Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore — the Trump era is different
On the picket line protesting Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, the stakes couldn’t be higher
Dick Van Dyke at a press conference in the late 1960’s. Photo by Getty Images
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Marching in front of ABC in downtown New York with the Writers Guild to protest Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension was remarkably different from all previous protests. This effort wasn’t designed to achieve rights for us from the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers, but to preserve free speech for the country.
I joined the Guild when I got my first writing assignment, an episode of The New Dick Van Dyke Show (Hope Lange played Van Dyke’s wife) and was immediately confronted with censorship. CBS refused to air it, insisting audiences weren’t ready to see a show about an 11-year-old girl opening the door to her parents’ bedroom though she closed it immediately upon realizing they were making love. Though our episode was broadcast in Canada and the network got no letters objecting, they held firm.
In time, there was progress and what we saw on the screen reflected reality. A far more explicit version of that story was done by ABC’s Modern Family. The FX series, The Americans, went even further with the son describing what he’d seen to a friend. Perhaps the funniest was the 2024 episode of Modern Family where the three children prepare breakfast to surprise their parents on their anniversary and walk in on them. Though ours was the tamest, I like to think we opened the door for these others.
Censorship then seemed ludicrous, which is why I saved some notes from the Program Practices Department, as the censor was known in the 1970s. These included:
To reduce casual references to the deity, please delete “So help me God” and “but by God.”
Please delete “Are you on the Pill?!!”
It’s not as if President Trump would adhere to the censorship he’s demanding from others. In 2024, he called Kamala Harris “mentally impaired” and accused her of having a “low IQ” after she appeared with what he called “degenerates” on The View. Other women he went after were that show’s co-host Whoopi Goldberg, saying, “She was so filthy, dirty, disgusting. She was so dirty. Every word was filthy, dirty. What a loser she is”
Speaking about Fulton County, Georgia District attorney Fani Willis, he remarked, “She was out of her mind.” He accused Nancy Pelosi of being “as crazy as a bed bug.” He even attacked Megyn Kelly, one of Fox News’ moderators in the first Republican debate during his first presidential campaign: “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”
Those remarks were just a prelude to the vicious name-calling he’s been employing during his second term of office. This past Saturday night, speaking at a black-tie dinner, he called Joe Biden “stupid” and “mean.” While most of us sleep, he cranks out his vindictiveness. Yet he is now trying to deny the country of our right to speak freely.
When diners in a restaurant criticized him, he said they should be prosecuted, and he has sued The New York Times, claiming the newspaper damaged his reputation. And that was just last week.
All that and more is why those of in the WGA protest turned up, even a man walking on crutches to make his feelings known, which underscored how critical our protest was. Musicians were playing to support our efforts. In unison, we called out, “We want Jimmy back,” and when asked when we wanted him back, we shouted “Now!” Though I’ve always been proud of the Writers Guild, I was never prouder than at this moment. Each of us was there because we knew it wouldn’t end with Kimmel and Stephen Colbert. Trump has also come after NPR and PBS and taken over The Kennedy Canter. The arts are vulnerable, as are we all.
Having the freedom to joke is no joke. This issue is bigger than any late-night talk show. It defines what this nation will be. The federal government is trying to dictate to the media and suppress anyone they choose to define as an enemy. It’s time for all of us to defend free speech and protect our fundamental rights.
It’s hard to feel encouraged when a man abuses his power, but I’m heartened — and hope others will be — by my personal experience with censorship. When Carl Reiner felt our show was being suppressed by CBS, he told them that he and Dick Van Dyke would shoot our episode at their own expense, alerting them he’d quit his own series if they didn’t air the episode. That dispute was widely covered by the press, and likely played a part in launching my career where I wrote for Maude, The Bob Newhart Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Barney Miller, Northern Exposure and a special starring Lily Tomlin for which I received an Emmy nomination and a Writers Guild Award.
The current crisis is more serious and widespread. MAGA strives to make it illegal to disagree with them. Public outcry was successful in forcing Trump’s allies on the Hill denying him and Marco Rubio the right to retract passports from Americans on little more than an accusation. If the current censorship leads to our joining forces and reclaiming the freedoms the country is based on, America can still prevail.
