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Author	Topic: TV Variety Shows: Now Disc. The 2009 CMT Music Awards
Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 6/5/06 8:06pm Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing "Your Show of Shows")
	Jack Benny was king on radio. His television shows didn't have much charm, but his radio shows were often so anarchic they were almost dada. Lot of them are available on casette and CD. Check them out sometime. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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Gobi-1 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Dec '02	Date Posted: 6/5/06 10:45pm Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing Jack Benny et al)
	I have around half a dozen episodes of Abbott and Costello on the Colgate Comedy. The comedy material isn't as good as their early films and Bud and Lou were starting to get tired and bored but the show could be a riot due to the live telecast with ad-libs, bloopers, props breaking, Bud and Lous getting the giggles and things just going wrong. You just don't get this anymore on TV. Costello was wise to have kinescopes recorded for all of their appearances on the CCH so their shows are still with us today. I'm a big Jack Benny fan too as I have several episodes of his tv show on VHS. His tightwad persona is hilarious and his dry, witty, understated, one liners are priceless. Like the series Frasier you have to really pay attention to get all the clever jokes. -----signature----- In 1977 George Lucas created the Star Wars Trilogy and changed the way we look at movies. In 1999 George Lucas created the Prequel Trilogy and changed the way we look at Star Wars. Frasier, Lost, and Whose Line Is It Anyway? are the best tv shows ever.
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 6/10/06 7:38am Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno")
	This time I will talk about "The Tonight Show". I will start with the current host and then go back to the previous hosts with each successive update. Jay Leno The above link goes to the wikipedia site. Jay Leno (born James Douglas Muir-Leno April 28, 1950) is an American comedian who is best known as the host of the long-running NBC television variety and talk show The Tonight Show. He also owns the production company which co-produces The Tonight Show called Big Dog Productions. Early years Leno was born in New Rochelle, New York to a Scottish mother and Italian-American father. He grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, and received his Bachelor's degree in Speech therapy from Emerson College in 1973. Stand-up Leno started his career performing in nightclubs, bars and any place that would give him even five minutes of stage time, including Dairy Queen. He quickly became known for his work ethic and nice demeanor both on- and offstage, as well as for his striking appearance, in particular his large face. Though he had made the occasional foray onto television in the form of guest appearances on The Tonight Show, then hosted by Johnny Carson, stardom eluded him and he continued to work wherever he was allowed. It has been reported that Leno would sometimes work as many as eight or nine clubs in one evening. Leno on Late Night.During the late 1970s he was frequently featured as the opening act at John Denver concerts. He began making more frequent appearances on television when many of his friends and contemporaries became more influential on late night programs. Leno made a record number of appearances on Late Night with David Letterman. His popularity was noted by NBC executives, who decided to make Leno the permanent guest host for The Tonight Show when Joan Rivers left that position. Even after serving as the Tonight Show host for 14 years, Leno still performs stand-up on a regular basis; he often performs weekend shows in Las Vegas after wrapping up show production for the week. In addition, as a regular tune-up for the Tonight Show, he performs frequently on weekends at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California. Host of The Tonight Show When Carson retired in 1992 Jay Leno became the new permanent host of The Tonight Show after a long period of debate and negotiations with Leno and David Letterman (who had been considered by many to be Carson's heir apparent). Letterman signed a deal with CBS, sparking an ongoing late-night rivalry between the two talk-show hosts. Although Letterman's Late Show led in the ratings at the start, The Tonight Show took over the lead in 1995 and has, on the whole, had higher ratings ever since. Although known mainly for his wit, he has also shown his sensitive side on air. When The Tonight Show came back after the September 11 attacks, he nixed his usual monologue to talk about what had happened. He also spoke about the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. In addition, following the skating controversy surrounding the ice skating pairs event at the 2002 Winter Olympics, Leno invited the Canadian pairs teams onto his show the following day and waved a Canadian flag and played "O Canada" for them. And when Johnny Carson died in January 2005, he did one night of the The Tonight Show as a tribute to his predecessor. Jay Leno guest hosts The Today Show with Matt LauerIn 1998, Jay Leno and his show partner Kevin Eubanks were invited to a wrestling show called WCW Road Wild 1998, from Sturgis, South Dakota, in which Leno teamed with Diamond Dallas Page to wrestle against Hulk Hogan and WCW President Eric Bischoff, following a prelude in which the wrestling stars had appeared on The Tonight Show. The match ended with Page and Leno's victory when Eubanks sneaked a fast Diamond Cutter on Bischoff. In 2002, Leno had a group of professionals built him a robot called "Chin Killa" for Battlebots. Although the officials from the show let his robot fight in fun matches, they wouldn't allow it to fight in tournaments because it was built by professionals. On May 12, 2003, he and outgoing Today Show host Katie Couric switched places, meaning Leno co-hosted the Today Show with Matt Lauer. On The Tonight Show's 50th anniversary episode (September 27, 2004), he announced that he would retire as host in 2009, when his current contract expires, as part of an arrangement that allowed NBC to have Late Night host Conan O' Brien replace him. Acting, cameos and voice acting Jay LenoLeno is not widely known as an actor (legendarily, in auditioning for a role on Mork & Mindy which would go to Jay Thomas, he was told that he had a face that would scare children), but he had a number of small roles early in his career in mostly unsuccessful movies; an exception was a bit part in the more popular film, American Hot Wax. His