WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:11.480
<v Speaker 1>Callaroga Shark Media. Hi there, Johnny meg And for today's

2
00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:13.839
<v Speaker 1>daily Comedy News, We're going to take a look at

3
00:00:13.919 --> 00:00:17.480
<v Speaker 1>the Mount Rushmore of Late Night. I've been thinking about

4
00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:20.320
<v Speaker 1>this one a lot, so I will share with you

5
00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:23.199
<v Speaker 1>the history of Late Night off the top of my head,

6
00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:26.440
<v Speaker 1>then a look at why the actual presidents are on

7
00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:30.239
<v Speaker 1>the actual Mount Rushmore. And I even used AI to

8
00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:33.079
<v Speaker 1>help me focus my thoughts here and it was really

9
00:00:33.159 --> 00:00:35.399
<v Speaker 1>really helpful, So I will share all that. Let's do

10
00:00:35.560 --> 00:00:38.039
<v Speaker 1>the history of Late Night off the top of my head,

11
00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:41.399
<v Speaker 1>no notes. So they were cavemen. They had no late

12
00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:44.759
<v Speaker 1>night shows until Steve Allen came along and hosted the

13
00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:47.960
<v Speaker 1>first four or five years of the Tonight Show. We'll

14
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:50.000
<v Speaker 1>talk about Steven a bit. He did a lot of

15
00:00:50.039 --> 00:00:53.000
<v Speaker 1>things that you saw throughout the ages, including a lot

16
00:00:53.000 --> 00:00:55.880
<v Speaker 1>of influence on Letterman. So then he gets too busy

17
00:00:55.960 --> 00:00:58.320
<v Speaker 1>to keep the show and passes it off to Jack Parr,

18
00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:00.960
<v Speaker 1>who does a quote unquote smarter version of the show

19
00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:03.719
<v Speaker 1>and introduces a lot of things that became late night staples.

20
00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:07.159
<v Speaker 1>Next up, Johnny Carson, and I think for purposes of

21
00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:09.319
<v Speaker 1>this episode, if you listen to this podcast, I don't

22
00:01:09.319 --> 00:01:11.560
<v Speaker 1>have to explain Johnny to anybody. So let's just accept

23
00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:14.359
<v Speaker 1>right now, Johnny Carson's on them Mount Rushmore, right, we

24
00:01:14.439 --> 00:01:17.640
<v Speaker 1>know that's going to happen. Johnny hangs around for thirty years.

25
00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:19.760
<v Speaker 1>At some point they expand to twelve thirty and Tom

26
00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:22.560
<v Speaker 1>Snyder hosts a show. Tom Snyder gives way to David

27
00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:25.640
<v Speaker 1>Letterman's twelve thirty show. Letterman hopes that he'll get the

28
00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:28.439
<v Speaker 1>Tonight's Show, but nope, they give it to permanent guest

29
00:01:28.439 --> 00:01:31.159
<v Speaker 1>host Jay Leno, who hosts the Tonight Show for a while.

30
00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:34.079
<v Speaker 1>Letterman goes to CBS, and for the first time, we

31
00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:37.120
<v Speaker 1>really have two competitive late night shows. I know there

32
00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:39.480
<v Speaker 1>was Dick Cavin and Joey Bishop and some other things

33
00:01:39.480 --> 00:01:41.920
<v Speaker 1>we'll talk about our senio, but it's really the first

34
00:01:41.959 --> 00:01:44.480
<v Speaker 1>time that the Tonight Show isn't just the only game

35
00:01:44.519 --> 00:01:48.000
<v Speaker 1>in town. Letterman rides out his time on CBS. Jay

36
00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:50.480
<v Speaker 1>Leno passes the Tonight Show off to Conan O'Brien for

37
00:01:50.519 --> 00:01:54.079
<v Speaker 1>five minutes. Jay takes it back, and eventually we wind

38
00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:57.480
<v Speaker 1>up in the air of fallon Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel.

39
00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.239
<v Speaker 1>And that's the brief history of late Night. Okay, Hey,

40
00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:03.319
<v Speaker 1>we'll use that as a focal lens as for the

41
00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:06.280
<v Speaker 1>actual Mount Rushmore, because if we're doing the Mount Rushmore

42
00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:08.000
<v Speaker 1>of Late Night, I thought that would be an interesting

43
00:02:08.120 --> 00:02:11.639
<v Speaker 1>lens in which to look at this. George Washington represents

44
00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.960
<v Speaker 1>the birth and founding of the nation as the first president.

