(MONEY Magazine) – It's hard to imagine Jim Cramer--the hyperactive hedge fund manager turned Web entrepreneur turned market pundit--parking himself in front of a television every Friday night. Yet Cramer says there was a time 20 years ago when not even the most scintillating evening plans could tear him from his favorite show: "Anybody who knew me in law school knew that on Friday nights everything stopped for Wall Street Week." (What were you expecting, Fantasy Island?)

Cramer, co-founder of TheStreet.com, doubts he'd be doing what he's doing were it not for Wall Street Week. Host Louis Rukeyser--he of the deadpan delivery and the distinctive 'do--says he hears that sort of thing a lot from fans. And he'll probably hear many more kind words in coming weeks as the nation's most watched financial show celebrates its 30th year on the air. For a Nov. 3 anniversary special, Wall Street Week will vacate its studio at Maryland Public Television for a live broadcast from New York City's Carnegie Hall, followed by an hour-long retrospective. Guests will include Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill and SEC chairman Arthur Levitt. After three decades on the air, the 67-year-old Rukeyser says he has only one regret: "I've always been sorry that no sitting President has been willing to come on the show." Well, how about it, Mr. Clinton?

--JON BIRGER