I grew up during the later years of the Tonight Show and during its run I was a kid so I was in bed mostly when the show was on. The only late night show I was allowed to see late was Saturday Night Live since it was'nt on a "school night" and my parents would make popcorn and we would watch it together.

There are many stories about Johnny. Some say he wasnt a very nice person, or that the person we saw on stage was not the real person he was in life. I think this might hold true with actors who play a role we like and find out that they are far different than that role, but in the beginning we saw Johnny five nights a week for what used to be an hour and a half which was trimmed down to an hour by 1980 or so.

It has been said and this is true that ironically Johnny was a shy individual personally who basically eschewed parties and seperated himself from the greater Hollywood celebrity set. Basically he did his job and went home. He did have some friends and people he liked but he was content with being left alone. I think when he did have to go out and mingle with the famous people, he drank too much so that he could get through these occasions. Alcohol lessens fear and makes one more open and accesable. Problem is that Johnny would drink too much and the crazy would come out. Doesnt make the man bad, its the alcohol and I am not saying he was an alcoholic. （Although he did get a DUI in the 1980's）People of his generation drank a lot and alcohol was accepted as well as smoking like a chimney. That is what Johnny was addicted to, in his words, "Those damn cigarettes."

I think that was sort of his problem with his marriages was that he wanted to be left alone in his free time and be emotionally distant. His later wife Joanna would say that it was difficult to connect with him on any level. I am sure the wives wanted to go out and have fun, Johnny didnt. He again had a few close friends he enjoyed being with and that's it. He was married four times and the fourth marriage stuck probably because the fourth wife understood him. She probably craved privacy also.

I think his on screen persona was also him and the man was very friendly and charming. I say this because he would have "Regular folks" on like the very elderly (over 90 year old) farmer from Toulon Illinois (look this up on Youtube...Johnny talks with farmer...should take you there) and he was as nice, friendly and down home with this man as could be. Or when the lasy from the zoo (Joyce Embrey) came on with the animals and Johnny held the baby orangatan and it was just heartwarming, it wasnt fake on him, this was him.

There is going to be a movie about Carson in the near future starring Gordon Levitt (He uses three names but this is close enough) who does have a passing familarity to Carson. It should be interesting, but I hope they dont make him to be some awful person because he wasnt. He was a normal human being like the most of the rest of us (outside of sociopaths and serial killers which is why I say MOST). It should be interesting if done correctly.

Any thoughts. HEEEERES JOHHHHNY!

I recall an episode from the 70s in which he debated with an author about his role in our culture. He was very decisively of the opinion that his job was to entertain, and not to be a spokesman for ideology.

I thought he was really good like 1968-1980. But after a while the show started feeling like the episodes were "cookie-cuttered" out. Maybe it was the guests who no longer interested me, maybe it was me that changed. but I believe he had been off the air a couple years before I "discovered" he was no longer the host.

In fact, I think it was only after hearing some commentary about Jay Leno's handling of the show, did I realize "oh, so Carson finally gave it up?

Yanno? I believe it was Joan Rivers who drove me away from that show..during her little substitute gigs...and one time came that I just never went back after Johnny returned.

Gentleman Jim wrote:

"But after a while the show started feeling like the episodes were "cookie-cuttered" out".

I think you have a point, you mentioned 68-80, in September of 80 the show went from 90 minutes to 60 minutes, the iconic George Burns once commented to the effect that when The Tonight Show went from 90 minutes to 60 minutes it was no longer The Tonight Show. The monologue and the last half hour were the secret sauce of that show. The final half hour featured authors, off beat guests, celebrities' letting their hair down, a Bill Buckley or Truman Capote, or Gore Vidal might show up and stir up a hornet's nest. With that half hour lost the show seemed to lose its mojo, becoming instead a good hour of entertainment most nights, but nothing exceptional. It was no longer a water cooler show.