most prominent role was in the 1989 film Collision Course, a comedy about a mismatched crime fighting pair, in which he played a detective opposite Pat Morita. When Steve Martin appeared on Leno's The Tonight Show in December 2005, a clip from the movie appeared during Martin's game of "Name That Clip" (Leno was supposed to differentiate clips from Martin's two new movies Shopgirl and Cheaper by the Dozen 2, with Martin taking twenty dollars from Leno if he got one wrong.) The last clip played was from Collision Course, which Leno immediately said was "a horrible movie." Martin said Leno was right, but he would still lose twenty dollars for making it. Leno also appeared in an episode of the television series Good Times, in which his character promotes getting tested for venereal diseases. His acting debut actually found himself as one of the "pool guys" in the original 1977 version of Fun with Dick and Jane. During the 1980s, Jay Leno starred in a series of Doritos commercials, in which he recited the product's tagline: "Crunch all you want, we'll make more". Prior to Leno's full-time replacement of Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, many Americans primarily knew of the comedian through these advertisements. Since becoming the host of the Tonight Show, Leno has made a number of cameo appearances, usually appearing as a talk show host or making fun of his famous chin. In 1994 he played "Bedrock's Most Wanted Host," along with Cynthia Clemons, in the live-action comedy film The Flintstones. Also in 1994, he played himself in Major League II which starred Charlie Sheen. In 1998, he made a voice cameo as himself on an episode of The Simpsons entitled The Last Temptation of Krust. He also made appearances on the sitcoms The Nanny and Titus. Making fun of his own facial features, it is true that he plays the "Crimson Chin" on the TV cartoon series The Fairly Odd Parents. In 2005, he lent his voice to a talking fire hydrant in the computer animated movie, Robots. In 2006, he provided the voice of an armadillo named "Fast Tony" in Ice Age 2: The Meltdown and in the Pixar/Disney film Cars as "Jay Limo". He made at least one appearance on NBC's The West Wing playing himself at a California fundraiser for the president, Jed Bartlet. He has also appeared on Home Improvement as a mechanic in a wealthy car collector's garage (in reality his own collection). He also appeared as himself, doing Tonight Show monologues regarding the main characters in the films "Mr. 3000" , "Contact" , "First Daughter" and "Dave". In the movie Space Cowboys, he hosted a fictional Tonight Show segment featuring the four astronaut protagonists (played by Clint Eastwood, James Garner, Tommy Lee Jones, and Donald Sutherland) just before their space mission. Jackson trial In the 2005 trial of Michael Jackson over allegations of child abuse, Leno appeared as a defense witness (many celebrity defense witnesses had been expected, but Leno was one of the few who actually testified). As a witness in the case, Leno was initially not allowed to continue making jokes about Jackson and the case; however, he and his show's writers could still use a stand-in to tell them. After NBC challenged this gag-order, the judge allowed Leno to make jokes, as long as they were not related to Leno's testimony. In his testimony, the defense expected him to say he called police to say the accuser was coached by his mother to ask for money; Leno testified he never called the police, no money was asked for, and there was no coaching, but the calls seemed unusual and scripted. Hobby See also Jay Leno's cars for a partial list of his collection. In automobile collecting circles, Jay Leno is known as an avid student, collector and restorer of cars and motorcycles. He has a large antique car collection on which he constantly works in his spare time, and he routinely drives cars from his collection (including an original Stanley Steamer) from his home to his studio. He is also a promoter of the mechanical crafts through a column in Popular Mechanics and his educational activities. Leno rides his motorcycles in his spare time. In 2001, Leno auctioned off a Harley-Davidson motorcycle signed by his celebrity guests in an effort to help victims of the September 11 attacks. The bike sold for about $360,000. In 2005, he repeated the gesture twice: early in the year to aid victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake — the bike sold for $810,000; and later to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. That bike sold for $1,505,100. Leno's custom "Tank Car", a 21-foot-long aluminum-bodied roadster powered by a V-12 engine from an M-47 Patton tank, was featured in the 2005 racing game Gran Turismo 4. Leno's column in the American automotive magazine Popular Mechanics showcases his extensive car collection. Additionally, Leno uses his column as a platform to despense his advice about various automotive topics, including restoration and unique models, such as his jet powered motorcycle. A consumate car collector who prides himself on owning the best of the best, one vehicle he coveted did not enter his collection: the General Motors all electric EV1. Trivia Jay LenoLeno worked at McDonald's in the early '70s Since 1980, Leno has been married to Mavis Leno, who is known for her work with Afghan women under the Taliban. They have no children, by mutual agreement. In late October 2005, Leno told The New York Daily News for an October 31 article that he and rival David Letterman have not spoken to one another in 13 years. On February 19, 2006, Leno drove the pace car to start the 2006 Daytona 500, and the 2006 NASCAR season. Resides in Beverly Hills, California. He suffers from dyslexia. Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Gobi-1 Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Dec '02	Date Posted: 6/10/06 11:08am Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno)
	Nice write up on Mr. Leno. I'm a big fan of Jay so it's nice to see a positive article. If I did have any negative to say about his show it would be that the writing isn't always that good, and they rely to much on other people doing comedy bits for them. It doesn't help that there's a lot of commercial during the Tonight Show leaving little room for comedy. Conan and Letter have made cuts in their monologues and interviews segments to fit in more comedy but Leno has not. But that's ok because Leno overcomes the show's weakness through sheer good will. -----signature----- In 1977 George Lucas created the Star Wars Trilogy and changed the way we look at movies. In 1999 George Lucas created the Prequel Trilogy and changed the way we look at Star Wars. Frasier, Lost, and Whose Line Is It Anyway? are the best tv shows ever.