45
00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:20.240
<v Speaker 1>Think about that. Thomas Jefferson symbolizes expansion, particularly the Louisiana

46
00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:23.479
<v Speaker 1>purchase and his role in writing the Declaration of Independence.

47
00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:28.479
<v Speaker 1>Abraham Lincoln represents the preservation of the Union, and Theodore

48
00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:32.560
<v Speaker 1>Roosevelt embodies the nation's development. Is known for his conservation

49
00:02:32.599 --> 00:02:35.599
<v Speaker 1>efforts the Panama Canal and his role in the industrial boom,

50
00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:37.560
<v Speaker 1>and a bit of a maverick. And I think we

51
00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:40.400
<v Speaker 1>can find some inspiration there, all right. Who has hosted

52
00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:43.479
<v Speaker 1>the most years in Late Night? David Letterman at thirty

53
00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:48.080
<v Speaker 1>three years, Wow, Johnny Carson did thirty Conan twenty eight,

54
00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:51.159
<v Speaker 1>Bill Maher, who hasn't come up in these discussions at all,

55
00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:54.199
<v Speaker 1>twenty two years in Late Night. So I think that's

56
00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:57.800
<v Speaker 1>the equivalent of a guy in baseball who's just accumulating

57
00:02:57.879 --> 00:03:00.439
<v Speaker 1>stats and nobody ever went there's the best player in

58
00:03:00.479 --> 00:03:02.879
<v Speaker 1>the game, and sometimes those guys make the Hall of Fame.

59
00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:06.240
<v Speaker 1>Bill's not getting a spot on Mount Rushmore. Jay Leno

60
00:03:06.439 --> 00:03:09.840
<v Speaker 1>also twenty two years in Late Night. Jimmy Kimmel already

61
00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:13.159
<v Speaker 1>at twenty years, How is that possible? So? Is Kimmel

62
00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:18.560
<v Speaker 1>gonna pass Leno and again quietly accumulating stats might make

63
00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:20.919
<v Speaker 1>some sort of Late Night Hall of Fame because of it?

64
00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:23.680
<v Speaker 1>But is there a legacy of Jimmy Kimmel? I don't

65
00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:26.840
<v Speaker 1>think so. Stephen Colbert in his two forms at nineteen,

66
00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:31.360
<v Speaker 1>John Stewart at seventeen in counting, Jimmy Fallon sixteen in counting,

67
00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:33.759
<v Speaker 1>Andy Cohen, who hasn't come up at all in these

68
00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:37.680
<v Speaker 1>discussions sixteen years in counting. So we talk about legacy

69
00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:42.879
<v Speaker 1>and longevity. On the legacy front, Arsenio Hall absolutely has

70
00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:47.120
<v Speaker 1>a legacy. He does not have longevity. The Arsenio Show

71
00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:50.599
<v Speaker 1>ran from January third, nineteen eighty nine, until May twenty seventh,

72
00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:53.840
<v Speaker 1>nineteen ninety four. Not very long, right, five years. There

73
00:03:53.879 --> 00:03:56.520
<v Speaker 1>was a reboot in twenty thirteen. Do you remember that?

74
00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:00.000
<v Speaker 1>I don't either. The reboot ran from September ninth, twenty

75
00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:03.639
<v Speaker 1>thirteen to May twenty first, twenty fourteen. It's one season.

76
00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:07.759
<v Speaker 1>Also Arsenio had taken over for Joan Rivers on The

77
00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:10.360
<v Speaker 1>Late Show in nineteen eighty seven when Joan was fired.

78
00:04:10.919 --> 00:04:14.639
<v Speaker 1>He hosted it for thirteen weeks and was unexpectedly popular.

79
00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:17.680
<v Speaker 1>So that's legacy. He definitely has a legacy. We'll talk

80
00:04:17.680 --> 00:04:21.720
<v Speaker 1>more about him. Longevity is Jay Leno, but I'm not

81
00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:27.040
<v Speaker 1>sure Jay has legacy. Some folks worth mentioning that aren't

82
00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:32.439
<v Speaker 1>really part of this conversation. Dickkevit, Joey Bishop, Pat Sayjack Magic, Johnson,

83
00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:36.279
<v Speaker 1>Chevy Chase, Jerry Lewis had a show for a week,

84
00:04:36.519 --> 00:04:40.160
<v Speaker 1>like literally one week. Jon Stewart had a show. Did

85
00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:42.240
<v Speaker 1>David Bernner have a show on ABC for a while,

86
00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:45.279
<v Speaker 1>I think he did. Joan Rivers comes up a lot.

