The Dinah Shore Chevy Show with guests Wayne and Shuster (1960)

Shelley Berman at Home

Go here and watch some footage of Shelley Berman at home, from an upcoming documentary named Compass.

Colt 45 Commericial with Redd Foxx (1975)

The Gong Show (1976) - Footage Offline - 12/31/10

An entire episode.

Charlie Rose with guest Mort Sahl (1994)

You need to skip to the final twenty minutes of this episode of Charlie Rose to watch an interview with Mort Sahl. Sahl sadly endorses Alexander Haig and Henry Kissenger(!) in this segment. Overall, it really isn't that great of an interview, but Sahl footage on the internet is very limited.

The Spirit is Willing (1967) - Footage Offline - 2/28/08

Shock gimmick master William Castle made a handful of horror-comedies in the nineteen sixties including a remake of The Old Dark House starring Tom Poston and this film starring Sid Caesar. Great character actors appear like John Astin, Jesse White, Harvey Lembeck, Nestor Paiva and Doodles Weaver. Not only did the star of The Addams Family, Astin, appear, but Vic Mizzy, best known for composing the theme song to that sitcom, did the soundtrack of this film.

The David Frost Show with guest Groucho Marx (1970)

The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966)

Marty Allen is alive and well, still performing stand-up, primarily on the cruise ship circuit, making a decent, if not rather anonymous, living. At the height of his fame as part of the comedy team of Allen & Rossi and their string of comedy LPs and appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show (including the episode that had The Beatles play the program for the first time) the boys made this awful film. That's Nancy Sinatra singing the title theme.

National Association for Justice PSA with Marty Allen (1974)

The Dick Cavett Show (1969)

An opening from an early version of The Dick Cavett Show - not sure if it's from his 1968-69 daytime show or the first of his primetime shows.

Name That Tune with host Tom Kennedy (1975)

Perry Comes to London (1971)

Don't think I could ever picture Como hanging with Rufus Thomas.

The Mike Douglas Show with guests Andy Kaufman, Robert Goulet and Carol Channing (1977)

This picture depicts a magazine article called Nervous Laughter. A good desciption of this fine selection.

Watch in the clip below and realize that the whole set starts spinning with ridiculous speed and the whole panel keeps a straight face as it happens. The motorized 1970s talk show set - I'm surprised Conan has never got around to doing a take-off gag based on the idea.

Password Plus with guest host Bill Cullen and panelist Bill Anderson (1979)

Cool Super Password word.

The Colgate Comedy Hour (1953) ) - Footage Offline - 05/23/09

Will Jordan always insisted that he invented the Ed Sullivan impression and that anybody else who did Ed was just doing an impression of Will Jordan doing an impression of Ed Sullivan. He also states that those people are assholes. However, as we will see in this footage, it may very well have been Jerry Lewis who invented the Sullivan impression. The Ed Sullivan Show had previously been known as The Toast of the Town, hence the name given to this satire with Martin & Lewis.

The Ed Sullivan Show with guest Totie Fields (1967)

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest host David Letterman (1979)

Handwhistler Ben Brenner is the guest in this segment. After David gives it a try, an annoying between monologue joke gimmick was born. Much like David's "Hey, hey, kids," the ol' hand whistle he does here became a regular staple whenever he felt like it on Late Night with David Letterman.

Rusty Warren interviewed by Tom Leykis (1987)

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson: The Great Comedians of a Generation (1992)

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest Emmanuel Lewis (1984)

90 Minutes Live with Paul Soles and David Letterman (1978)

Presumably Letterman was in Toronto to do stand-up when he made this appearance with the voice of Peter Parker and Spiderman in the old Krantz/Grantray-Lawrence cartoon, Paul Soles.

Up Close with Tom Cottle with guest Andy Kaufman

The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder (1980) ) - Footage Offline - 05/23/09

The introduction to the first episode of The Tomorrow Show that featured Rona Barrett as co-host.