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 6/10/06 1:15pm Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno)
	And that about sums it up. He seems like a pleasant, sensible guy.
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 6/17/06 3:09am Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson)
	Next up on "The Tonight Show" is the man that America routinely went to bed with. Johnny Carson The above link goes to the wikipedia bio of Johnny Carson. John William "Johnny" Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his iconic status as the host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Before The Tonight Show Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, to parents Homer "Kit" Lloyd Carson, a power company manager, and Ruth Hook Carson, and grew up in Norfolk, Nebraska, where he learned to perform magic tricks, debuting as "The Great Carsoni" at age 14. He attended Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, where he received V-12 officer training, and then served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946. Carson then attended the University of Nebraska where he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1949. The next year, Carson took a job at WOW radio and television in Omaha, where he hosted an early morning TV show called The Squirrel's Nest; Carson then took a job at CBS-owned Los Angeles television station KNXT, which would be his entry to the big time. In 1953, well-known comic Red Skelton – a fan of Carson's sketch comedy show, Carson's Cellar, which ran from 1951 to 1953 on KNXT – tabbed Carson to join his show as a writer. In 1954, Skelton knocked himself unconscious just one hour before his live show went on the air; Carson filled in for him – and a star was born. He hosted several TV shows before his run on The Tonight Show, including the game show Earn Your Vacation (1954), the variety show The Johnny Carson Show (1955 - 1956), and a five-year stint on the game show Who Do You Trust? (1957–1962), during which Carson met long-time sidekick Ed McMahon. The Tonight Show Carson became the host of NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in October 1962. His announcer and sidekick was Ed McMahon throughout his entire tenure with the program. For millions of people, watching The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson at the end of the evening became a ritual, and Carson, with his quick wit and natural charm, became a well-known entertainer loved by many. Most of the later shows began with music and the announcement by Ed McMahon "Heeeeeere's Johnny!," followed by a brief comedic monologue by Carson. This was often followed by comedy sketches, interviews, and music. Carson's trademark was a phantom golf swing at the end of his Tonight Show monologues, aimed at stage left where the band was. Guest hosts would sometimes parody that gesture. Bob Newhart, for example, would finish by simulating rolling a bowling ball toward the audience. The show was originally produced in New York City, with occasional stints in California. It was not live in its early years. The program had been done "live on tape" (uninterrupted unless a serious problem occurred) since the Jack Paar days. In May 1972 the show permanently moved from New York to Burbank, California. After the move, Carson stopped doing shows five days a week. Instead, on Monday nights there was a "guest host" (leaving Carson to do the other four each week). Joan Rivers became the "permanent" guest host from September 1983 until 1986, when she was fired for accepting a competing show on the startup Fox network without consulting Carson first. Thereafter, The Tonight Show returned to using various guest hosts, with Jay Leno the most frequent. Leno then became the exclusive guest host in the fall of 1987. Eventually, the pattern became relatively set. Monday night was for Jay Leno. Tuesday night was for the Best of Carson, which were rebroadcasts of earlier episodes (usually of a year previous but occasionally back into the 1970s with edited episodes). Carson was often at his best, however, when sketches went wrong, as they often did. If the opening monologue fared poorly, the band would start playing the song "Tea for Two" and Carson would start to dance, which invariably earned laughs from the studio audience. Alternately, Carson might pull down the boom mike close to his face and announce "Attention K-Mart shoppers!" Carson had a talent for coming up with quick quips to deal with unexpected problems. Carson's show was the launching pad for many talented performers, notably comedians. Many got their "big break" by appearing on the show, and it was considered the crowning achievement to not only get Johnny to laugh out loud, but also to be called over to the guest chair. In many ways, Carson was the successor to The Ed Sullivan Show as a showcase for all kinds of talent, as well as continuing the Vaudeville variety-show tradition. In 1973, Carson had a legendary run-in with popular psychic Uri Geller when he invited Geller to appear on his show. Carson, an experienced stage magician, wanted a neutral demonstration of Geller's alleged abilities, so, at the advice of his friend and fellow magician James Randi, he gave Geller several spoons out of his desk drawer and asked him to bend them. Geller proved unable, and his appearance on The Tonight Show has since been regarded as the beginning of Geller's fall from glory. One of the more memorable moments during Carson's stint as Tonight Show host came in 1987, when elderly Myrtle Young ("the potato chip lady") was invited to show off her collection of chips that resembled animals and famous people. While Young was distracted by McMahon, Carson crunched on a chip — not from her collection, but from a bowl beside his desk. Young turned back towards Carson with a horrified expression, but saw nothing missing; she sighed with apparent relief when Carson showed her the bowl. He then apologized for the joke. An oft-repeated story—since dismissed as an "urban legend"—involved a guest appearance by Zsa Zsa Gabor carrying a white Persian cat. Gabor is said to have asked Johnny if he would like to "pet my pussy?" During a 1989 appearance, Jane Fonda noted that her son had repeated the claim, and "my son said that you said, uh, 'I'd love to, if you'd remove that damned cat!' Is it true?" Carson denied the episode on-air ("No, I think I would recall that...")