87
00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:49.360
<v Speaker 1>She hosted from October ninth, nineteen eighty six to May fifteenth,

88
00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:52.000
<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighty seven. That is not a long time to

89
00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:54.519
<v Speaker 1>put somebody on Mount Rushmore. We can put Joan in

90
00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:56.920
<v Speaker 1>the Late night Hall of Fame for sure, but not

91
00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:59.040
<v Speaker 1>on Mount Rushmore. All right, Let's look at the case

92
00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:02.839
<v Speaker 1>for some of these folks. Steve Allen widely credited with

93
00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:06.079
<v Speaker 1>popularizing the man on the Street interview segment, a staple

94
00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:10.560
<v Speaker 1>of late night TV. He often featured recurring characters comedic sketches,

95
00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:14.399
<v Speaker 1>sometimes involving audience participation. He was known for his quick

96
00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:17.959
<v Speaker 1>wit and improv skills. Steve Allen hosted The Tonight Show

97
00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:21.560
<v Speaker 1>from nineteen fifty four to nineteen fifty seven. He blended

98
00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:26.040
<v Speaker 1>stand up comedy, interviews, musical performances, and quirky segments, known

99
00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:28.800
<v Speaker 1>for making prank phone calls on the show. If I

100
00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:32.240
<v Speaker 1>had to compare him to Mount Rushmore, he's the George Washington,

101
00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:34.839
<v Speaker 1>representing the birth and the founding of the nation as

102
00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:38.279
<v Speaker 1>the first president. Strong case for Steve Allen, he passes

103
00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:42.279
<v Speaker 1>off to Jack Parr. Jack hosted Tonight from July twenty ninth,

104
00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:45.800
<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty seven to March thirtieth, nineteen sixty two. Let

105
00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:47.600
<v Speaker 1>me read to you from his oh bit in The

106
00:05:47.639 --> 00:05:49.839
<v Speaker 1>New York Times in two thousand and four. Jack Parr,

107
00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:53.560
<v Speaker 1>the prickly, often emotional and always unpredictable humorist who turned

108
00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:56.800
<v Speaker 1>late night TV into a national institution when he was

109
00:05:56.800 --> 00:05:58.879
<v Speaker 1>the host of The Tonight Show, passed away at a

110
00:05:59.040 --> 00:06:02.040
<v Speaker 1>eighty five. John O'Connor wrote in The Times in nineteen

111
00:06:02.079 --> 00:06:05.120
<v Speaker 1>ninety seven. Before Jack Parr, there were various variety shows.

112
00:06:05.160 --> 00:06:08.079
<v Speaker 1>Doing the midnight watch, he simplified the format into a

113
00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:10.399
<v Speaker 1>talk show, complete with the sofa and desk set that

114
00:06:10.439 --> 00:06:13.879
<v Speaker 1>remains a fixture of his secret interesting guests, far more

115
00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:16.519
<v Speaker 1>so than the celebrity hordes working on product plugs today,

116
00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:19.560
<v Speaker 1>and an uncanny ability to listen carefully and actually engage

117
00:06:19.560 --> 00:06:23.720
<v Speaker 1>in clever and often witty conversation William Grimes observed in

118
00:06:23.759 --> 00:06:26.519
<v Speaker 1>the Times. Long before David Letterman, mister Parr had an

119
00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.560
<v Speaker 1>anarchic streak that inspired him to pair guests like Liberaci

120
00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:32.720
<v Speaker 1>and Cassius Clay, or Jane Mansfield and Joshauh Gabor to

121
00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:34.399
<v Speaker 1>get in the ring with a professional wrestler, or to

122
00:06:34.399 --> 00:06:36.160
<v Speaker 1>shuffle the que cards in the middle of a Robert

123
00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:39.040
<v Speaker 1>Gulay Judy Gorylan duet that almost sounds like Malaniy's show.

