![]() The existing portion includes Carson’s monologue, a musical performance by drummers Buddy Rich and Louis Bellson, and snippets of interviews with Laugh-In’s Judy Carne and the legendary Bob Hope, who was meant to do a surprise drop-in, but ended up sticking around for the rest of the night. At one point, Carson even refers to a sketch that was part of the telecast, but not part of this package. Even accounting for commercials, a lot is clearly missing. ![]() In 1969, The Tonight Show ran for 90 minutes, and there are only 38 minutes of footage on the DVD. But for a long time, the only extended sample of the ’60s Tonight Show that the general public had access to was an episode released on DVD as “Return To Studio One.” It’s a show from March 6th, 1969, recorded during one of Carson’s periodic visits to Los Angeles, before the show relocated there permanently in 1972 and it only survives because it was transferred to film for the Armed Forces Network.īut even this film doesn’t capture the full show. On Saturday Night Live, Dana Carvey riffed on the drunken anarchy of The Tonight Show in its ’60s and ’70s heyday, as reflected in those specials.īut for me, sitting through the same clips year after year-of Carson getting peed on by visiting zoo animals, or Ed Ames lodging a tomahawk in a dummy’s crotch, or Dean Martin flicking ashes into George Gobel’s cup-was a crash course in late-night history, and a small sample of what I imagined to be a loaded cache of broadcasting gold.Ī recent box set collects a handful of those (now heavily edited) broadcasts, a handful more are available MOD, and some others are available on YouTube or from other fan sources. The Simpsons did the same, with Krusty The Clown as Carson. Garry Shandling produced a prototype of The Larry Sanders Show on Showtime in the form of a fake anniversary special, spoofing the era-signifiers and “wild” highlights. Eventually, comedians began to make fun of the anniversary specials the way they were making fun of everything else about Carson and The Tonight Show. ![]() As someone born eight years into the Carson era of The Tonight Show, someone who wasn’t allowed to stay up late enough to watch until it had been on the air for nearly two decades, Carson’s annual prime-time reminiscences were an integral part of my TV scholarship. I saw the fall schedule, and there's nothing to worry about."Īndy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed you're into that sort of thing.I miss the anniversary specials most. "A lot of people have said General Electric is not interested in being in the entertainment business. ![]() ![]() "It's coming to an end next year," Carson replied, before quipping "I've always wanted to be a shepherd."Ĭarson also made a fantastic and brutal joke at the expense of NBC's then-owners, who Letterman famously mocked with regularity. Letterman told Carson that he carried the NBC network for years, and Carson demurred. That evening, he made this surprise appearance on Late Night with David Letterman and off-handedly made the same announcement to the public at large. On May 23, 1991, Johnny Carson confirmed rumors that had been swirling at the time and announced at an NBC network affiliate managers meeting that he would be retiring from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson at age 65 the following year, ending his 30-year run as the host that defined late-night television for generations. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |