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Leno laments today's late-night shows: 'Everyone has to know your politics'
The Hill ^ | 03/12/19 | JOE CONCHA

Posted on 03/13/2019 6:16:39 AM PDT by Leaning Right

Former NBC "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno said Tuesday that he doesn't miss hosting a late-night show and lamented that “everyone has to know your politics” now during an interview with NBC's Al Roker.

"Do you miss being on the show, or is it such a different time that it would be hard to do?" "Today Show" host Roker asked Leno.

"No, it’s different. I don’t miss it. You know, everything now is, if people don’t like your politics, they — everyone has to know your politics," Leno replied.

"I kind of used Johnny’s model. People couldn’t figure out.

(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: leno; saturdaynightlive; saturdaynightvile; snl
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I still occasionally catch myself thinking, "I wonder who's on Leno tonight." I'll turn on the Tonight Show, watch for a minute, get disgusted, then turn it off.
1 posted on 03/13/2019 6:16:39 AM PDT by Leaning Right
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To: Leaning Right

I like comedy. And I even like political comedy.

But the stuff that is on now is not even clever, let alone funny. If it was funny, I would still be watching.


2 posted on 03/13/2019 6:18:51 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (If we get Medicare for all, will we have to show IDs for service? Why?)
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To: Vermont Lt

Though I think Seinfeld and DEFINITELY the creator, Larry David, are leftists, I was impressed when Seinfeld really got pi##ed about there only being white comedians on his new sow at the time, comedians in cars, or something like that.

He could have gone the route of “i’m sooooooo sorry!!!!” etc. etc. but he didn’t.

Maybe it needs to hit home more for leftists to wake up.


3 posted on 03/13/2019 6:21:29 AM PDT by dp0622 (The Left should know if.. Trump is kicked out of office, it is WAR!)
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To: Leaning Right

I haven’t seen late night tv in many years, but I recall a time when Leno’s jokes all seemed to revolve around: george bush has the mind of an infant, Jennifer Lopez has a big butt, and british people have bad teeth. I only sat through it to get to monday night’s headlines.

Sometime (2000-2008) his writers went on strike and he was funny again! The writers came back eventually and the monologue went to crap again.


4 posted on 03/13/2019 6:21:55 AM PDT by posterchild
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To: Leaning Right

Leno was a great addition to “Last Man Standing”. One episode even poked fun at his tour on the Tonight Show.


5 posted on 03/13/2019 6:22:17 AM PDT by rjsimmon (The Tree of Liberty Thirsts)
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To: Vermont Lt

Who was that piano-playing goofball on PBS that made jokes about politics. Gads, he was tiresome.

At the time, he was unique because no very few were doing entire shows of political comedy. Then, it became popular and zombies paid money for their shows.

Now, there is no such thing as political comedy because, lefties have no sense of humor and...well, who could fabricate AOC?


6 posted on 03/13/2019 6:27:03 AM PDT by Cletus.D.Yokel (Catastrophic, Anthropogenic Climate Alterations: The acronym explains the science.)
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To: Vermont Lt

So much hate from the left.


7 posted on 03/13/2019 6:27:10 AM PDT by dhs12345
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To: Cletus.D.Yokel

Mark Russell.


8 posted on 03/13/2019 6:28:13 AM PDT by Hillarys Gate Cult
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To: dp0622

There’s a difference somewhat in being a liberal of he past and then being this SJW ‘woke’ millennial crazy AOC-style progressive. You can see even now in D.C. that these old school liberals are kind of taken a back by these new radicals that make up the new left. Think of it as FDR liberalism is bashed and looked down upon by today’s nuts


9 posted on 03/13/2019 6:28:53 AM PDT by Bigtigermike
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To: Vermont Lt

> But the stuff that is on now is not even clever, let alone funny. <

You’re right. Here’s what passes for late-night comedy these days:

Host: “Trump, he’s an idiot.”
Audience: Ha ha ha.


10 posted on 03/13/2019 6:29:38 AM PDT by Leaning Right (I have already previewed or do not wish to preview this composition.)
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To: rjsimmon
"Leno was a great addition to “Last Man Standing”. One episode even poked fun at his tour on the Tonight Show."

Leno IS a great addition...

We have been enjoying the show on Fox.

11 posted on 03/13/2019 6:29:40 AM PDT by BBB333 (The Power Of Trump Compels You!)
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To: Leaning Right

Johnny Carson will never be replaced.


12 posted on 03/13/2019 6:31:44 AM PDT by moovova
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To: Bigtigermike

I was saying on here yesterday or the day before that some show I liked in the 80s and 90s had a liberal taint to it but not enough to stop watching.

