Monday, February 11, 2019

Heeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny

Improv at its best.  A famous pianist was supposed to perform one night on The Tonight Show but as fate would have it, he accidentally slammed a car door on his hand that day and was unable to perform.  How did the King if Late Night handle this catastrophe?



Johnny later invited Mr. Tolley to perform again. Apologies for the poor video quality.





28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good find. The guy playing "Cats" in flip-flops was a nice touch.

Anonymous said...

Not a peep of smart assery about politics. Just brilliance. I miss Johnny.

Anonymous said...

My how late night television has so degraded..These present day punks have no clue.

Anonymous said...

I have come so close a couple of times in purchasing all of he Tonight Show videos because quite simply they make me laugh and smile. Agree with you 6:32-

Anonymous said...

Johnny Carson was the best. I was too young to stay up for his show on school nights, but I'd occasionally see it on Friday nights or when school was out if he had a guest I wanted to see. Those were the days when late night shows were worth staying up for.

For anyone who's interested, here's a David Tolley AMA thread from reddit.

Anonymous said...

Johnny and the producer he was talking to off-camera, Freddy de Cordova, had a tense relationship. Read Johnny Carson's biography!!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful memory. I miss this type of entertainment and would once again stay up late to watch it. No sex; no drugs; nothing to offend. Just pure fun that came into our homes and hearts.

Anonymous said...

Johnny was class. He knew how to host a great show. I also loved watching the celebrity roasts that used to be on TV in the 70’s. People then knew how to tell a joke without vulgarity. I still watch Dean Martin’s Celebrity Roast on You Tube with Don Rickles! Today’s Hollywood would railroad him out. I don’t watch any awards show anymore due to the left responding negatively about our “invasion” that is occurring.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for these clips. I used to watch Johnny as a young person and loved the entertainment. Stopped watching late night shows due to politicization of every damn thing. Again, thanks.

Anonymous said...

Johnny and the producer he was talking to off-camera, Freddy de Cordova, had a tense relationship.

So what? Why does it matter?

Anonymous said...

Thank you Kingfish for brightening an otherwise gloomy, rainy day. Carson was the best. I watched him from when he took over until his final show. What a sad night for late night television when he retired.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I too miss Johnny.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what Carson's ratings were verses the current cast of politically charged hosts with dubious talents?

Me thinks, Johnny's ratings were much higher. Yet the execs will blame the lower ratings on Netflix, etc. Try getting hosts with talent and who don't insult 50% of your target audience. Maybe they hired these execs from newspapers.

Anonymous said...

8:32 AM, I think you mean Mr. Rogers. Carson could be raunchy, edgy and controversial on any given night.

Anonymous said...

Those nimrods on today, whoever they are, couldn't tie Carson's shoes.

Anonymous said...

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson was the BEST. He was the greatest.
I have completely quit watching late nite talk shows. Todays late nite talk show hosts are all real pieces of garbage. All they do is attack Trump & other conservatives. Real pieces of Sh*t from Hollywood!

Anonymous said...

When Johnny was doing a tribute to his late son who had just died as a result of a car accident (the son was also struggling with alcoholism and holding down a job), Freddy de Cordova waved his hand to Johnny to let him know he was about to run out of time for a commercial break. After that, Johnny never wanted to be on the set with Freddy around. A significant event in Tonight Show history.

9:14 AM, may a diseased yak squat in your hot tub.

Anonymous said...

Carson wouldn't work for today. The public has eaten the poisonous fruit and now expects any late show to be political and hostile. Standup comedians are now expected to be political and angry. Carson used to do political humor from time to time, mixed with fart jokes and auto-biographical jokes on subjects like divorce and so forth.

Part of what made Carson, Letterman and Leno so great was also the guests and bands. I don't think even Carson could make interviews with Lego 2 stars or Ariana Grande funny or interesting.

Anonymous said...

Seeing these videos made me feel great and old at the same time. Oh, how I still miss Johhny Carson. No late night host has come near replacing him.

Thanks for the memories, KF.

Carnac the Magnificent said...

And the answer is....

Anonymous said...

Did you know that Johnny went to Millaps after the war.

Anonymous said...

He went to Millsaps on the V-12 program but didn't finish. He finished his degree at the Univ. of Nebraska. His surviving classmates don't think too highly of him, due to his aloofness.

Anonymous said...

@1:53

You are correct that he was at Millsaps, but it was during WWII for training in the V-12 Navy program that was held at Millsaps. This article has more information.

https://tyof2014.blogspot.com/2017/07/johnny-carson-at-millsaps-college-rest.html

Anonymous said...

I like 11:22’s last Statement. Now THATS funny and original!!

Anonymous said...

<< 9:14 AM, may a diseased yak squat in your hot tub. >> . . YESSSSSSS !! !!

Anonymous said...

David Tolley is still around and on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/DavidTolleyMusic

Anonymous said...

Diseased yak bit is a ripoff of Carson. Not original.

Anonymous said...

If you guys use rabbit ears, you can watch Carson replays on one of the Fox 40 substations. I cannot remember the time slot. For you guys that thought he was so clean, your memories must be failing you. While he wasn't outright dirty by any stretch, he had some moments that caused you to raise an eyebrow in the 70's and 80's.


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