In the first biography of the maverick television producer and talk show host, David Susskind, author Stepen Battaglio, a veteran media journalist, has produced a splendid biography of a man who truly defined the television industry from the 1950s through the 1970s. With access to Susskind’s personal papers, family members and former associates, Battaglio has created a vivid picture of a man many have referred to as a “flamboyant impresario.”

After graduating from Harvard and serving as a U.S. naval officer during World War II, Susskind, a native of Brookline, Mass., sought a career worthy of his talents. He first tried being an agent and publicist, but because he felt he was not respected in these jobs, he launched his Talent-Associates firm and began to produce live television. His shows included such well-known series as the “Philco Television Playhouse,” the “Armstrong Circle Theatre,” and the “Dupont Show of the Month.”

From there Susskind began to produce films, Broadway shows and Emmy-winning TV dramas. He is probably best remembered as the host of the ground-breaking talk show “The David Susskind Show,” originally called “Open End,” because it had no definite time to stop. He enjoyed bringing in a panoply of mismatched guests who were able to rattle on for over an hour. He hosted the show for more than a quarter of a century, allowing guests to discuss and debate a wide range of issues-cultural, political, racial, and social. His most controversial live interview was with Nikita Khrushchev at the height of the Cold War, much to the chagrin of the political and media establishment.

Battaglio carefully points out that Susskind’s personal life was as dramatic and paradoxical as his television productions. He was a womanizer who placed his career in jeopardy when he had an affair with the wife of an important agency client. He had married young, divorced and remarried, but continued to play around. Even when women rebuffed his advances, he did not fire them out of spite. In fact, he habitually promoted women in his company. He made his living in television, but he constantly and publicly fought with the networks when they did not support his revolutionary but risky attempts to upgrade or innovate the television industry.

The latter years of Susskind’s life were very difficult for him. His memory grew shaky, he suffered from moodiness, and he seemed to have lost his once keen sense of judgment. He began to hire people shortly after meeting them on planes or the street. He spent huge sums of money unwisely. His condition was diagnosed as bipolar disorder, but he seldom took his medicine. When he did, he mixed it with liquor. One day in 1987, alone in his hotel room, the 66-year-old Susskind died of a heart attack. Medics found nitroglycerin tablets scattered around his hotel room.

Battaglio’s well-written and well-researched work is actually a dual biography. First, it is the life story of one of television’s early pioneers. But it also reads like a media history. For those old enough to remember the “golden era of television,” this book will be pure nostalgia of dramatic specials that foreshadowed the made-for-TV movies.

And while Battaglio does an admirable job of presenting Susskind’s career, information about his personal life, other than his proclivities for womanizing, is scant. Readers will learn very little about what made Susskind “tick.”

However, for those wanting to know more about the early years of television and the ultimate life of a showbiz man, this book will more than satisfy.