[1] and both he[2] and Gabor[3] responded to researchers by stating the event "never happened." Despite widespread insistence by people who claimed to see the episode, no audio or video recording has ever been produced. However, a bit of risqué humor was not beyond Carson. During an interview with Dolly Parton, in reference to her large chest, she said, "People are always asking if they're real and .... I'll tell you what, these are mine." Carson replied, "I have certain guidelines on this show. But I would give about a year's pay to peek under there." Critical acclaim Carson was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. His other awards include 6 Emmy Awards, and a George Foster Peabody Award. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 1993. Marriages: Joan Wolcott Carson married his college sweetheart Joan Wolcott on October 1, 1949. They had 3 sons. Their son, Richard, was killed on June 21, 1991, when his car plunged down a steep embankment along a paved service road off Highway 1 near Cayucos, a small town north of San Luis Obispo. Apparently, Richard had been taking photographs when the accident occurred. On his first show after his son's death, Carson gave a stirring tribute to Ricky Carson in the final minutes of his show as samples of his son's photographic work (and images of Ricky, himself) were displayed with the music accompaniment of "Riviera Paradise" by blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan (himself the victim of an accidental death less than one year earlier). In addition, the final image of Carson's last show in May 1992 featured a photo Richard had taken. Joanne Copeland In 1963, Carson got a "quickie" Mexican divorce from Joan and married Joanne Copeland on August 17, 1963. After a protracted divorce in 1972, Copeland received nearly half a million dollars in cash and art and $100,000 a year in alimony for life. Joanna Holland At The Tonight Show's 10th anniversary party on September 30, 1972, Carson announced that he and former model Joanna Holland had been secretly married that afternoon, shocking his friends and associates. Carson kidded that he had married three similarly named women to avoid "having to change the monogram on the towels." On March 8, 1983, Holland filed for divorce. Under California's community property laws, she was entitled to 50 percent of all the assets accumulated during the marriage even though Carson earned virtually 100 percent of the couple's income. During this period, he joked on The Tonight Show, "My producer, Freddy de Cordova, really gave me something I needed for Christmas. He gave me a gift certificate to the Law Offices of Jacoby & Meyers." The divorce case finally ended in 1985 with an 80-page settlement, Holland receiving $20 million in cash and property. Alexis Maas The story goes he met his fourth wife, Alexis Maas, when he saw her strolling along the beach near his Malibu home holding an empty wine glass. He left his house and offered to fill the glass up for her. They married on June 20, 1987. That broke the "Joan"-"Joanne"-"Joanna" cycle, and his marriage with Alexis was happy by all accounts. Personal Carson was a major investor in the ultimately failed De Lorean Motor Company, and was cited in a 1982 drunk driving incident while driving a De Lorean DMC-12 sportscar in Beverly Hills. Represented by Robert Shapiro, he pleaded no contest to the charges, and played off the incident by having a uniformed police officer escort him on to the Tonight Show stage. Carson was close friends with astronomer Carl Sagan, who often appeared on The Tonight Show to give presentations on astronomy. (Carson himself was an amateur astronomer). The unique way Sagan had of saying certain words, like "billions" of galaxies, would lead to Carson ribbing his friend, imitating his voice and saying "BILL-ions and BILL-ions", a phrase soon erroneously attributed to Sagan himself. According to Sagan's biographer, Keay Davidson, Carson was the first person to contact Sagan's wife with condolences when the scientist died in 1996. Also a talented amateur drummer, Carson was shown on a segment of 60 Minutes practicing at home on a drum set given to him by jazz legend Buddy Rich. Retirement The Final ShowCarson retired from show business on May 22, 1992 when he stepped down as host of The Tonight Show. NBC gave the role of host to the show's then-current permanent guest host, Jay Leno. Leno and Letterman were soon competing on separate networks. At the end of his final Tonight Show appearance, Carson indicated that he would return with a new project, but instead chose to go into full retirement, rarely giving interviews and declining to participate in NBC's 75th Anniversary celebrations. He made the occasional cameo appearance, most notably voicing himself on an episode of The Simpsons ("Krusty Gets Kancelled"). Carson's most famous post-retirement appearance came on Letterman's late-night CBS talk show, The Late Show with David Letterman, on May 13, 1994. During a week of shows from Los Angeles, Letterman was having Larry "Bud" Melman (Calvert DeForest) deliver his "Top Ten Lists" under the impression that a famous personality would be delivering the list instead. On the last show of the week, Letterman indicated that Carson would be delivering the list. Instead, Melman delivered the list, insulted the audience (in keeping with the gag), and walked off to polite applause. Letterman then indicated that the card he was given did not have the proper list on it, and asked Carson to bring out the "real" list. On that cue, the real Johnny Carson emerged from behind the stage curtain; when the audience realized that it was truly Carson, they exploded into a standing ovation. Carson then requested to sit behind