TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON, THE {SAMMY DAVIS, JR; TIM CONWAY; PETE FOUNTAIN; JULIA CHILD} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of late-night talk/variety programs hosted by Johnny Carson. Carson's guests for this program are comedian Tim Conway, actor/singer Sammy Davis, Jr., clarinetist Pete Fountain, and chef Julia Child. In his opening monologue, Carson touches on the following topics, among others: his return to the air after a brief absence; the famed annual return of "the swallows of Capistrano"; updates on the 1980 Presidential race; President Carter's recent comments on inflation; the dubious safety of Ford Pinto automobiles, as determined by the recent verdict in the State of Indiana vs. Ford Motor Company case; and the birthday of famed Scottish explorer David Livingstone.
Carson then chats with co-host Ed McMahon about the Puyallap Daffodil Festival Parade in Washington; McMahon's recent wedding anniversary and role as Grand Marshal of a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Kentucky; Carson's performances in New Orleans and New York in unusually cold weather; his recent plane trip, during which he described the conclusion of the film "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979) to the other passengers after the projection stopped working; and a funny story about a quintessential New York moment.
Conway sits down with Carson and chats about his unimpressive Army career, during which he was somehow never promoted beyond the rank of "Private"; his enjoyable time on the Army bowling team; his experience living in his car after his marriage "went awry"; memories of his amusing father, including the time he "borrowed" a length of copper tubing to fix the kitchen sink; his new life as a bachelor; and his upcoming comedy/variety series "The Tim Conway Show," set to debut on the following Saturday night on CBS. Owing to network conflicts, Carson is forbidden from showing a clip from Conway's series, so Conway "narrates" a black screen and describes the would-be scene.
Davis Jr. takes the stage and performs "With a Song in My Heart," and then sits down with Carson to discuss his recent appearance on "One Life to Live" at friend Al Freeman's behest; the strong fan reactions to the many character deaths on soap operas; his love of cooking, including dishes from which he is forbidden to eat for religious reasons; why one must "talk to the food" while preparing it; his love of the recent blaxploitation film "Penitentiary" (1979); and his sense of himself as a "movie buff" with a great love of film trivia. He then performs "You Decorated My Life."
Pete Fountain plays two numbers with The NBC Orchestra, after which Child sits down with Carson and discussing why she has not tired of cooking throughout her long career; and the frequently-asked "last meal" question, to which she provides an elaborate answer. Child then teaches Carson to make "a giant flip-flop Tex-Mex crepe," with satisfying results. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: March 19, 1980 11:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:15:35
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:88955
- GENRE: Talk/Interview
- SUBJECT HEADING: Talk/Interview; Comedy/Variety
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1962-1992
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Little Miss Marker" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - Alpo dog food
- TV - Commercials - Campbell's Light Ones soups
- TV - Commercials - Jenn Air appliances
- TV - Commercials - Jeno's frozen pizzas
- TV - Commercials - Kellogg's Special K cereal
- TV - Commercials - Kleenex tissues
- TV - Commercials - Lipton chicken noodle soup
- TV - Commercials - Purina Special Dinners cat food
- TV - Commercials - Spray 'n Wash stain remover
- TV - Commercials - Stapuf reusable dryer sheets
- TV - Commercials - Stouffer's dinners
- TV - Commercials - Swift Premium Brown 'N Serve beef sausage
- TV - Commercials - V-8 vegetable juice
- TV - Commercials - Windex household cleaner
CREDITS
- NBC Orchestra, The … Music by
- Doc Severinsen … Conductor
- Johnny Carson … Host
- Ed McMahon … Co-Host
- Sammy Davis Jr. … Guest, Performer
- Pete Fountain … Guest, Performer
- Tim Conway … Guest
- Julia Child … Guest
- Jimmy Carter
- Al Freeman
- David Livingstone