Dan T. Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Letterman Pays Special Tribute to Carson Mon Jan 31, 8:12 PM ET Add to My Yahoo! Television - AP By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer NEW YORK - David Letterman paid tribute to Johnny Carson (news) on Monday by telling his jokes. On his first "Late Show" since Carson's death on Jan. 23, Letterman's opening monologue was comprised entirely of jokes that Carson had quietly sent to him over the past few months from retirement in California. Letterman didn't tell the audience until after the monologue was over who wrote the jokes. His guest on Monday's show, former Carson producer Peter Lassally, had revealed a few days before Carson had died that the retired "Tonight" show host missed his nightly monologue and had written jokes for Letterman. "I moved to Los Angeles from Indianapolis in 1975, and the reason I moved is because of Johnny Carson and the `Tonight' show," Letterman said. "And I'm not the only one. I would guess that maybe three generations of comedians moved to be where Johnny was because if you thought you were funny and you wanted to find out if you could hit major league pitching, you had to be on the `Tonight' show." Letterman said his first "Tonight" appearance led to his first NBC show. "Truthfully, no stretch of the imagination, I owe everything in my professional career, whatever success we've attained, to Johnny Carson, because he was nice enough to give me the opportunity, and throughout my career, was always very supportive." The entire show was devoted to Carson, filled with reminiscences from Lassally and Letterman. At the end, Carson's old bandleader Doc Severinsen and his band — including put-upon sax player Tommy Newsome — performed one of Carson's favorite songs, "Here's That Rainy Day." When Carson retired in May 1992, it set up a battle between Letterman and Jay Leno over who would succeed him. NBC chose Leno — but the joke pipeline was an indication that Carson privately considered Letterman the better host. Letterman's CBS show was in reruns last week, allowing Leno the jump on a late-night Carson tribute. Leno's highly rated show last week included former Carson sidekick Ed McMahon and comics Bob Newhart and Don Rickles. Letterman said everybody who's doing a talk show, himself included, is secretly doing Carson's "Tonight" show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted February 1, 2005 Author Share Posted February 1, 2005 Oops wrong forum, sorry. Please move to Tailgate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Sigh. Buy 'em books send 'em to school.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Island Boy Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 :cool: Dave is doing great so far and paying sooooooo much respect for Johnny:cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Island Boy Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Better than Leno too!!!! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Originally posted by Dan T. Oops wrong forum, sorry. Please move to Tailgate. Poof! Done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Originally posted by TK-IV II I Poof! Done. Whoa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WVSkinsfan Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 I seen on tv awhile back that Carson wanted the tonight show to hire Dave when he retired instead of Leno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sir Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Yeah, David Letterman is 10 times better than Jay Leno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatty P For The Pulitzer Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Originally posted by WVSkinsfan I seen on tv awhile back that Carson wanted the tonight show to hire Dave when he retired instead of Leno. Yeah, Carson wanted Letterman, but NBC went with Leno. Carson always considered Letterman his successor. This time, to avoid another ugly situation, NBC has already signed Conan to replace Leno. That clip last night of Carson taking Letterman's truck to the studio was hilarious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@DCGoldPants Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 I feel both Dave and Leno are flat. Maybe I'm just not one to find them funny anymore. I'd rather watch Conan anyday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Island Boy Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Dave even said that his whole monolouge last night was jokes that Carson had written for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHUBAKAH Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Made Good Morning America this morning. I've missed Johnny for years now. Hope he has a show going in the afterlife... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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