In the 90 minute format they had more room for the all the trademark bits--the Mighty Carson Art Players (Teatime Movie with Carol Wayne), Carnac, Aunt Blabby, Stump the Band (which you never see in syndication), etc. They almost always had a comedy bit after his monologue, and there was plenty of time for everything.

But as time went on Carson became more greedy--reduced to 60 minutes, Mondays off, more money.

Still, there is no late night show now that has any talent that even approaches his.

Yep, and additionally after doing some research.....recalling now how starting in 1981, Carson got a new contract where he only worked 37 weeks a year, and only 3 nights a week during those weeks, with every tuesday being a "Best of Carson" re-run.....I really had enough.

When it became a "wait, what night is it?" affair,...I drifted away for good.

The 90 minute shows from the 70's are the classics, I stopped watching in the 80's when the show was reduced to an hour and Carson was seemingly absent half of the time with a substitute host in his place.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1t8-x3uOSqY

A favorite video.

I am sure you would have been allowed to stay up Friday night to watch it. TV announcer Randy West has a book coming out called TV Inside Out which documents TV stars behind the scenes and will talk about Johnny extensively. In fact, he is on the cover! He has plenty to talk about with the Johnny-Joan debacle as well as a fight with Tom Snyder in the early 70s at Chassen's restaurant.

The final half hour featured authors, off beat guests, celebrities' letting their hair down, a Bill Buckley or Truman Capote, or Gore VidalGore Vidal might be the most boring guest I have ever seen on Johnny Carson. :seeya:

Johnny's least favorite guest was Bob Hope. The two had personality differences and different approaches to comedy. However, Bob Hope had the right by the network to just show up and be on that night's show, which probably rankled Carson and the staff because someone would have to be bumped to have Hope on there with Johnny having to play nice to the guy he didnt really like.

Johnny to me shined when he had "regular folk" with a story to tell or special ability/talent. They got this one guy on there who made jewelry out of bird feces. The guy was a farmer from Union, South Carolina (which Johnny had no idea where this was, I knew it because of Susan Smith drowning her kids). The guy dressed like he just got off the tractor. Another guy was a 95 year old farmer from Toulon, Illinois. This is where Johnny shined to me, having these off beat folks on. The lady who worked in the zoo bringing animals on the show was interesting and Johnny seemed to have a love for animals, and once she brought to baby orangatans and Johnny held one as a baby. The ape did have a diaper on which would be my concern holding the animal, to not get peed on.

Who can forget back in the early 1960's, B&W days when he had the axe thrower on the show and where the axe thrower hit the target. Youtube this and if you have the clip, add this to this thread (I cannot).

Plus I think the 1970's and 1980's, there just seemed to be a better class of celebrities and we find it more interesting now perhaps since most all of them are now dead. If nothing else, there was Don Rickles!

I am very happy that YouTube has many, many Carson clips

Johnny Carson's YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/c/johnnycarson/videos

"Who can forget back in the early 1960's, B&W days when he had the axe thrower on the show and where the axe thrower hit the target."

That was ED AMES. A member of the AMES BROTHERS singing group.
He Also played MINGO, Fess Parker's Indian sidekick on Daniel Boone in the late 50's.

Carson was always in color, but a lot of tapes were wiped before he finally intervened. The Ames clip is from a black and white kinescope that was made for whatever reason.

According to this clip's intro, its the oldest surviving color clip, from 1964:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg-R9tnEXso

EDIT:

Of course, here's another one, slightly older--more stuff is always being found. This cool one even includes the NBC peacock open:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW0_npkgG_M

Here's one more from 1968. Interesting thing here is that they go immediately to a commercial before Carson is introduced --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx7QVHhn7wk

"Who can forget back in the early 1960's, B&W days when he had the axe thrower on the show and where the axe thrower hit the target."

That was ED AMES. A member of the AMES BROTHERS singing group.
He Also played MINGO, Fess Parker's Indian sidekick on Daniel Boone in the late 50's.


Actually, Daniel Boone ran from 1964 - 1970.