To Tell the Truth with guest Gene Roddenberry (1977)

The Mike Douglas Show with guest Andy Kaufman (1976)

Stan Freberg Commercial with Ray Bradbury

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest Richard Pryor (1988)

The Morning Show with Jack Paar (1955)

So we've seen David Letterman and Bill Cullen host early morning programs, and let's continue with that theme now with Jack Paar. Pay attention to the news segment and hear the broadcaster mention an explosion in England stating, "It wasn't Puerto Ricans or anything like that..."

The David Letterman Show (1980) - Footage Offline 2/15/08

A couple clips from the hard to find, and notorious, Letterman morning show.

The Bill Cullen Show (1953)

Morning television has never really graduated beyond such pointless pablum, but you gotta love Bill Cullen, truely the epitomy of an American television broadcaster. He had the look, the voice and just the right mix of wit and corniness. Also, Milton Delugg was a real underrated figure in music and showbiz history. Insiders knew his name well, the public not so much.

The Price is Right with Bill Cullen (1961)

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guests Bob & Ray (1977)

A great clip and interesting too. Pay attention after the sketch when Bob mentions that his young son Chris Elliot is "trying to be an actor."

Decisions, Decisions (1977) with panelist David Letterman

Late Night with David Letterman with guest Mel Blanc (1982)

I have a new and much faster computer so I'll be trying my damnedest to increase the amount of posts you get on the site each day. Here's number three for this swell Tuesday. You'll hear Letterman mention after the commericial break that Hunter S. Thompson was also on this episode. Hunter S. Thompson and Mel Blanc sharing one green room! No wonder this show was such a cult hit once upon a time. Don't forget to check out Mel and company talking about the life of Jack Benny on Merv Griffin over here.

Alex Trebek Outtakes

Here's another winner that you can file in the same department as the Siskel & Ebert gem, the Orson Welles debacle and the Martin & Lewis classic. Trebek bloopers - heelarious.

The Gong Show with guest panelist Steve Martin (1976)

Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks introduced by Johnny Carson

Not sure what television program this appeared on, but the LP Carson holds up at the start of the clip was released in 1961.

Kraft Music Hall: The Woody Allen Show (1969)

This sought after special was part of the weekly Kraft Music Hall that by this point had changed its format drastically from the way it was during the infancy of television and in radio.

The Dick Cavett Show with guest Shirley Maclaine (1971)

Password Plus with celebrity contestant David Letterman (1978)

The Phil Donahue Show with guest Phil Hartman (1987)

Phil Hartman does a brilliant impression of Donahue right in front of the man... and the square audience laughs in all the wrong places.

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 10th Anniversary Special with guests Jack Benny, Joey Bishop, George Burns, Jerry Lewis and Don Rickles (1973)

The Phil Donahue Show with guest Jerry Rubin (1970)

Donahue was rather wise to question the sincerity of Yippie Jery Rubin in this interview. Just six years later, Rubin cleaned himself up and joined Wall Street rejecting his former life as a Yippie. Ironically, Donahue would come to emulate the anti-war politics that Rubin was somewhat of a poster child for in the late sixties. "Let's not be afraid of ideas," says Donahue near the end of this episode. Phil was extremely perceptive. Rubin occasionally makes some valid points, unfortunately, as Donahue noted, they were rather short on sincerity - and high on obnoxiousness. Read Rubin's yuppie treatise Growing Up at 37 (1976, Warner Books) for more on his transformation into a Ronald Reagan Republican.

Frost on Sunday with guests Jerry Rubin and various Yippies (1969)

And the Winner Is...

Thanks to all the people who entered our Johnny Carson contest sponsored by Respond2 Entertainment. We received over one hundred responses and even in this age of Google, two of you still got the wrong answers. Perhaps you were taking the noble route of using your own knowledge rather than the easier way. Good on you - but you still lost. The answers are:

1) Who Do You Trust (note the lack of a question mark, however, no points were subtracted from those entries that included one).