124
00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:42.439
<v Speaker 1>When network sensors excised at joke about a water closet

125
00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:45.800
<v Speaker 1>for young ings that's a code for toilet. From the

126
00:06:45.839 --> 00:06:49.439
<v Speaker 1>show's broadcast in February nineteen sixty, Parr walked off the

127
00:06:49.480 --> 00:06:52.319
<v Speaker 1>show the next night in protest, leaving announcer Hugh Downs

128
00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:55.399
<v Speaker 1>to finish the show. Parr didn't return until three weeks

129
00:06:55.480 --> 00:06:58.560
<v Speaker 1>later on March seventh, He strolled on a stage, struck

130
00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:01.439
<v Speaker 1>a pose and said, as I was saying, so, I

131
00:07:01.439 --> 00:07:03.879
<v Speaker 1>asked the AI, what's the case for Jack Parr? Y A,

132
00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:07.079
<v Speaker 1>I wrote, Steve Allen created the format. Jack Parr gave

133
00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:10.040
<v Speaker 1>it a soul. Right, that's pretty good. AI. Before Parr

134
00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:13.480
<v Speaker 1>Late Night was mostly stunts, bits and variety acts. Part

135
00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.720
<v Speaker 1>turned the Tonight show in a place for smart, engaging

136
00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:19.240
<v Speaker 1>and awful emotional conversations. He brought humanity to a format

137
00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:22.120
<v Speaker 1>that could have easily stayed shallow and silly. He made

138
00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:23.839
<v Speaker 1>the interview the heart of the show, not just as

139
00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:26.639
<v Speaker 1>a publicity stop, but as a space for real talk.

140
00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:29.480
<v Speaker 1>He can draw a straight line from Parr to Dick Cavett,

141
00:07:29.560 --> 00:07:32.560
<v Speaker 1>to Letterman to John Stewart. If Allan is the architect,

142
00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:34.519
<v Speaker 1>Parr is the guy who walked into the house and

143
00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:37.879
<v Speaker 1>made it feel alive. Strong case for Jack Parr. There

144
00:07:38.600 --> 00:07:42.480
<v Speaker 1>next up Johnny Carson. Again, if you're listening to this show,

145
00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:45.319
<v Speaker 1>I don't explain Johnny Carson to you. He's on. I

146
00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:47.439
<v Speaker 1>forgot to ask it to make a case for Tom Snyder.

147
00:07:47.560 --> 00:07:49.800
<v Speaker 1>Let me do that. I'm tipping my hand there that

148
00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:52.759
<v Speaker 1>Tom Snyder didn't make it. But the AI writes, before

149
00:07:52.839 --> 00:07:55.319
<v Speaker 1>let him in, before Conan, before Stewart, there was Snyder.

150
00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:58.519
<v Speaker 1>The Tomorrow Show debuted in seventy three, airing after Carson.

151
00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:01.560
<v Speaker 1>Snyder eventually invented the post midnight talk show format. He

152
00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:03.279
<v Speaker 1>was on the stand up. He wasn't goofy. He was

153
00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:08.439
<v Speaker 1>just Tom intense, curious, and weirdly mesmerizing. David Letterman idolized

154
00:08:08.439 --> 00:08:11.240
<v Speaker 1>Tom Snyder. When Letterman moved to CBS in ninety three,

155
00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:13.959
<v Speaker 1>he handpicked Snyder to host the Late Late Show. I

156
00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:16.759
<v Speaker 1>forgot that even happened. Yeah, because he wanted someone who

157
00:08:16.800 --> 00:08:20.800
<v Speaker 1>wasn't doing a comedy show, just compelling conversation. That's legacy power.

158
00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:24.000
<v Speaker 1>Onto David Letterman, the AI writes, If there's not a

159
00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:26.120
<v Speaker 1>place for him on the mountain, then blow the whole

160
00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:30.240
<v Speaker 1>thing up and start over. Dave rebuilt Late Night as

161
00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:33.600
<v Speaker 1>something weirder, sharper, and more ironic. When Late Night with

162
00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.720
<v Speaker 1>David Letterman premiere in eighty two. He didn't try to

163
00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:38.120
<v Speaker 1>out Carson Carson. He created a punk rock version of

164
00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:42.559
<v Speaker 1>the talk show, remote segments in diners, elevator races, stupid petricks,

165
00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:45.159
<v Speaker 1>and top ten lists that made no sense. He mocked

166
00:08:45.159 --> 00:08:48.320
<v Speaker 1>the genre as he mastered it without Dave. There's no Conan,

167
00:08:48.559 --> 00:08:51.120
<v Speaker 1>no Kimmel, no Colbert, no Felon, no Seth, just a

168
00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:53.480
<v Speaker 1>bunch of guys trying to be mini Carson's all right,

169
00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:57.200
<v Speaker 1>let me flip over another card. Carson Letterman, Letterman is

170
00:08:57.240 --> 00:08:59.679
<v Speaker 1>on the Mount Rushmore. Is there a case for Jay Leno?

