TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON, THE {CHARLES GRODIN; ROY CLARK; PHYLLIS NEWMAN; DAVID SMITH} (TV)
Summary
One in this series of late-night talk/variety programs hosted by Johnny Carson. Carson's guests for this program are singer Phyllis Newman, actor/comedian Charles Grodin, and musician Roy Clark.
In his opening monologue, Carson touches on the following topics, among others: the end of the recent meat boycott; President Richard Nixon's arrival in California; an unsuccessful "Tonight Show" staff softball game; why poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow may have "lied" about Paul Revere's legendary "midnight ride"; the invention of a rocket-powered wheelchair; and other strikes by gravediggers and water park employees. Carson then sits down with announcer Ed McMahon to discuss the latter's recent accident in which he fell and injured his head while stepping off a boat in Cat Cay in the Bahamas after participating in a charity auction. McMahon explains that he required 50 stitches but sustained no brain damage. He adds that, despite Carson's many jokes on the subject, the incident was not caused by excessive alcohol use.
The first guest, Newman, sings "Hold Me Tight" and then chats with Carson about her surprisingly unimpressive hotel accommodations, compared to her previous "Tonight Show" appearance; dealing with the time change and the "crazy freeways" upon arriving in Burbank; debate about which past era seems most attractive to live in, with Newman suggesting that the "Tonight Show" resembles an 18th-century intellectual "salon"; the parameters of Newman and Carson's longtime friendship, limited primarily to on-air chats; and her struggles with insomnia, including her unsuccessful attempt to hypnotize herself to sleep via an audio tape.
Next, Grodin takes the stage and discusses his love of the ego-boosting experience of appearing on talk shows; his past work on "Candid Camera," including various animal-related pranks, and why he was eventually fired from the show; the surprising story behind his residence at an "old-age hotel," where he serves as building president; and his not-so-thrilling encounter with famed comedian Groucho Marx.
Clark performs "Come Live With Me," and Carson, feeling that he has "lost control of the show," tries to regroup with a conversation about Clark's Western attire; his four racehorses; and a "country story" about Clark's mischievous childhood friend "Willie Brown." Carson is then further exasperated to learn from producer Fred de Cordova, that the final guest, adventurer David Smith, has been bumped for time. Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: April 10, 1973 11:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:16:21
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:73431
- GENRE: Talk/Interview
- SUBJECT HEADING: Talk/Interview; Comedy/Variety
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1962-1992
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Carrier heating and cooling systems
- TV - Commercials - Celanese Arnel apparel
- TV - Commercials - Curad bandages
- TV - Commercials - Dutch Masters cigars
- TV - Commercials - Gillette Right Guard deodorant
- TV - Commercials - Hoover appliances
- TV - Commercials - Revlon Super-Frost eyeshadow
- TV - Commercials - Scott's Liquid Gold furniture polish
- TV - Commercials - Sears Easy Living house paint
- TV - Commercials - Sears Lady Kenmore appliances
- TV - Commercials - Sonac denture cleaner appliance
- TV - Commercials - Taster's Choice freeze-dried coffee
- TV - Commercials - United Airlines
CREDITS
- NBC Orchestra, The … Music by
- Doc Severinsen … Conductor
- Johnny Carson … Host
- Ed McMahon … Announcer
- Phyllis Newman … Guest, Performer
- Roy Clark … Guest, Performer
- Charles Grodin … Guest
- Adolph Green
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Groucho Marx
- Richard Nixon
- Paul Revere