TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON, THE {GEORGE BURNS; CAROL CHANNING; BILLIE JEAN KING} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of late-night talk/variety programs hosted by Johnny Carson. Carson's guests for this program are comedian George Burns, actress Carol Channing, and tennis champion Billie Jean King.
In his opening monologue, Carson touches on the following topics, among others: various "dramatic" world events during Carson's week-long trip to Hawaii, including the resignation of Vice-President Spiro Agnew; Game 2 of the World Series between the Oakland Athletics and the New York Mets, which clocked in at four hours and thirteen minutes, making it the longest game in World Series history; North Carolina Senator Sam Ervin's recording contract and upcoming album, "Senator Sam at Home"; a surprising statistic about doctors' inappropriate relations with patients; claims of recent UFO sightings and extremely close encounters; and the ongoing obscenity trial regarding the adult film "Deep Throat." Carson then chats with announcer Ed McMahon about his trip to Hawaii, during which he got profoundly lost while driving. McMahon notes that the duo's fifteenth "anniversary" celebrations were postponed because of the trip. Carson next introduces several unusual football highlights, though the segment ends abruptly when the film breaks.
The first guest, Burns, joins Carson and chats about his first-ever college performance at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; his sense that his vaudeville-era songs will "live forever"; perfecting the role of the comedic straight man, who "does nothing"; his cigar-smoking habit; a recent television appearance alongside Carson's mentor Jack Benny; his many comedic partners over the years, including the story of taking over another performer's act alongside a talented seal. He also briefly performs the song "Doin' the Grizzly Bear."
Channing then joins Carson and Burns to discuss her pre-Broadway tour of the musical "Lorelei," a revision of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes"; how the title character represents American success and identity; working with Burns eleven years earlier and performing for the Kennedy family, including the tidbit that the president was not much of a singer; and her disbelief upon receiving a phone call from "Mrs. Lincoln" (Kennedy's secretary Evelyn Lincoln) inviting her, and Burns, to the White House for an impromptu family dinner. Burns and Channing then recreate some of their old stage patter and sing the jazz standard "Some of These Days" together.
Finally, King joins Carson and discusses her famous "Battle of the Sexes" match against Bobby Riggs of the previous month; her admission that she "forgot" to bet money on herself before winning; her relentless practice schedule and study of Riggs' May 13 defeat of Australian player Margaret Court; why she has no interest in a rematch against Riggs; her personal fondness for Riggs despite his attention-seeking bluster and sexist comments about female athletes (which she uses as motivation to succeed); Riggs' golf skills and how he "hustled" her husband Larry King out of $300; her involvement in the creation of World TeamTennis, the mixed-gender professional tennis league, and joining the Philadelphia team, recently dubbed "The Freedoms"; and how the highly publicized match with Riggs brought a degree of spectacle to the "sacrosanct" sport of tennis. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: October 17, 1973 11:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:15:29
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:76227
- GENRE: Talk/Interview
- SUBJECT HEADING: Talk/Interview; Comedy/Variety; Music
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1962-1992
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Alpo dog food
- TV - Commercials - Celanese Fortrel polyester attire
- TV - Commercials - Flicker ladies' disposable razors
- TV - Commercials - Hoover appliances
- TV - Commercials - Hormel Cure 81 ham
- TV - Commercials - Hormel chili
- TV - Commercials - Kodak slides
- TV - Commercials - La Choy Chinese food
- TV - Commercials - Post Grape-Nuts cereal
- TV - Commercials - Revlon Super-Rich mascara
- TV - Commercials - Scott's Liquid Gold wood cleaner
- TV - Commercials - Sears stores
- TV - Commercials - Vicks Formula 44 cough medicine
CREDITS
- NBC Orchestra, The … Music by
- Doc Severinsen … Conductor
- Johnny Carson … Host
- Ed McMahon … Announcer
- George Burns … Guest
- Carol Channing … Guest
- Billie Jean King … Guest
- Spiro Agnew
- Jack Benny
- Margaret Court
- Sam Ervin
- Gerald Ford
- John F. Kennedy
- Larry King
- Evelyn Lincoln
- Bobby Riggs