171
00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.519
<v Speaker 1>I went back and forth with this. The AI says, Yeah,

172
00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:05.480
<v Speaker 1>there's a case for Jay Leno on the late night

173
00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:08.919
<v Speaker 1>Mount Rushmore. But it's not the case you'd make for Letterman,

174
00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:11.759
<v Speaker 1>Conan or Carson. Leno doesn't make them out on cool

175
00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:14.039
<v Speaker 1>points or creative innovation. He makes it on a different

176
00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:17.720
<v Speaker 1>kind of strength dominance. Leno may not have been the

177
00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:20.240
<v Speaker 1>critics darling, but the guy crushed the ratings. For the

178
00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:22.080
<v Speaker 1>better part of two decades, The Tonight Show with Jay

179
00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.039
<v Speaker 1>Leno was the most watched late night show in America.

180
00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:27.039
<v Speaker 1>He beat Letterman, He beat everyone. If late night was

181
00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:29.960
<v Speaker 1>a sport, Jay was the guy stacking up wins while

182
00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:32.240
<v Speaker 1>the others are getting profile pieces in The New Yorker.

183
00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:35.480
<v Speaker 1>Viewers liked him, Middle America liked him. NBC liked his

184
00:09:35.519 --> 00:09:38.360
<v Speaker 1>ad revenue. That kind of commercial dominance counts in any

185
00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:41.759
<v Speaker 1>Hall of fame. The guy wrote his own jokes, stayed

186
00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:44.519
<v Speaker 1>up reading the wires, and was known for outworking everybody

187
00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:47.519
<v Speaker 1>he spoke to a different America. Letterman was New York cool,

188
00:09:47.639 --> 00:09:50.360
<v Speaker 1>Conan was Harvard weird. Stuart and Colbert were political. But

189
00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:52.279
<v Speaker 1>Jay talked to your uncle who watches Wheel of Fortune

190
00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:55.679
<v Speaker 1>thinks oj jokes are still hilarious. That matters. He connected

191
00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:57.279
<v Speaker 1>with a vast part of the country that didn't want

192
00:09:57.360 --> 00:09:59.399
<v Speaker 1>edge or irony. Just a guy in Denham telling safe

193
00:09:59.480 --> 00:10:01.960
<v Speaker 1>jokes about politicians and celebrities. It kept the Tonight Show

194
00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:03.799
<v Speaker 1>accessible and mainstream at a time when the rest of

195
00:10:03.879 --> 00:10:07.480
<v Speaker 1>Late Night was getting sharper, snarky, ear and narrower. Even

196
00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:09.639
<v Speaker 1>Letterman called him the best stand up in the country

197
00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:12.919
<v Speaker 1>back in the day. Strong case for Jay Leno, I

198
00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.799
<v Speaker 1>mean he did beat David Letterman. He kept the Tonight

199
00:10:15.799 --> 00:10:18.519
<v Speaker 1>Show going for two more decades. Should we put him

200
00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.320
<v Speaker 1>up on the mountain? Nah? Yeah, let's circle back. Let's

201
00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:25.200
<v Speaker 1>see Carson Letterman two more. The case for John Stewart.

202
00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:28.919
<v Speaker 1>He turned Late Night into a weapon. Before John Stewart

203
00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:30.799
<v Speaker 1>took over the Daily Show in ninety nine, Late Night

204
00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:34.480
<v Speaker 1>was mostly entertainment, monologues, movie plugs, the occasional political jab

205
00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:37.799
<v Speaker 1>Stuart flipped that he made comedy delivery system for truth.

