Letterman Pays Special Tribute to Carson Tonight - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Janice · 01-31-2005, 10:22 PM

Letterman Pays Special Tribute to Carson

NEW YORK (AP) - 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."

dawsongirl · 01-31-2005, 10:37 PM

Awesome. I'll have to watch.

I think Dave's funnier too. Guess NBC disagreed.

theanswerman · 01-31-2005, 10:40 PM

r.i.p

musicradio77 · 02-02-2005, 01:27 AM

Gosh! I missed the David Letterman's tribute to Johnny Carson last night.

When will it reshown? I like to see the episode. I only saw the one on Jay Leno's show last week.

musicradio77 · 02-02-2005, 01:39 AM

For those of you who missed it last night, here it is:

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latesho...ghlights.shtml

dawsongirl · 02-02-2005, 03:25 AM

I thought it was a great show.

Hollow · 02-02-2005, 03:26 PM

IT WUZ GRRRRRRRRRRRRR-8@

01-31-2005, 10:22 PM	#1
Janice Retired Admin - Hollywood Swingin' Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 03, 2001 Location: Beantown Posts: 36,388	Letterman Pays Special Tribute to Carson Tonight Letterman Pays Special Tribute to Carson NEW YORK (AP) - 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."

01-31-2005, 10:40 PM	#3
theanswerman OMGWTFLOLZ Senior Member Join Date: Jun 04, 2003 Location: i lurve you! (israel) Posts: 2,636	r.i.p
	__________________ Originally posted by safety pin my cat woke up up at like 5:30 this morning. she wanted me to let her out of the room. then she came back in and wanted to play. rufus wainwright - in a graveyard This next song is a song about death, and...how you shouldn't be afraid of it. Also, I wrote it on acid, so it should be pretty good..."

02-02-2005, 01:27 AM	#4
musicradio77 Disney Expert Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 14, 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 6,475	Gosh! I missed the David Letterman's tribute to Johnny Carson last night. When will it reshown? I like to see the episode. I only saw the one on Jay Leno's show last week.
	__________________ Musicradio77 Productions

01-31-2005, 10:37 PM	#2
dawsongirl Member Forum Icon Join Date: Jan 04, 2001 Posts: 53,140	Awesome. I'll have to watch. I think Dave's funnier too. Guess NBC disagreed.

02-02-2005, 01:39 AM	#5
musicradio77 Disney Expert Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 14, 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 6,475	For those of you who missed it last night, here it is: http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latesho...ghlights.shtml

02-02-2005, 03:25 AM	#6
dawsongirl Member Forum Icon Join Date: Jan 04, 2001 Posts: 53,140	I thought it was a great show.

02-02-2005, 03:26 PM	#7
Hollow Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 16, 2001 Posts: 30,406	IT WUZ GRRRRRRRRRRRRR-8@