Posted on 01/31/2005 7:23:30 PM PST by John W
NEW YORK - David Letterman paid tribute to Johnny Carson on Monday by telling his jokes. On his first "Late Show" since Carson's death on Jan. 23, Letterman's opening monologue was comprised entirely of jokes that Carson had quietly sent to him over the past few months from retirement in California.
Letterman didn't tell the audience until after the monologue was over who wrote the jokes. His guest on Monday's show, former Carson producer Peter Lassally, had revealed a few days before Carson had died that the retired "Tonight" show host missed his nightly monologue and had written jokes for Letterman.
"I moved to Los Angeles from Indianapolis in 1975, and the reason I moved is because of Johnny Carson and the `Tonight' show," Letterman said. "And I'm not the only one. I would guess that maybe three generations of comedians moved to be where Johnny was because if you thought you were funny and you wanted to find out if you could hit major league pitching, you had to be on the `Tonight' show."
Letterman said his first "Tonight" appearance led to his first NBC show.
"Truthfully, no stretch of the imagination, I owe everything in my professional career, whatever success we've attained, to Johnny Carson, because he was nice enough to give me the opportunity, and throughout my career, was always very supportive."
The entire show was devoted to Carson, filled with reminiscences from Lassally and Letterman.
At the end, Carson's old bandleader Doc Severinsen and his band - including put-upon sax player Tommy Newsome - performed one of Carson's favorite songs, "Here's That Rainy Day."
When Carson retired in May 1992, it set up a battle between Letterman and Jay Leno over who would succeed him. NBC chose Leno - but the joke pipeline was an indication that Carson privately considered Letterman the better host.
Letterman's CBS show was in reruns last week, allowing Leno the jump on a late-night Carson tribute. Leno's highly rated show last week included former Carson sidekick Ed McMahon and comics Bob Newhart and Don Rickles.
Letterman said everybody who's doing a talk show, himself included, is secretly doing Carson's "Tonight" show.
"The reason we're all doing Johnny's `Tonight' is because you think, `Well, if I do Johnny's "Tonight" show, maybe I'll be a little like Johnny and people will like me more,'" he said. "But it sadly doesn't work that way. It's just, if you're not Johnny, you're wasting your time."
However, if you don't think John Wayne was mourned after his death, you weren't in Texas. he's danged near a saint, here.
ROTFLOL!
I'm so glad you watched him...
naughty little boy weren't you?
I went to bed with Johnny Carson
for YEARS, even tho I never met him.
Carson had a vindictive personality that is not mentioned. He did not speak to his child for a decade, to his brother for a decade, to Leno for two decades.
He had the best timing. Ever.
It was so hot in Burbank today....
[how hot was it?]
It was so hot in Burbank today, the people at Burger King were saying "if you wanna have it your way, make it yourself."
SO WHAT?
YOU do NOT know his reasons either.
Oh, and you omitted Joan Rivers.
The others you listed are suspect.
Leno liked him.
His brother worked for him
and his sons were at his bedside.
Another son died in an auto accident
and Johnny was devasted.
The smog in L.A. was so bad today.
How bad was it?
It was so bad, I saw tourists from Iowa sucking the air out of their tires on the side of the road.
LOL!
Yes, his timing and his looks into the camera.
Cute guy.
Wanted to take him home. :)
He had the ability to keep a show going for 30 years with basically no controversy. Content was clean, but sharp. Don't think I was ever bored with any part of it during those years. He also had, IMO, the best timing of anyone in the business. He had the great gift of truly listening to his guests, and in doing so he was able to play off them with some of the most priceless facial expressions ever.
One other thing outside of his skits I never found his humor forced or obvious as I do Letterman.
You reek of troll.
For the life of me I cannot see why anyone thinks Letterman is funny.
What is that mean?
He was great in the 80s.
He was great in the 80s.
It's even worse, since they tapped Conan as a replacement for Jay.
Conan's about as funny as a pair of dirty socks.
I don't even watch his crap anymore.
Notice that they were jokes he had not used before. I can only conclude that Carson sent them in, but Letterman's staff didn't think them good enough to put in the monologue. If so, Letterman needs some new staff.
I guess you have to be of a certain age to appreciate what it meant to watch The Tonight Show when it was in its prime. In those days before cable TV and the Internet, that was why you stayed up late on weeknights. Carson was the innovator. He never stopped being funny and kept it real throughout his long career.
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