I loved Johnny Carson's show. Yes, a lot of the bad stuff was true. Johnny was not a friendly person, although he could be very generous. He did reduce the show to an hour three days a week and took every fourth week off, squeezing NBC for every penny he could. He was also a mean drunk, and cheated on his wives. He did get lazy towards the end of the show's run.

But he was also the greatest talk show host in American TV history and provided 30 years of entertainment far and above anything that existed before or since.

I remember reading a story a long time ago where Carson had Morrissey on at the height of his fame. Carson didn't really know who Morrissey was or his fan-base. Young people waited for days outside to get tickets. Bill Cosby was a guest and had his usual older-person focused stand-up planned. When he saw the young audience, he immediately ran back and re-wrote his entire routine. Carson didn't make any changes and completely bombed. REALLY bombed. He was visibly upset. He didn't even thank Morrissey when it was over and just stormed off the stage, leaving the guests and Ed McMahon behind. People who saw it said the entire show was bizarre.

As Johnny might have said, I did not know that! here's the link.


https://www.vice.com/en/article/rdzm9m/when-morrissey-ruined-bill-cosbys-appearance-on-the-tonight-show

He was also a mean drunk.And yet he was constantly mocking Ed being a lush. :eek:

And yet he was constantly mocking Ed being a lush. :eek:

Ed was a bigger drinker than Johnny although in the early days of the show they would be out in NYC most nights drinking and carousing together. They weren't divorced a few times each for nothing.

Johnny eventually stopped drinking because it often got him into trouble. He would pick fights with people or go after married women in bars when he was drunk. Someone I know saw him slapping his wife in public on the street in Manhattan. I don't think he did any of this when he wasn't drunk.

Johnny mentored Tom Snyder and they were good friends up until they got into a fight at Chassen's restaurant in the 70s. Carson was drunk as hell. The story and other stories about Johnny are in the book TV Inside-Out.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02Jsp79V8ak4q3vcPEgq8joWGk9DaynXpgzL6HB6CGa9u5uuYQ8nMmGiRymAvB8jmkl&id=1380727306&m_entstream_source=timeline

Johnny Carson is the King of Late Night. There's never been a better all around host. Nobody has the quick wit like he did. He always asked good questions and let people talk. He could make non-celebrities interesting.

I didn't watch him very often when he was originally on, but I enjoy viewing the uploads on YouTube.

Behind the scenes, he seemed like kind of a control freak and wanted things his own way. I watched an interesting video a few months ago.

From the description:

During a 1968 AFL week 1 game between the Houston Oilers and Kansas City Chiefs, the Monday night national telecast, which started at 9 PM ET, ran long, and cut into The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. What happened next, and what NBC decided to do, directly impacted sports television history forever, as their decision on this day played a big part in the Heidi Game two months later. This is the story of the battle between the 1968 Chiefs and 1968 Oilers on NBC, and how it changed sports TV.

-mWgovxCRRc

I think one of the most memorable things was when the lady was on who had collected potato chips that looked like famous people, etc. Carson had a bowl of ordinary chips off to the side, and he crunched one when she was looking the other way. Her shocked reaction was priceless, thinking Johnny had bitten into one of her collectible chips...!

I remember that NBC aired “The Best of the Tonight Show” on Saturday nights, featuring “classic episodes of Johnny’s best shows,” as intoned by the late, great Ed McMahon on those promo commercials.

However, NBC replaced these classic Carson repeats with a new show called “Saturday Night Live” in 1975. Now, 47 years later, I have to ask, whatever became of that show?

I remember during the early 1960s, when the NBC affiliate out Philadelphia would air a pre-Tonight Show program with Ed McMahon and band leader Skitch Henderson essentially schmoozing for 15 minutes before Johnny came on. Does anyone else remember this show?

In addition, when people had home satellite dishes installed across the United States, they were able to pick-up an unexpurgated version of “The Tonight Show” when NBC would transmit the live taping of the show from Los Angeles to New York City for final editing before the show was aired at 11:30 PM on the East coast and the rest of the country.