Letterman's desk; Letterman obliged – and the audience, seeing Carson back behind a desk for the first time in two years, went absolutely berserk. A clearly overcome Carson mouthed "I'm back home" to the stage director, ran his hands over the desk, and after a moment walked back off stage without delivering his planned joke. (It was later explained that Carson had laryngitis). Just days before Carson's death, it was revealed that the retired "King of Late Night" still kept up with current events and late-night TV, and that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman. Letterman would then use these jokes in the monologue of his show, which Carson got "a big kick out of" according to Worldwide Pants, Inc. Senior Vice-President Peter Lassally, who formerly produced both men's programs. Reportedly, sometimes Letterman would do the golf swing after one of those jokes, as a subliminal tribute to Carson. Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor". [2] Letterman frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac" (with band leader Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band," and the "Week in Review." In November 2004, Carson announced a $5.3 million gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation to support the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts' Department of Theatre Arts. The department was renamed the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film. Another $5 million donation was announced by the estate of Carson to the University of Nebraska following his death. Death and aftermath At 6:50 AM PST on January 23, 2005, Carson died at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, of respiratory arrest arising from 20 years of emphysema. He was 79 years old. Tributes published after his passing confirmed that he had been a chain-smoker. While The Tonight Show was broadcast live, he would frequently smoke cigarettes on the air; it was reported that Carson had said "these things are killing me" as far back as the 1970s. Following Carson's death his body was cremated, and the ashes were given to his wife. In accordance with his family's wishes, no public memorial service was held. On January 24, 2005, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno paid tribute to Carson with guests Ed McMahon, Bob Newhart, Don Rickles, Drew Carey and K.d. Lang. Letterman followed suit on January 31 with former Tonight Show executive producer Peter Lassally and bandleader Doc Severinsen. During the beginning of this show, Letterman said that for 30 years no matter what was going on in the world, no matter whether people had a good or bad day, they wanted to end the day by being "tucked in by Johnny." Letterman also told his viewers that the monologue he had just given had consisted entirely of jokes sent to him by Carson in the last few months of his life. Doc Severinsen ended the Letterman show that night by playing one of Carson's two favorite songs, "Here's that Rainy Day" (the other was "I'll be Seeing You"). Many other talk show hosts came and went during Carson's 30 years. A week or so after the tributes, Dennis Miller was on the Tonight Show and told Jay Leno about the first time he tried to do a talk show, and how miserably it went. He said that he got a call right after the first show, from Carson, telling him "It's not as easy as it looks, is it, kid?" The 2005 film The Aristocrats was dedicated to Johnny, who apparently was a huge fan of the joke (and also a huge fan of Aristocrats co-director Penn Jillette's TV show Bullshit!) In a tearful farewell, magician and "professional debunker" James Randi wrote, I loved you, Johnny. We all did. Yes, I'm rambling because I just don't know what else to say. I will miss Johnny Carson like no other person in my life. He was such a good man, one of my minor gods, and a good friend that I regret to say I did not meet again in person after he left TV so long ago. Just one small example, if I may, of how generous he was. When I called and asked him if he might place a telephone call to Martin Gardner on that gentleman's 90th birthday, John had no hesitation agreeing to do so. "I've got most of his books," he told me, "and it'll be fun to speak with him." They did speak, on the afternoon of Martin's birthday, for some 20 minutes. That's the kind of gentleman that Johnny Carson was. John, I will miss you, as will so many millions here and around the world, but your legacy lives on. I've just run out of words. Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 6/17/06 2:34pm Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson) - Date Edited: 6/17/06 4:23pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Zaz
	The bit from Carson's show that I've seen in a clip involves the actor Ed Ames. According to IMDB, this is what happened: "One of Ed Ames most memorable moments in television was when he threw his famous tomahawk on the "Tonight Show Starring Johhny Carson" in 1965. He threw the tomahawk and it landed right between the target's [a cardboard cut-out of a man]legs, thus prompting the following Carson ad lib: "I didn't even know you were Jewish." This event prompted one of the longest laughs in television history." It is hugely funny, just because Carson was a highly talented re-actor.
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somethingfamiliar Registered: Aug '03	Date Posted: 6/17/06 4:21pm Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson)
	Man, I had totally forgotten that Johnny had died. I was reading that thinking it would end with his continuing retirement. The final show came when I was in 8th grade and I remember it was a big deal. My main exposure to him came from staying at my grandparents' house. We'd always stay up late and watch Johnny and Love Connection. Good times. Also, the SNL parodies with Dana Carvey as Johnny and Phil Hartman as Ed were very popular at the time. My favorite of those was when Johnny reformatted to be more like Arsenio Hall. -----signature----- I had all bases covered. I had the Hulkamaniacs watching DiBiase. I had Virgil in his place.
