OT that was great final episode of Letterman
- Thread starter usc4ever15
- Start date
Johnny Carson was and always will be the King of Late Night. He was pure class. Johnny knew how to have fun with a guest without insulting them. He spoiled us, made it look so easy.
Johnny Carson is the King of the Late Show. Always was and always will be. Dave was good and always wanted Johnny's job but Leno got it instead. But make no mistake, Carson was the best and it is not even close.
I was a little boy when Carson was around so remember very little about him. Maybe I shold have clarified Letterman is the king of late night of my generation. 100x better than Leno
I never saw Jack Parr but from the film clips I've seen I would say he was Carson's equal and certainly superior to Letterman.
Letterman was only average but that's all CBS required of him.
Letterman was only average but that's all CBS required of him.
The Johnny Carsons of the world are gone now. I can't relate to Fallon or Kimmel. However those that relate to them don't relate to "Here's Johnny". I understand that. It's sad for me though. Comedy today rarely gets more than a smile out of me. I have the Dean Martin Roasts and some Carson Tonight Shows on video. I watch them sometimes and am usually in near hysterics laughing. God I miss those days.
Recorded it- gonna watch later tonight.......I grew up on Carson, but go way back with Letterman too. I remember when Letterman had a daytime show for a bit- any of yall remember that? Dont think it was on long.
That WAS a great show last night. I watched it because it was the last. I was a big Johnny Carson fan, even before he was on the Tonight show. He hosted "Who Do You Trust?" , a daytime show.
I watched Jack Paar and was excited when I heard Carson was taking his place. I even was lucky enough to attend two of Carsons shows in person back in 1980 and 1986 while visiting LA.
He was in my opinion the very best.
I thought last night was draggy and more like a dead resume. I too liked Letterman when he was on in the am in the early 80s and on some of his shows the first decade but he went wrong with me when he got political. As for Carson his first show was better than Paar's whole history. I was surprised to see it (first show) while in a motel in Philly with a bunch of friends on a whirlwind tour of the east coast. Carson was the BEST and always will be although I'll admit I got tired of him as he got tired of so many years on the tube...kinda like Steve, maybe. I'm a Kimmel guy now ...great fun good music and fair politics (so far)
Exactly. He was obvious in his political leanings, which Johnny never was. I liked him when he was a young Comic, but detested him in his later years. I hope Colbert will be more balanced, but I doubt it.
I thought the show was a little bland, for a final send-off. Iused to love the late night shows. I was a huge Dave fan, but over the years had to give up the late night shows. I stayed up Wed. night to say good-bye to Dave, though. I agree with those who put Johnny Carson in a class by himself. I remember his last show, and it was very touching. We also got to see one of his shows when visiting L.A. -- might have been his final year. We were the last two to get in on Stand-By tics. It was a blast to be there. I like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmie Kimmel both a lot. I always liked Conan, but I don't even know what channel he's on now. I'm a Steve Colbert fan, and he is a SC guy, so I was happy when he got the gig. I look forward to checking it out at first, and since it's almost summer time, I can stay up late and sleep in now!!!
I agree. The show was not what I thought it was gonna be. Carson was great when he was young but he became cynical and boring. He had that phony laugh for celebrity guests when all they might have deserved was a smile. When his guests would interact with each other and become very funny or interesting, he couldn't stand that the attention was off of him and would ALWAYS say, "Where did I lose control?".
I liked Dave better as he was a little more intellectual and did not phony laugh for guests.
I like Conan now compared to the rest of late night but still only watch once in awhile.
Leno had far better ratings. Plus, several million more viewers watched Leno's last show than watched Letterman's last show. Would agree Carson was much better than either of those guys. But, I am going to go back even further and mention Jack Par. I don't remember a lot about Par but just remember a little about his legacy.
For my generation, seeing that last episode of Letterman is the closing of an era. This was what I watched on sleepless nights, or with my parents waiting to go to bed or just staying up late for the heck of it. It was bonding between friends and family. Just a "youngin's" two cents
Parr had do equal and did not pander to the lowest common denominator. He was smart and funny but he had a lot of strange quirks, too. Noone on late night programs for anyone with an IQ over 100 now.
I recently read the book on Carson by his former attorney.....wished I hadn't read it- makes Carson out as just another spoiled, arrogant celebrity. Of course, it was written by an attorney, so........
