Since at least 1945 Dave Garroway had battled some form of depression. It mingled with his longtime tendency to burn the midnight oil. In the 1930s, he’d played all-night card games; as a young guide at NBC, he’d stayed into the night to hone his announcing skills in vacant studios.
At a card game sometime after World War II, Garroway met a doctor who told him about Dexedrine. At the time, the drug was still relatively new, and similar stimulants had been used during World War II to keep servicemen alert in combat situations. The risks and complications were not understood as well as they now are, and Dexedrine and similar drugs were often prescribed for various ailments or suggested as a “pick-me-up” agent.
As did some others during that time period, Garroway began using Dexedrine to help him stay alert during his long hours on the job. Several accounts have mentioned Garroway’s use of a liquid concoction he called “the Doctor,” made of Dexedrine and vitamins, which he drank from a bottle he kept with him.
While Garroway wasn’t the only one who used “The Doctor” (and accounts of the early days of Today tell of it being somewhat popular among crewmembers who had to be up early and keep long hours at a demanding job), he became by far the most well-known. Garroway would work all day at NBC, come home and work in his workshop for a while, catch a small amount of sleep, and then repeat the cycle.
With Garroway’s strange hours, his incredible workload, and “the Doctor,” the “master communicator” was wearing himself out. In 1958 the producer of Today decided to give Garroway a break and started videotaping most of the program the previous afternoon. It was a controversial move (“Today becomes Yesterday,” read one headline), but it was an attempt to give the host some room to regain his life. Behind the scenes, Garroway and NBC found themselves with differences between them, and their visions for Today diverged. There was also ongoing staff changes on the program, with a succession of producers and writers moving through the Today team.
There were also rumors that his marriage to Pamela was not going well. Newspaper stories circulated that divorce was in the air. Her death late that April added to Garroway’s troubles. After a few weeks’ leave from his NBC duties to tend to personal and family matters, Garroway made a brief return to the program, then made his final broadcast as Today host on June 16, 1961.
Next: After “Today”