TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON, THE {LOLA FALANA; PAUL HAMPTON; J.B. WEST; RODNEY ALLEN RIPPY} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of late-night talk/variety programs hosted by Johnny Carson. Carson's guests for this program are singer/actress Lola Falana, actor Paul Hampton, former White House Chief Usher J.B. West and five-year-old commercial actor Rodney Allen Rippy. In his opening monologue, Carson touches on the following topics, among others: his fifteenth-anniversary dinner with McMahon on the previous evening; updates on the Watergate scandal and the potential of President Nixon's impeachment over the infamous missing tapes; reports of sightings of flying saucers; the Gray Panthers group, founded in 1970 to advocate for elder rights; and the surprising contents of a boat that has recently arrived in Marina del Rey.
Carson and McMahon then chat further about their "very sophisticated dinner," after which they discuss the popularity of "spin-offs" of successful films and shows, adding a number of their own suggestions to the list.
The first guest, Rippy, known for his appearances in Jack in the Box restaurant TV spots, arrives onstage and comments on the following: his unfamiliarity with the famous Carson and his show; his plans to travel to Georgia to film a movie; a handy trick with all of Carson's pencils, which seems to amuse the host; his plans for his money earned from the commercials; his current enrollment in kindergarten and dreams for his future careers; his experience being recognized and asked for autographs; his budding interest in zodiac signs; and his current romantic status. Rippy also performs the song "The World of Love."
Next, Hampton takes the stage and discusses the following: his childhood in Oklahoma and the strong accents found there; his elaborate wedding and subsequent three-month marriage; and a harrowing experience meeting a girlfriend's wealthy and powerful parents.
Falana performs "Drift Away," after which she sits down with Carson and comments on the following: her decision to take a vacation and "be a person" for a short time; a list of everyday annoyances about which she is "steamed," including slow check-out lines, inconsiderate drivers, airline baggage rules, and the lack of required education and knowledge for new parents.
The final guest, West, then joins the other onstage and discusses the following: his book, "Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies," which describes his thirty-year career in the White House from Roosevelt to Nixon; his decision to ignore the "purely psychological" rule against White House insiders writing tell-alls; his duties as the "manager of the house"; the remarkable closeness and simplicity of the Truman family, including Bess Truman's role as her husband's trusted advisor; Mamie Eisenhower's immediate changes to the bedrooms and offices upon arriving at the White House; the very separate lives of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin's not-so-secret mistress Lucy Rutherfurd; some Presidents' discomfort with the Secret Service's omnipresence; President Johnson's love of "gadgets," which were then all removed by Nixon; Nixon's decision to cover the pool installed by Roosevelt and turn it, ironically, into a press room; and Jacqueline Kennedy's notable commitment to family time. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: October 19, 1973 11:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:15:03
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:76229
- GENRE: Talk/Interview
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Comedy; Talk/Interview; Comedy; African-American Collection - Music
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1962-1992
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - AMC automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Budweiser beers
- TV - Commercials - Celanese Fortrel polyester attire
- TV - Commercials - Maxwell House coffee
- TV - Commercials - Revlon Super-Frost eyeshadow
- TV - Commercials - Scott's Liquid Gold wood cleaner
- TV - Commercials - Sony tape recorders
- TV - Commercials - Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix
- TV - Commercials - Tang drink mix
- TV - Commercials - United Airlines
- TV - Commercials - Vicks NyQuil cold medicine
CREDITS
- The NBC Orchestra … Music by
- Doc Severinsen … Conductor
- Johnny Carson … Host
- Ed McMahon … Co-Host
- Lola Falana … Guest, Performer
- Rodney Allen Rippy … Guest
- Paul Hampton … Guest
- J.B. West … Guest
- Mamie Eisenhower
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Jacqueline Kennedy (see also: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis)
- Richard Nixon
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Lucy Rutherfurd
- Elizabeth "Bess" Truman
- Harry S. Truman