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Fast facts about the longest-running program in television history

Fast facts about the longest-running program in television history.

Television  broadcast debut:November 6, 1947

Co-Creators of “Meet the Press:”Martha Rountree and Lawrence Spivak

Moderators of “Meet the Press:”
Martha Rountree – November 6, 1947 – November 1, 1953
Ned Brooks – November 22, 1953 – December 26, 1965
Lawrence Spivak – January 1, 1966 – November 9, 1975
Bill Monroe – November 16, 1975 – September 9, 1984
Roger Mudd and Marvin Kalb – September 16, 1984 – June 2, 1985
Chris Wallace – May 10, 1987 – December 4, 1988
Garrick Utley – January 29, 1989 – December 1, 1991
Tim Russert – December 8, 1991 – June 13, 2008
David Gregory – December 7, 2008 – Present

Expanded to an hour long program:September 20, 1992

First guest on “Meet the Press:”James A. Farley, former postmaster general of the United States and former DNC Chair.

First female guest interviewed on “Meet the Press:”Elizabeth Bentley, a courier for a Communist spy ring was the first woman guest to be interviewed, on September 12, 1948

First Senator on “Meet the Press:”Sen. Claude Pepper (D-Fla.) on November 24, 1947

U.S. Presidents appearing on “Meet the Press:”Every U.S. President since John F. Kennedy has appeared on “Meet the Press” during his career.

Number of World Leaders on “Meet the Press:” There have been over 60 Prime Ministers, Presidents, Premiers, Kings or Chancellors representing 32 countries.

Most Frequent Guests on “Meet the Press:”Bob Dole/63 appearances
John McCain/53 appearances
Joseph Biden/43 appearances
Richard Gephardt/41 appearances
Richard Lugar/36 appearances

Most frequent journalist appearances on “Meet the Press:”David Broder of the Washington Post/401 times
Robert Novak of the Chicago Sun Times/248 times

Longest time span between first and most recent appearance:Sen. Ted Kennedy
First appearance:  March 11, 1962
Most recent appearance:  January 21, 2007
Time span of:  almost 45 years

Parents and children who have both appeared on “Meet the Press:”
Birch and Evan Bayh
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto
Habib Bourguiba and Habib Bourguiba, Jr.
Pat and Jerry Brown
George HW Bush and George W. Bush
John and Lincoln Chafee
Tom and Ramsey Clark
John and Nancy Dickerson (added after 60th anniversary).
Thomas and Chris Dodd
Gerald and Jack Ford
George Gallup and George Gallup, Jr.
Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi (3 generations)
John Gilligan and Kathleen Sebelius
Al Gore and Al Gore Jr.
Jimmy and James P. Hoffa
King Hussein and King Abdullah of Jordan
Jesse Jackson and Jesse Jackson Jr.
Henry and Edgar Kaiser
Edward and Patrick Kennedy
John, Caroline and John Jr. Kennedy
Robert, Kathleen and Joe Kennedy
Moon, Mitch and Mary Landrieu
Henry Cabot Lodge and George Cabot Lodge
Guy and Susan Molinari
Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Dr. Vali Nasr
George Romney and Mitt Romney
Eleanor, James, Elliott and Franklin Jr. Roosevelt
Sargent Shriver and Maria Shriver and Tim Shriver
Lawrence, Judy and Jonathan Spivak
Adlai Stevenson II and III
Stuart and James Symington
Robert Taft Sr. and Robert Taft Jr.
Eugene and Herman Talmadge
Millard and Joseph Tydings
Morris and Mark Udall
Doris Kearns Goodwin and Joseph Kearns Goodwin

Husbands and wives who have both appeared on “Meet the Press:”
Howard Baker and Nancy Kassebaum
Ben Bradlee and Sally Quinn
George and Laura Bush
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter
James Carville and Mary Matalin 
Bill and Hillary Clinton
Matt Cooper and Mandy Grunwald
Nicholas and Ruth Daniloff
Bob and Elizabeth Dole
Richard "Dick" Goodwin and Doris Kearns Goodwin
Al and Tipper Gore
Alan Greenspan and Andrea Mitchell
Philip and Jane Hart
Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda
Al Hunt  and Judy Woodruff 
Henry Luce and Claire Booth Luce
Dr. William Masters and Virginia Johnson
George and Eleanor McGovern
Theodore "Ted" and Barbara Olson
William McMillan and Susan Carpenter-McMillan
Bill Paxon and Susan Molinari
Todd Purdum and Dee Dee Myers
Ronald and Nancy Reagan
Steve and Cokie Roberts
William and Jill Ruckelshaus
Anatoly and Avital Shcharansky
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver

Current “Meet the Press” credit list: David Gregory is the Moderator.
Betsy Fischer is the Executive Producer.
Adam Verdugo is the Senior Producer.
Chris Donovan is the Producer.
Ilana Marcus Drimmer is the Contributing Producer.
Abigail Williams is the Associate Producer, Shelby Poduch is the Assistant Producer, Joe Toohey is the Researcher, Kristian Monroe is the Production Assistant and Grace Lamb-Atkinson is the Research Assistant.