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 6/22/06 3:04pm Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson)
	He did give a lot of comedians a start in show business--the show was great exposure.
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 6/24/06 3:54am Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar)
	This time on "The Tonight Show", I will discuss Johnny Carson's predecessor. Jack Paar Jacques Harold Paar (May 1, 1918 – January 27, 2004) was an American radio and television talk show host. Birth and early career Born in Canton, Ohio, Paar began his broadcasting career in radio, working first in Cleveland, Ohio and later, throughout the Midwest. During World War II, he was part of a special services company that entertained troops in the South Pacific. After the war, Paar tried his hand at movie acting and comedy, playing opposite Marilyn Monroe in Love Nest (1951) and frequently appearing as a standup comedian on The Ed Sullivan Show. He also hosted the game shows Up To Paar in 1952, and Bank On The Stars in 1953. In addition, he hosted The Morning Show on CBS in 1954. It was during an impressive stint as a guest host on Jack Benny's radio show that he caught the attention of NBC officials who eventually offered him his best known role as host of The Tonight Show. Paar was the program's host from 1957 to 1962; after 1959 it was known as The Jack Paar Show. Controversy In 1959, he was criticized for his interview with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Two years later, he broadcast his show from Berlin just as the Berlin Wall was going up. He also sustained numerous cancellations from sponsors of the show, when he would make ad-libs during live commercials for that sponsor's product, such as once describing a brand of men's underwear that sponsored his show as "fitting so tight, it's like being hugged by a midget." Highly emotional Cornell Capa's portrait of Jack Paar, 1959Paar was often emotional and unpredictable. The most salient example of this kind of on-screen behavior was demonstrated in 1960. One of his jokes was cut from a broadcast by studio censors. The joke in question involved a woman writing to a vacation resort and inquiring about the availability of a "W.C." The woman used that term to mean "water closet" (i.e., bathroom), but the gentleman who received the letter misunderstood "W.C." to mean "wayside chapel" (i.e., church). The full text of the joke reveals multiple double entendres that are tame by today's standards, but too much for the network to bear in 1960. NBC replaced that section of the show with news coverage. The decision to censor the joke so angered Paar that the next night, February 11, he announced on the air that he was leaving the show, saying "I've made a decision about what I'm going to do. I'm leaving The Tonight Show. There must be a better way to make a living than this, a way of entertaining people without being constantly involved in some form of controversy. I love NBC [...] But they let me down." After finishing this monologue, Paar abruptly walked offstage, leaving his flustered announcer Hugh Downs to finish the show for him. Less than a month later, Paar was convinced to return; on March 7 he opened his monologue with the now-famous line, "As I was saying before I was interrupted...I believe the last thing I said was 'There must be a better way to make a living than this.' Well, I've looked...and there isn't." He then went on to explain his departure with typical frankness: "Leaving the show was a childish and perhaps emotional thing. I have been guilty of such action in the past and will perhaps be again. I'm totally unable to hide what I feel. It is not an asset in show business, but I shall do the best I can to amuse and entertain you and let other people speak freely, as I have in the past." The move to prime time Paar's emotionality made the everyday routine of putting together a ninety-minute program difficult to continue for long. Paar made it clear that he was not planning to continue with the Tonight Show, and he signed off for the last time on March 29, 1962. Paar then began hosting a prime-time Friday night show on NBC, entitled The Jack Paar Program. Popular belief holds that The Ed Sullivan Show introduced the Beatles. In fact, they debuted on Paar's prime time hour. Paar's show had a world view, debuting acts from around the globe and showing films from exotic locations. During the first half of 1964, a running feud existed between Paar and the show immediately preceding his program David Frost's satire series That Was the Week That Was. A typical exchange would have That Was the Week That Was "signing off" the NBC Television Network just before the Paar program. Paar frequently responded that the show immediately preceding his was Henry Morgan's Amateur Hour (Morgan was a frequent guest on the show.). The mock feud suddenly evaporated when NBC moved That Was the Week That Was to a Tuesday night time slot for the 1964-65 season. Paar's prime time show aired for three years, including guests such as Peter Ustinov, Lawrence of Arabia's brother, Richard Burton, Oscar Levant, Lowell Thomas, Muhammad Ali singing to piano accompaniment by Liberace, an inebriated Judy Garland, Jonathan Winters, Woody Allen, and many others. The final closing segment of the program featured him sitting alone on a stool, sharing a discussion that he had had with his daughter, who called Paar's departure a sabbatical. Noting the origins of the term, he said that his own field was, though not completely used up, "a little dry recently." Then he called to his German shepherd, who came to him from the seats of what was, for once, an empty studio, and walked out. Later career Paar came back for another late-night show in January 1973 on ABC—this time, as one of a group of rotating hosts on ABC Wide World of Entertainment, one week out of each month. The show, which was in direct competition with Tonight, only lasted for half a year. In 1986, NBC aired a special featuring Paar, titled Jack Paar Comes Home; the following year, a second special Jack Paar Is Alive and Well was broadcast by the network. Both of these specials were largely made up of kinescoped clips from Paar's prime time program, to which he maintained the copyright. Death Paar died at his Greenwich, Connecticut home in January 2004 at age 85, with his wife and daughter by his side. He had long been ill, having undergone triple-bypass heart surgery in 1998 and a stroke one year before he died. Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 6/24/06 10:30am Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Jack Parr)
	I've never seen a Parr show, but I remember reading about the censorship problems. Interesting career. Didn't know that he introduced the Beatles.
