A Farewell to Firing Line

CAN you remember a time before Firing Line? If so, then you can remember … a fair amount. The show was born in 1966, fathered by William F. Buckley Jr., who has fathered so much. It taped its final program on December 14, 1999. Television will not be the same without it. It will be worse.

Mr. Buckley has said that he is quitting now because “I don’t want to die onstage”—which raises the question, When is Buckley not onstage? On Firing Line, he has hosted, prodded, jousted with just about everyone of public consequence over three decades. Presidents, prime ministers, and monarchs have been there, as have poets, musicians, scientists, and athletes. One could have learned about the world from Firing Line; and, of course, many of us did.

About the Author

Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger was a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow at National Review Institute.

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CAN you remember a time before Firing Line? If so, then you can remember … a fair amount. The show was born in 1966, fathered by William F. Buckley Jr., who has fathered so much. It taped its final program on December 14, 1999. Television will not be the same without it. It will be worse.

Mr. Buckley has said that he is quitting now because “I don’t want to die onstage”—which raises the question, When is Buckley not onstage? On Firing Line, he has hosted, prodded, jousted with just about everyone of public consequence over three decades. Presidents, prime ministers, and monarchs have been there, as have poets, musicians, scientists, and athletes. One could have learned about the world from Firing Line; and, of course, many of us did.