2) Johnny was replaced by my old friend (emphasis on old) Woody Woodbury.

3) The announcers on the two incarnations of the program were Ed McMahon and Bill "Friday Night Fights" Nimmo.

A big congrats to Classic Television Showbiz reader Jason from Montreal, Quebec, who was the fourteenth person to answer all questions correctly.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - Heeere's Johnny: The Definitive DVD Collection

We're running a contest today here at Classic Television Showbiz in conjunction with Respond2 Entertainment, the company that has released an eclectic line of DVDs including This Is Your Life (1952), The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971), Tony Orlando and Dawn (1974) and The Captain and Tennille (1976). The massive Johnny Carson box set came out this week and features a whopping twelve discs. Hopefully, when they say definitive they don't mean final. I'd like to see future volumes featuring full, unedited episodes from the vaults. Answer the following questions correctly and you can win a copy of the big fat set! You'll have to e-mail me with the correct answers to the following series of questions. Fourteenth person to respond correctly will win the set.

1) Name the television program Carson was host of when he was named as the new host of The Tonight Show.

2) Name his replacement on that show.

3) Name the announcers on both incarnations of that show.

Please don't leave your answers in the comments section!

Contest ends at:
midnite Pacific Time - the night of Friday, Nov. 9th/Morning of Sat. Nov. 10th, 2007.

If you lose you can always order the set here.

The Sonny and Cher Show with Steve Martin and Burt Reynolds (1974)

Corporate Roast featuring Art Linkletter and Jim Backus (1970)

Blondie (1968)

Talent Scouts with guest George Carlin (1962) - Footage Offline 2/01/08

You need to cue this video clip to the 2:45 mark to watch the footage in question. It's a recently 'gone-solo' George Carlin, fresh from his split with comedy partner Jack Burns, on an episode of Talent Scouts, the television spin-off of the long-running radio program. Arthur Godfrey was actually gone by this point, replaced by a different flash-in-the-pan celebrity guest host each week for this short lived incarnation of Godfrey's concept. In this clip we see Carlin do an impression of the pre-Rickles insult comic Jack E. Leonard followed by the only Mort Sahl impression I have ever seen... and a very good one at that. He finishes with a JFK take and an added comment on the dynastical aspect of his presidency. Some good, but less fascinatng, footage follows.

The Merv Griffin Show with guests Gisele Mackenzie and Mel Blanc

Watch the group talk about Jack Benny over here.

TANG (1967), Woolworth's (1971), Radio Shack (1972) and more

CBS Game Show Promos (1972)

Skittle Pool commercial starring Don Adams (1970) - Footage Offline 6/20/08

Buddy Hackett meets Beyond the Fringe! - What's My Line (1962)

Robert Goulet 1933-2007

George Kirby and Della Reese sing Al Green (1972)

Siskel and Ebert Outtakes (1987)

Sesame Street with guest Ralph Nader (1988)

Johnny Horizon PSA narrated by Ed McMahon (1971)

The Ed Sullivan Show with guest Harpo Marx (1961) - Video Offline - 11/21/07

Don Knotts Goes Bowling - Video Offline 1/13/08

I can think of few things that go better than Don Knotts and nineteen seventies bowling alleys. This is from the hard to find How to Frame a Figg (1971). This scene features Frank Welker (Freddy on Scoody-Doo) and somebody I thought was Joe Flynn. This is the only movie Don Knotts co-wrote.

Wheel of Fortune with guests Weird Al, Lee Greenwood, James Brown and Little Richard

We've posted a clip of this before, but now we have the entire episode.