Just imagine, you could have heard every “expletive-deleted” that any of Mr. Carson’s many guests might have inadvertently let slip on that legendary late-night show!

How Bob Hope Was Like a Relative Johnny Carson Had to Just Put Up With at Thanksgiving (https://popculturereferences.com/how-bob-hope-was-like-a-relative-johnny-carson-had-to-just-put-up-with-at-thanksgiving/)

Today, I explain how Bob Hope was like an elderly relative that Johnny Carson was forced to put up with on The Tonight Show.

Knowledge Waits (https://popculturereferences.com/category/knowledge-waits/) is a feature where I just share some bit of pop culture history that interests me that doesn’t quite fit into the other features.

Celebrity feuds are, of course, entertaining in and of themselves, but they’re typically about stuff that an everyday person can’t really necessarily relate to, unless someone tried to steal all of YOUR backup dancers, that is.

That is why I enjoy the sort of one-sided “feud” between Johnny Carson and Bob Hope, where really, what the situation was like was the very relatable “Elderly relative who you have to humor,” especially as we’re now in the holiday season, and a lot of people are going to have to deal with this exact situation.

Bob Hope, of course, was an NBC star before NBC was even a television station, as he was one (if not THE) biggest NBC radio star, with his highly rated radio show, The Pepsodent Show (eventually The Bob Hope Show), running from 1938-1948 (it was the top-rated radio show from 1942-44). He was lured into television in 1950, with the first of a shocking TWO HUNRED AND SEVENTY TWO TV specials for NBC. These specials were routinely major hits (Hope also hosted Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, for four seasons in the 1960s).

So Hope was NBC’s biggest star, by far, for many many years. He was the top well until the 1980s, when he was probably eclipsed by, I dunno, let’s say maybe Johnny Carson? Maybe Bill Cosby? I really don’t know, but I think it is safe to say that by the mid-1980s, Hope was not number one anymore, but he was still very important. He still did TWENTY-FIVE specials from 1985-1989, after all. So he was a big deal at NBC right until he turned 90 in 1993, and then he “only” did six more specials before passing away at 100 in 2003.

And AS NBC’s biggest star, he was given pretty much free reign to publicize these specials on NBC’s The Tonight Show whenever he wanted to, much to the chagrin of its iconic host, Johnny Carson. Carson didn’t, like, HATE Hope, and he certainly respected his work ethic and drive, but he didn’t particularly like Hope OR Hope’s brand of comedy. Tonight Show producer Peter Lassally explained to People a while back (https://people.com/tv/bob-hope-was-johnny-carsons-worst-tonight-show-guest/), “Johnny admired Hope’s place in show business, but he was not a great admirer of his work.” Since Hope was constantly promoting SOMEthing, he would be on the show all of the time, and as Lassaly noted, “We’d get a request and Johnny would go, ‘Again?’ And I’d say, ‘Do you want to tell him no?’ And he’d say, ‘No. You can’t turn down Bob Hope.'”

And there was the rub. Carson couldn’t tell him no, so he would just have to humor him, as Hope would consistently big dog him, but Carson had to suck it up and let Hope get through his shtick. One of the things Carson really hated was that Hope had all of his lines pre-written, and Carson had a set of questions he had to ask because Hope only had lines prepared for those specific questions.

Andrew Nicholls, Carson’s former co-head writer, also told People, “There was nothing spontaneous about Hope. He was a guy who relied on his writers for every topic. Johnny was very quick on his feet. Very well read. He was a guy who learned Swahili, learned Russian, learned astronomy. He appreciated people who he felt engaged with the real world. There was nothing to talk to Bob about.”

Carson was a pro, and Hope WAS a pro, as well, so the finished bits would be fine, but when you see a bunch of them, you can really begin to see the strain of Carson trying to just get through the interaction and move on (I first noticed this while watching Carson re-runs on Antenna TV, Hope would show up so often that when you see them all strung together, you get a real sense of “Oh wow, Carson actively doesn’t like talking to this guy”).

