He started right at the beginning.
And it planted the seed.
You know, I became infatuated with television.
Don MischerTelevision Academy
Prince provided one of those.
Theyre always a challenge.
Its like, youre daring it to go right.
The Unnamed Press
Sometimes you’re able to anticipate these things.
And other times, you cant.
I mean, the Prince Super Bowl in the rain, for example.
There was no question about it.
Prince was playing four live electric guitars.
Would they stay in tune?
Would they short out.
So, the night before, Im just sweating it out.
What happens if Prince falls down?
What happens if one on the twins fall down?
Do you just step over her and keep going?
One twin on the deck?
And so, the first half of the show was okay.
I was communicating with Prince.
We put the stage together.
It came out and like 20-some-odd pieces, weighed tons.
It was brought up by 600 volunteers, who had been working on it for a month.
I mean, they really, really opened up, there was a deluge.
There was a pause, and he said, Can you make it rain harder?
So, those things happen.
I mean, really, really dreading it.
Thats the fun part of the business.
He sometimes had to explain some tough rules to the super-est of superstars.
Sir Paul, now you do not have control of this event.
Okay, you do not have control of it.
You are one cog in a wheel that is Super Bowl Sunday.
And I said there are going to be things youre going to have to deal with.
Thats when I got hired to do the Super Bowl.
The Nipple Gate, he said as he explained you have to be aware who is watching.
Super Bowls are family events.
They are appointment television.
Theyre seen by families in their living rooms, with everybody from age 6 up to the grandparents.
20% of the audience is under the age of 12.
Youve got to agree to keep it to 12-1/2 minutes, you know.
And there were times, issues when we had really tough discussions.
I said, we cant say that on the Super Bowl.
Why cant you handle this?
But thats just part of the problem.
Youre negotiating all the time.
One special moment Mischer describes in the book involves Michael Jackson doing the classic Motown 25 special.
I first met Michael when we were doing Motown 25.
We wanted Michael to come back and do something with his brothers, the Jackson 5.
We emptied the theater, its midnight, house is dark, just the light on Michael.
And we looked at each other and asked, Okay, whos going to take the call on Monday?
We said, No, everybodys doing a Motown song!
Its still considered a cultural moment in our in our history, you know, that Billie Jean performance.
I had the pleasure of working with him on an Oscar season where I wrote the Governors Awards show.
Watching him in action is quite something.
Thats a good question.
And one Ive thought about a lot since Ive stopped doing this.
Did I spent too much time away?
I saw the play, and got right back to the airport, and took a red eye back.
And Im sorry about those, on one level.
But you know, people around me understood.
I had a very supportive family.
And its something, he said.
I sometimes wake up in the middle of night and say, Would you do that again?
I probably would, because its just so damn addictive.
Its rolling the dice, and the adrenaline, and it becomes addictive.
And if you blow it, screw it up, its gone.
Its part of history.
