When George Carlin's career was faltering in the late seventies, he reverted back temporarily to the type of path he had been following throughout the sixties until his LSD induced breakthrough. He returned to the world of hokey variety shows and sitcoms, doing sanitized versions of the good Carlin. Although this had a bit to do with the changing tides of showbiz and the new onslaught of comedy styles brought on by the burgeoning club comic scene, a lot of it can also be chalked up to Carlin's increasing dependency on cocaine and the adverse affects it had on his process.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
The Price is Right with Surprise Cameo (1994)
Godamn, the Price is Right audience is so pre-greased, they'll go nuts for absolutely anything!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
The Dick Cavett Show with guest Woody Allen (1969)
Woody Allen plugs his Sunday night Kraft Music Hall (and you can watch that here), a special that in later years he disowned - but even here he calls it "an hour of corny comedy."
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
I Love Lucy with special guest star Charles Boyer (1956)
I like the reference to Ricky being the host of Four Star Playhouse in this one.
The Name's the Same with host Robert Q. Lewis and panelists Arnold Stang and Gene Rayburn (1954)
Having posted the last clip from What's My Line, I was surprised to discover I had no Robert Q. Lewis category on the site. He's one of my favorite early TV personalities. I assumed I had posted this show before, but I guess not.
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Smothers Brothers Summer Show (1970)
This promo is for the 1970 ABC incarnation of the boys and can easily be confused with CBS' 1968 Summer replacement hosted by Glen Campbell titled The Summer Brothers Smothers Show. Read more about both here.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Captain Kangaroo with guest Joan Rivers (1978)
"A comic I admire very much, Joan Rivers, did one of my pieces on The Tonight Show just recently. I couldn't believe it, because it was a bit I'd used regularly for years. I said, 'When my mother was pregnant with me, she carried me very low. In fact, for the last few weeks my feet were sticking out.' And my follow-up, which Joan also used, was, 'However, she did tell me it came in handy on stairs.' Theft is one of the risks you run when you buy material, and I'll bet Joan bought that joke . . . Now that I've said this in public, I guess I'll find out." - George Carlin, 1982
Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary with Steve Martin (1977)
"I like Steve Martin's mind. I like the attitude he brings to that arrow through his head. And I love the way he mocks the performer's situation and self-image - the way he does that phony asshole onstage." - George Carlin, 1982
The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guests Bette Davis and Richard Pryor (1982)
"In the early Sixties, Richie and I would frequently be on the same bill at the Cafe Au Go Go, and sometimes while introducing each other, we'd do a few improvs between sets. There was always a rapport, and perhaps we share certain comic viewpoints, but I think Pryor is without peer. The thing he does better than anyone else is represent who he is, where he's been, and who has been around him. He doesn't do whole characters in the sense that Lily and Jonathan do, but Richard does fantastic characterizations - an entire personality implied by just a line here, a gesture there. And his white guys really kill me. Richard is just a genius. He makes me laugh from the soles of my feet - that's S-O-L-E-S." - George Carlin, 1982
The Late Show withn David Letterman with guest Don Rickles (1994)
"The first few times I saw Rickles, he amazed me with his brashness and his willingness to cross lines. But I don't like the way he closes his act - by apologizing for what he does. It's insincere. A performer who kisses the audience's ass is full of shit." - George Carlin, 1982
Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Tonight Show with guest George Carlin (1962) - Footage Offline - 3/20/09
Apparently this is from the interim between Jack Paar and Johnny Carson when several different guest hosts were at the helm. The guest host on this episode would have been Mort Sahl.
The Merv Griffin Show with guest Steve Allen (1974)
The year of broadcast is a total guess. Steve Allen talks about the search for his long lost brother.
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