Nicholls even said that Carson once told him, referring to Hope’s later appearances, “If I ever end up like that, guys, I want you to shoot me.”

So it’s fascinating to watch, because it really isn’t like Carson HATED the guy. He clearly didn’t, and Hope didn’t seem to care enough about Carson to hate HIM, either, it was just this awkward bit where Hope wanted to promote his specials and Carson wanted to simply get through the interaction without too much trouble. If you’re having an awkward time with an elderly relative this holiday season, just try to pretend like you’re Johnny Carson and simply get to the clip package, whatever way you can!

There are many stories about Johnny. Some say he wasnt a very nice person, or that the person we saw on stage was not the real person he was in life. I think this might hold true with actors who play a role we like and find out that they are far different than that role, !

Last night, the Antenna TV installment was a 1980 Carson show where Raquel Welch and Carl Reiner were the guests.

And perhaps part of my sensitivity is a product of my recent awareness of #metoo type sensitivities, but Welch was clearly hostile towards some of the "compliments" Carson paid to her anatomy.

42 years ago I'm sure much of that would have gone right over my head, (as it obviously was going over Carson's head at the time) but she was clearly saying "hey, I'm a person dammit, don't be such a pig"....and Carson was mostly unfazed by it.

There was also some discussion about some tempest in a teapot that Welch was involved with, regarding some member of the press...and Welch flatly called out Carson twice with recollections of how Carson had reacted without decorum to ugly stories about him in the media......which you could see had a sobering effect on Carson as he was left with no other choice than to acknowldege she was correct.

It was actually a pearl of an episode for it's revelation that not all of Carson's guests were rosey with his antics. I'm shocked this one got shown, in fact

I don’t think that Johnny Carson really cared for Rich Little’s dead-on impression of him; he just seemed to tolerate it.

It has been known that oddly, Carson was shy in his private life and he rarely interacted with people outside his small, close circle of friends. Concerning his drinking, he probably did in social circles to get over his aprehension of being in these situations. My father is like Carson in that regard, he has lots of friends (or had since most of them have passed away since he is 90) but enjoys his privacy and we rarely has people in the house. Right after my mother died, one of his best friends showed up with his wife, adult daughter and teenage granddaughter. My father really didnt want to see them, but on the other hand was happy he had friends, if that makes sense. But my father never had anyone, including his friends invite him to dinners, or have drinks (he rarely drinks) or anything.....Problem is that Carson was in a very public industry and he more or less had to do social engagements, but as little as possible. Supposedly Letterman is sort of the same way, but without the boozing.

Ed McMahon was a consummate professional. However, I did see a video once of Ed coming back from a working social engagement (probably a network dinner or similar) and Ed was fairly intoxicated. I wish I knew the dialogue (or where to find the video) but Johnny was humourously messing with Ed. People of Ed and Johnny's generation drank, sometimes a lot. Yes, your grandparents and great grandparents were partiers.

Concerning Bob Hope, I have heard the same, Carson didnt like Hope and thought he was a pain in the behind. Supposedly from what I have read, Hope was given the right to just show up any night he wanted and be able to be interviewed, probably Hope or his people would call Carson's people and say "Bob will be on the show next Tuesday." Carson handler, "We got five guests on that night." Bob's handler, "Just bump someone."

I would have sort of been the opposite of Carson if all the questions were pre-prepared because I wouldnt have to think of lines or banter. Hope wants to talk about his millionth Holiday special, sure, these are the questions. Ask them, Hope answers them, be nice to Hope for fifteen minutes and then it is done. I would think the most difficult thing for Johnny (or the current crop of Late Night morons now) is having to think up questions and dialogue at the moment. Seems with Bob, ask the question written, let Bob talk (and Bob was interesting), fifteen minutes, it's done, wont have to worry about Bob again until next Thanksgiving or so.

Bob Hope was not my generation, but I grew up watching the older Hope from the 1970's until he died. I thought he was corny and his jokes were corny. He was an excellent entertainer and did a lot for the American Military doing shows for them from WWII, Korea and Vietnam (and maybe beyond). He did these shows for probably little to no compensation. Bob was an interesting guy.