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 7/1/06 6:24am Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Steve Allen)
	This time I will talk about the first host of "The Tonight Show". Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921–October 30, 2000) was an American musician, comedian, and writer who was instrumental in innovating the concept of the television talk show. Allen is called the father of TV talk shows. Biography Allen was born on St Stephen's Day (hence his first name) to Carroll Allen and Belle Montrose, Irish-American Catholics. Milton Berle once called Belle Montrose "the funniest woman in vaudeville." After years in radio, Allen conceived a local New York talk-variety TV program in 1953 for what is now WNBC-TV. The following year, on September 27, 1954, the show went on the full NBC network as The Tonight Show, with fellow radio personality Gene Rayburn as the original announcer/sidekick. The show ran from 11:15 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. on the East Coast. While Pat Weaver, the developer of The Today Show, is often credited as Tonight's creator as well, Allen often pointed out that the show had already been "created" — by himself — as a local show. "This is Tonight, and I can't think of too much to tell you about it except I want to give you the bad news first: this program is going to go on forever," Allen told his nationwide audience that first evening. "Boy, you think you're tired now. Wait until you see one o'clock roll around." It was as host of The Tonight Show that Allen pioneered the "man on the street" and audience-participation comedy bits that have become commonplace in late-night TV. In 1956, while still hosting Tonight, Allen added a Sunday-evening variety show. The Allen programs helped nurture the careers of singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme and Sammy Davis, Jr. Allen also provided a nationwide audience for his famous "man on the street" — comics such as Ernie Kovacs, Pat Harrington, Jr., Don Knotts, Louis Nye, Bill Dana, Dayton Allen, and Tom Poston. Allen remained host of Tonight until 1957, when he left. (After an ill-fated nightlife-oriented replacement Tonight! America After Dark, the old Tonight format returned later in the year with Jack Paar at the helm.) Allen amassed a huge windfall for his work because he had opted to be paid in Polaroid stock. John Antonelli's 1985 documentary Kerouac, the Movie starts and ends with footage of Kerouac reading from On the Road as Allen accompanies on soft jazz piano, on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show in 1959. "Are you nervous?" Allen asks him, and Kerouac answers, nervously, "Naw." Allen went on to host a slew of television programs up until the 1980s, including the game show I've Got a Secret and The New Steve Allen Show in 1961. He was a regular on the extremely popular panel game show What's My Line? from 1953 to 1954 and returned as a guest panelist until the series' end in 1967. From 1986 through 1988, Allen hosted a daily 3-hour comedy show that was heard nationally on the NBC Radio Network, featuring sketches and comedians as regular guests. His co-host was radio personality Mark Simone and they were joined frequently by comedy writers Larry Gelbart, Herb Sargent and Bob Einstein. Allen was also a composer who supposedly wrote over 7,000 songs. In one famous stunt, he made a bet with singer-songwriter Frankie Laine that he could write fifty songs a day for a week. Composing on public display in the window of a Hollywood music store, Allen met the quota, winning $1,000 from Laine. One of the songs "Let's Go to Church Next Sunday" was recorded by both Perry Como and Margaret Whiting. Allen's best-known songs are "This Could Be the Start of Something Big" and "The Gravy Waltz," which won a Grammy Award in 1963 for best jazz composition. Allen was also an actor, appearing in such films as The Benny Goodman Story, starring as Benny Goodman, in 1955. Allen was also the producer of the award-winning PBS series Meeting of Minds, a "talk show" with actors playing notable historical figures, with Steve Allen as host. This series pitted Socrates, Marie Antoinette, Thomas Paine, Sir Thomas More, Attila the Hun, Karl Marx, Emily Dickinson, Charles Darwin, Galileo Galilei, and other historical figures in dialogue and argument. A proposed revival of this show was rejected as "too cerebral." He was also an comedy writer and author of over fifty books, including Dumbth, a commentary on the American educational system, and Steve Allen on the Bible, Religion, and Morality. In 1990, Allen was a guest at Wrestlemania VI, which included him humorously singing to Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukov in a bathroom at the Skydome, as well as guest commentating with Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura. Allen was a secular humanist and Humanist Laureate for the Academy of Humanism, a member of CSICOP and the Council for Secular Humanism. He was a student and supporter of general semantics, recommending it in Dumbth and giving the Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture in 1992. Allen was a supporter of world government and served on the World Federalist Association Board of Advisers. In spite of his liberal position on free speech, his later concerns about the smuttiness he observed on television caused him to make proposals restricting the content of programs, allying himself with the Parents Television Council. He was also notoriously contemptuous of rock 'n' roll music. On one occasion, in a spirit of not-so-subtle mockery, he had Elvis Presley wear a top hat and tails while singing "Hound Dog" to an actual hound, who was similarly attired. Allen also was known to "interpret" the lyrics of actual rock songs to his audience as little more than a series of grunts. Allen's second wife was actress Jayne Meadows, by whom he had one son. They were married from 1954 until his death in 2000. He died of a cardiac disease triggered by a previous minor traffic accident the same day (October 30, 2000) at the age of 78 and is interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park at Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, California. Steve Allen has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: a TV star at 1720 Vine St. and a radio star at 1537 Vine St. Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 7/1/06 1:54pm Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing the Tonight Show Starring Steve Allen) - Date Edited: 7/7/06 1:03pm (1 edits total) Edited By: Zaz
	I never saw any of the shows hosted hosted by him. I do recall being bored by his rants against smuttiness, however.