Movies too.

They made a few dumb comments but not every third character was gay, no trannies, no visceral hatred towards whites, etc.

I think these new psychos will be buried by the lesser psychotic in the dem party.


13 posted on 03/13/2019 6:31:48 AM PDT by dp0622 (The Left should know if.. Trump is kicked out of office, it is WAR!)
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To: Leaning Right

Carson’s monologues rarely mentioned the President at all regardless of who it was. And if Carson did mention the President he never went more than three jokes about it per night. That was his limit for every topic. Leno pretty much followed that same formula. It certainly kept their monologues fresh and appealing to most Americans watching them.


14 posted on 03/13/2019 6:31:56 AM PDT by Ciaphas Cain ("Socialism is a war crime against oneÂ’s own people." -- tinyowl on 03/11/2019)
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To: Leaning Right

“You’re right. Here’s what passes for late-night comedy these days:

Host: “Trump, he’s an idiot.”
Audience: Ha ha ha.”

You are correct...

Idiocracy:

In 2505 the Best Picture award goes to ‘ASS’ a film about a man’s buttox passing gas. The crowd watches and laughs...


15 posted on 03/13/2019 6:33:16 AM PDT by BBB333 (The Power Of Trump Compels You!)
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To: Leaning Right
I used to like Jimmy Fallon, then he got political like Kimmel and that asswipe on CBS (don't know his name, don't care to ...) and I just had to turn it off.

My TV may get turned on once or twice a week for a movie or something and that's about it. Otherwise it's just a big 55" curved TV that occupies space on a wall and does nothing else useful.

16 posted on 03/13/2019 6:35:37 AM PDT by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: Vermont Lt

Jay Leno in Americathon. This is a very funny movie that is political, sort of.
https://youtu.be/G2bu5ECBtMQ


17 posted on 03/13/2019 6:39:28 AM PDT by hardspunned
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To: Leaning Right

The problem with the late night “comedy” shows - including SNL - and the reason I don’t watch any more is that they’re not funny. It’s all just really bitter jibes made exclusively by Leftists exclusively directed at anybody who is not a Northeastern/Left Coast Leftist. That’s simply not worth watching.


18 posted on 03/13/2019 6:49:33 AM PDT by FLT-bird
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To: moovova

Johnny Carson was genuinely funny. He didn’t have to resort to vulgarity or mean-spiritedness.

What’s more, he seemed to enjoy what he did. I got the impression that he had as much fun as anybody.

The same with the Carol Burnette Show. Very funny, and they were constantly breaking each other up. They seemed to be a group of people who enjoyed their work and enjoyed working with each other.

I don’t find most “comedians” funny these days. I think there’s a lack of talent out there, or else what talent there is has been stifled by political correctness. IMHO, it takes a lot more talent to be Johnny Carson, Carol Burnette, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, etc than to do what passes for comedy these days.

Most things that were funny 40 or more years ago, if you watch clips now, are still funny.


19 posted on 03/13/2019 7:08:02 AM PDT by susannah59
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To: Leaning Right

Never did like Leno, even when he was just one of Carson’s guests and occasionally filled in when Carson was on vacation. When Carson retired, they had 3 people taking turns hosting the show while they picked which one to use, Leno, Arsenio Hall and one other I can’t remember. Either would have been better than Leno...he was never a good comedian to begin with.

Carson was basically irreplaceable. He cracked jokes about literally everybody, including Presidents, but it was never malicious, always just good fun and that was obvious. And he did it with them sitting right there beside him, usually laughing as hard as anyone else. Today it’s all nasty, malicious insults disguised as comedy. You could watch Carson every night, and never figure out his politics, I wouldn’t even try to guess which direction he would vote.

I saw Carson with governors, Presidents, corporate CEOs, actors, and the biggest names in Hollyweird too, always funny, never disrespectful, and usually had them laughing at themselves. Well, except for Zsa Zsa Gabor and her cat...he got sued over that one...

Also highly intelligent and very well informed. Carson would research everyone who appeared on his show, read 3 newspapers every morning, and surprised his guests when they realized he actually knew what he was talking about. One of the quickest wits on TV, he could throw out one liners and have you rolling off the couch laughing all night, and never get anywhere close to the vicious, insulting garbage we see now.

I haven’t watched late night TV at all since he retired, except for Letterman a little here and there, pretty good but not even in the ball park with Carson, he was king of late night TV.


20 posted on 03/13/2019 7:08:23 AM PDT by Paleo Pete (It's not a toe, it's a furniture location device!)
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