Last night, the Antenna TV installment was a 1980 Carson show where Raquel Welch and Carl Reiner were the guests.

And perhaps part of my sensitivity is a product of my recent awareness of #metoo type sensitivities, but Welch was clearly hostile towards some of the "compliments" Carson paid to her anatomy.

42 years ago I'm sure much of that would have gone right over my head, (as it obviously was going over Carson's head at the time) but she was clearly saying "hey, I'm a person dammit, don't be such a pig"....and Carson was mostly unfazed by it.

There was also some discussion about some tempest in a teapot that Welch was involved with, regarding some member of the press...and Welch flatly called out Carson twice with recollections of how Carson had reacted without decorum to ugly stories about him in the media......which you could see had a sobering effect on Carson as he was left with no other choice than to acknowldege she was correct.

It was actually a pearl of an episode for it's revelation that not all of Carson's guests were rosey with his antics. I'm shocked this one got shown, in fact

After reading your write-up I took a look at the interview (it's available on YouTube), and it was cringeworthy to say the least. I think Carson was trying to help her, so was Reiner, she's not an easy guest and she seemed to be agitated and unprepared. She had two segments, she has almost nothing to say, she makes a comment on the 1980 election which gets zero reaction from the audience, she gets upset Carson points out to her that her comment was insider joke to explain why the audience didn't react. She was very uncomfortable, moving her arms constantly, at times she seems to be gritting her teeth. She was there to plug a special "From Raquel with Love", but she didn't really develop any stories about the special that would entertain the audience (this isn't Meet the Press), again Reiner tried to help her asking what role did Mickey Rooney play just to prompt her, but nothing. She makes a negative crack about NBC not scheduling a TV movie she had filmed for the network (The Legend of Walks Far Woman). The film completed in 1979 was considered a disaster by NBC executives and would not be shown until after the May sweeps in 1982! Raquel Welch was supposedly a nightmare to work with on that production, here's a quote from the film's director:

"Director Damski said his experience in making the movie was so unhappy – “the worst experience in my life” – that he still cannot watch the movie (or even discuss it) without having what he sees and what he says “colored by the personal relationship” he had with Raquel. Her behavior during the filming was “reprehensible” he said. “I went in thinking about an Emmy and I came out thinking about a Purple Heart.”

A performer had to bring their A game to The Tonight Show, Carson will help get you over but she couldn't sit fidgeting for almost 15 minutes saying next to nothing, this is not an Inside the Actors Studio interview.

I think that Johnny was basically a very good guy. Welch never had a rep for being very nice. I think Johnny just didn't like being pushed around by Hope regarding when Hope could appear. For Johnny to appear almost nightly for thirty years on a show and not become very annoying to the viewers is quite amazing. We all have personality quirks that would become annoying over time. But Johnny did one thing that I haven't seen any hosts do since him: if he made mistakes or did something annoying he would try to correct it. Now they don't correct their own or the show's mistakes and just keep doing them. It's like "Hey, who cares? That's me." That's one reason why Johhny was better, and deserved to be considered the best.

I also think it's a big misconception that Hope couldn't ad-lib. He probably just liked things laid out in interviews to make things go smoothly. Hope was sharp, and probably much funnier in person, than in the corny jokes on his specials. I remember seeing him when he was very old and hard of hearing on maybe the Donahue show. A middle-aged guy in the audience asked him the nonsensical question of "Do you know why pigs have tails?" and an old Hope came back with "We'll find out when you leave." And when Hope was very sick and asked by his wife where he wanted to be buried, the frail Hope said "surprise me." Hope was sharp till the end.

Extremely overrated celebrity.

Ed.

e37OJ0k7T20

Here's the absolutely crazy reason why Lola Falana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Falana), the reigning queen of Las Vegas during the 70s and 80s, found herself banned from TV's "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson".