The Pat Sajak Show with guest Werner Klemperer (1988)

The Porter Wagoner Show with guest George Jones (1966) - Footage Offline -8/17/08

The Dean Martin Show with guests Don Adams and Don Rickles 10/25/07 Footage Offline

Don and Don were both stand-up comics and best of friends. Rickles was a regular guest star on Get Smart and Don was a regular at Rickles' gigs. Both played the big rooms in Vegas in the sixties. However, unlike Rickles, Don Adams despised performing in front of a live audience. He continued to do it after the success of Get Smart because the money was suddenly so good. However, as you can read in this piece, he tended to phone his Vegas gigs in - stealing material from other comedians.

RIP JOEY BISHOP 1918-2007

This is the trailer from an interesting movie called Johnny Cool from 1963. Turner Classic Movies has aired it twice this year. Keep your eyes open for it if they show it again. It has an AMAZING (and weird) cast. It's not available on VHS or DVD (or laserdisc or 8Track while we're at it). Joey Bishop plays a used car salesman from Nevada - and when I have the capacity to upload video from my own collection I promise to upload his main scene. Directed by William "Frankie and Annette Movies" Usher, the film stars:

Joey Bishop
Mort Sahl
Jim Backus
Henry Silva
Telly Savalas
Elisha Cook Jr.
Sammy Davis Jr.
and Ray "The Killer Shrews" Kellogg

The Merv Griffin Show with guests Don Rickles and Nina Hagen

The Steve Allen Show with guest Brenda Lee (1957)

The Steve Allen Show with guest Cassius Clay (1964)

Redd Foxx meets Sammy Davis Jr

Sammy appeared on episodes of All in the Family, Chico and the Man, and here, on Sanford and Son.

Late Show with David Letterman with guest Bob Newhart (2007)

A classic television figure appeared on Letterman the other night.

Dog Food Commercial with Don Knotts

Shrimpenstein (1967)

As the World Turns with guest Phyllis Diller

And Marisa Tomei too.

Woody Allen Performs Stand-up on BBC (1965)

Sanford and Son -The Card Sharps (1972) ) - Footage Offline - 05/23/09

Walt Disney World Promo with Jonathan Winters

The Mike Douglas Show with guest Brian Wilson (1976)

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest Rodney Dangerfield (various years) - Footage Offline - 05/23/09

Candid Camera with guest Woody Allen (1963)

How To Frame a Figg (1971) - The Trailer ) - Footage Offline - 05/23/09

Get Smart - Episode #2 (1965)

Get Smart - Series Premiere (1965)

Texaco Commercial with Bob Hope ) - Footage Offline - 05/23/09

Bob Hope willingly supported every foreign intervention the US Military embarked on, so it makes sense that he would also willingly support the oil industry that demanded many of those escapades.

Ring of Fire with Frank Gorshin (1961)

On Location: George Kirby (1978)

The Dick Cavett Show with guest Dudley Moore (1971)

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest Ed Headrick (1966)

The Dick Cavett Show with guest Orson Welles (1970)

The Mike Douglas Show with guest Luiz Bonfa (1966)

Audio No! Picture Si!

The Merv Griffin Show with guests William Shatner, Deforest Kelly and Leonard Nimoy (1982)

I've Got a Secret with guest Jack E. Leonard

So the panel is hooked up to electrodes while Jack E. Leonard insults them and then a woman takes off her clothes and ...

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guests Dean Martin and Buddy Hackett (1973)

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest Don Rickles (1984)

Battlestars (1981) - Footage Offline 10/20/07

Alex Trebek hosted this short lived game show. This episode features Jerry Seinfeld, Rip Taylor, Debbie Reynolds and other assorted hams.

The Dick Cavett Show with guests John Cassavetes, Peter Falk and Ben Gazzara (1970)

The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson with guest Frank Zappa (1986)

The Dick Cavett Show with guest Judy Garland (1968) - Footage Offline 1/12/08

The Smothers Brothers Air Force Promo Spots

Before they became enemies of the military and the US government, the clean cut Smothers Brothers took the money and ran when they appeared in these television promos for the war machine.