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 7/7/06 5:28am Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In) - Date Edited: 7/7/06 5:40am (1 edits total) Edited By: RX_Sith
	This week I will discuss one of NBC's top variety shows that featured a very large cast of regulars. Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In The show ran on NBC during the late 60's and early 70's. January 22, 1968 - May 14, 1973 NBC Comedy-Variety Series - 124 Episodes Hosts: Dan Rowan Dick Martin Regulars: Gary Owens, Ruth Buzzi, Judy Carne, Eileen Brennan, Lisa Farringer, Sarah Kennedy, Flip Wilson, Sammy Davis Jr., Goldie Hawn, Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Alan Sues, Roddy Maude-Roxby, Jo Anne Worley, Donna Jean Young, Pigmeat Markham, Charlie Brill, Dick Whittington, Mitzi McCall, Chelsea Brown, Dave Madden, Ann Elder, Teresa Graves, Jeremy Lloyd, Lily Tomlin, Tod Bass, Byron Gilliam, Nancie Phillips, Barbara Sharma, Johnny Brown, Dennis Allen, Pamela Rodgers, Harvey Jason, Richard Dawson, Moosie Drier, Patti Deutsch, Jud Strunk, Brian Bressler, Larry Hovis, Betty Ann Carr, Muriel Landers, Elaine Beckett, Willie Tyler. The Beautiful Downtown Beauties: Janice Whitby, Rosetta Cox, Joy Robiero, Adele Yoshioka, Kyra Carlton, and Meredith Bernhart. Laugh-In provided the first showcase for Tiny Tim and "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was one of TV's classics, one of those rare programs which was not only an overnight sensation, but was highly innovative, created a raft of new stars, and started trends in comedy which other programs would follow. Laugh-In crystallized a kind of contemporary, fast-paced, unstructured comedy "happening" that was exactly what an agitated America wanted in 1968. Laugh-In was first seen as a one-time special on September 9, 1967. It was such an enormous hit that it inevitably led to a series. Its lightning-fast pace took full advantage of the technical capabilities of television and video tape. Blackouts, sketches, one-liners, and cameo appearances by famous show-business celebrities and even national politicians were all edited into a frenetic whole. The regular cast was large and the turnover high, and of the 40 regulars who appeared in the series only four were in it from beginning to end, the two hosts, announcer Gary Owens, and Ruth Buzzi. The essence of Laugh-In was shtick, a comic routine or trademark repeated over and over until it was closely associated with a performer. People love it, come to expect it, and talk about it the next morning after the show. All great comedians have at least one, but what was remarkable about Laugh-In was that it developed a whole repertore of sight gags and catchphrases using little-known talent exclusively (though some of them became quite famous later). Among the favorites: Arte Johnson as the German Soldier, peering out from behind a potted palm murmering, "Verrry interesting!"; Ruth Buzzi as Gladys, the little old lady with the hand bag, forever whacking the equally decrepit Tyrone who snuggled up beside her on a park bench; Lily Tomlin as the sarcastic, nasal telephone operator named Ernestine; Gary Owens as the outrageously overmodulated announcer, facing the microphone, hand cupped over ear; Alan Sues as the grinning moron of a sports announcer; Goldie Hawn, as the giggling dumb blonde; Lily Tomlin as Edith Anne, a child philosopher whose catchphrase was "and that's the truth," and so on. Some of the devices of the show were the Cocktail Party, Letters to Laugh-In, The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award, Laugh-In Looks at the News, the gags written on the undulating body of a girl in a bikini, and the joke wall at the close of each show, in which cast members kept popping out of windows to throw each other one-liners--or a bucket of water. Some of the classic catch phrases were: "Sock it to me," "You bet your bippy," "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnails," "Here come de judge!," and "Beautiful Downtown Burbank." The pace never let up. If it wasn't a short clip of a raincoated adult falling off a tricycle, it was a shot of Richard Nixon solemnly declaring "Sock it to me." It didn't even end at the closing credits, as jokes kept flying and, finally, one pair of hands was heard clapping until a station break forcibly took over. Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 7/7/06 1:08pm Subject: RE: TV Variety Shows: (Now Discussing Rowan and Martin's "Laugh-In."
	Only seen clips of this one, and I guess you had to be there. Did start the careers of a lot of people, Hawn and Tomlin being the most famous.
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