Last night, the Antenna TV installment was a 1980 Carson show where Raquel Welch and Carl Reiner were the guests.

And perhaps part of my sensitivity is a product of my recent awareness of #metoo type sensitivities, but Welch was clearly hostile towards some of the "compliments" Carson paid to her anatomy.

42 years ago I'm sure much of that would have gone right over my head, (as it obviously was going over Carson's head at the time) but she was clearly saying "hey, I'm a person dammit, don't be such a pig"....and Carson was mostly unfazed by it.

There was also some discussion about some tempest in a teapot that Welch was involved with, regarding some member of the press...and Welch flatly called out Carson twice with recollections of how Carson had reacted without decorum to ugly stories about him in the media......which you could see had a sobering effect on Carson as he was left with no other choice than to acknowldege she was correct.

It was actually a pearl of an episode for it's revelation that not all of Carson's guests were rosey with his antics. I'm shocked this one got shown, in fact

After reading your write-up I took a look at the interview (it's available on YouTube), and it was cringeworthy to say the least. I think Carson was trying to help her, so was Reiner, she's not an easy guest and she seemed to be agitated and unprepared. She had two segments, she has almost nothing to say, she makes a comment on the 1980 election which gets zero reaction from the audience, she gets upset Carson points out to her that her comment was insider joke to explain why the audience didn't react. She was very uncomfortable, moving her arms constantly, at times she seems to be gritting her teeth. She was there to plug a special "From Raquel with Love", but she didn't really develop any stories about the special that would entertain the audience (this isn't Meet the Press), again Reiner tried to help her asking what role did Mickey Rooney play just to prompt her, but nothing. She makes a negative crack about NBC not scheduling a TV movie she had filmed for the network (The Legend of Walks Far Woman). The film completed in 1979 was considered a disaster by NBC executives and would not be shown until after the May sweeps in 1982! Raquel Welch was supposedly a nightmare to work with on that production, here's a quote from the film's director:

"Director Damski said his experience in making the movie was so unhappy – “the worst experience in my life” – that he still cannot watch the movie (or even discuss it) without having what he sees and what he says “colored by the personal relationship” he had with Raquel. Her behavior during the filming was “reprehensible” he said. “I went in thinking about an Emmy and I came out thinking about a Purple Heart.”

A performer had to bring their A game to The Tonight Show, Carson will help get you over but she couldn't sit fidgeting for almost 15 minutes saying next to nothing, this is not an Inside the Actors Studio interview.


A couple of things about Raquel Welch (no, not those things... :lol:).

Welch did indeed have a reputation of being a bitch. She was fired from the movie Cannery Row because the entire cast and crew hated her. She did win a lawsuit over it years later.

But something else happened on the Tonight Show. During the pre-show rehearsal, she drove the crew crazy because of her demands for makeup, lighting and camera angles. By the time it came to tape the show everyone was ready to kill her. I'm not sure if this was the same airing as the show described above but it would make sense.

A couple of things about Raquel Welch (no, not those things... :lol:).

Welch did indeed have a reputation of being a bitch. She was fired from the movie Cannery Row because the entire cast and crew hated her. She did win a lawsuit over it years later.

But something else happened on the Tonight Show. During the pre-show rehearsal, she drove the crew crazy because of her demands for makeup, lighting and camera angles. By the time it came to tape the show everyone was ready to kill her. I'm not sure if this was the same airing as the show described above but it would make sense.

It's not surprising. Referring back to the "Walks Far Woman" project here are some further comments by director Mel Damski concerning Raquel how she looked:


“She didn’t think we were making her look good enough…giving her enough close-ups…focusing the camera on her enough. It’s so hard to convince her that this is period piece and that she’ll look out of place if she’s too glamorous.”

“She said she wanted a few scenes in the film where she did look good. I guess that’s understandable. But how ‘good’ is ‘good’? And how many scenes are ‘a few’?”

He was trying to get her to understand the fact she had to look and feel the part if she wanted to become a serious actress, she considered his comments demeaning.