206
00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:42.320
<v Speaker 1>Satshire became sharp punch lines carried purpose. If you like

207
00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:45.679
<v Speaker 1>Last Week Tonight, Thanks Stuart, Colbert report full frontal at

208
00:10:45.679 --> 00:10:49.519
<v Speaker 1>Stan b Hassan Minhaj's Patriot Act, even the later years

209
00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:52.639
<v Speaker 1>of Weekend Update, that's Stuart's legacy. Yes, he was funny,

210
00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:54.799
<v Speaker 1>but when it came time to drop the joke, Stuart

211
00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:56.960
<v Speaker 1>could cut through the noise like nobody else alive. His

212
00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:00.360
<v Speaker 1>monologue after nine to eleven, his brutal eviseration of cross Fire,

213
00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:03.679
<v Speaker 1>his takedown of Congress over the nine to eleven First Responders,

214
00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:07.919
<v Speaker 1>Bill Stewart captured the politically aware millennial who distrusted mainstream

215
00:11:07.919 --> 00:11:09.600
<v Speaker 1>media but still want to know what the hell was

216
00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:11.799
<v Speaker 1>going on. He didn't try to reach everyone. He asked

217
00:11:11.840 --> 00:11:14.679
<v Speaker 1>his audience clearly and honestly, and they trusted him more

218
00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:17.519
<v Speaker 1>than the news anchors. Multiple studies found Stewart was one

219
00:11:17.559 --> 00:11:19.799
<v Speaker 1>of the most trusted news sources for young Americans in

220
00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:23.120
<v Speaker 1>the two thousands. Clearly a case for the Late Night

221
00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:25.080
<v Speaker 1>Hall of Fame, which is a different discussion. I think

222
00:11:25.080 --> 00:11:26.840
<v Speaker 1>everybody I'm mentioning on the show is in the Late

223
00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:30.759
<v Speaker 1>night Hall of Fame. But mount Roushmore, Carson, Letterman, you

224
00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:34.399
<v Speaker 1>get two more. I'm not putting John up. The case

225
00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:40.320
<v Speaker 1>for Arsenio Hall again, legacy with a capital L longevity. No,

226
00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:43.559
<v Speaker 1>he had the it factor, the barking crowd, the fingerspin entrance,

227
00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:47.559
<v Speaker 1>the appointed questions delivered with charm. Arcinio had a charisma

228
00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:49.679
<v Speaker 1>that connected. He wasn't trying to be Carson, he was

229
00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:52.440
<v Speaker 1>being himself, and America shot up for it. In his prime,

230
00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:54.919
<v Speaker 1>he beat Johnny Carson in the ratings with younger viewers

231
00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:58.080
<v Speaker 1>that was unthinkable. He made being on his couch just

232
00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:01.360
<v Speaker 1>as valuable as Carson's. He changed politics on Late Night,

233
00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:03.879
<v Speaker 1>before the Daily Show, before Colbert, before Fellon and slow

234
00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:06.120
<v Speaker 1>jam the news. There was our Senio playing the sacks

235
00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:09.279
<v Speaker 1>with Bill Clinton wasn't a gimmick. That moment is widely

236
00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:12.360
<v Speaker 1>credited with helping Clinton win over younger viewers and reshaping

237
00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:16.039
<v Speaker 1>how politicians approached pop culture. He made it cool to

238
00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:19.000
<v Speaker 1>mix politics and entertainment. He built a lane that didn't

239
00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:22.840
<v Speaker 1>exist before and made sure others could follow. Hall of Fame. Yes,

240
00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:26.879
<v Speaker 1>Mountain top I can't. I've only got two spots left,

241
00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:30.480
<v Speaker 1>Carson Letterman and two more. Let's talk about Conan O'Brien.

242
00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.519
<v Speaker 1>I started thinking about Conan, and I'm like, are we

243
00:12:33.559 --> 00:12:35.840
<v Speaker 1>just gon a love fest with Conan right now? Are

244
00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:39.480
<v Speaker 1>we possibly overrating Conan right now just because we're into

245
00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:41.279
<v Speaker 1>what he's been up to when we root for him

246
00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:42.799
<v Speaker 1>and the whole thing, and he was the fifty million

247
00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:46.320
<v Speaker 1>dollar underdog, right and so everybody likes the guy. A

248
00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:50.960
<v Speaker 1>Devil's argument is he Van Hagar. We liked the Iconoclass Show,

249
00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:53.440
<v Speaker 1>and he followed and did his own version and it

250
00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.639
<v Speaker 1>was differently great. My case against Conan is when he

251
00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:00.360
<v Speaker 1>put Conan up against Letterman, that's putting Sammy are up

252
00:13:00.360 --> 00:13:03.919
<v Speaker 1>against David the Roth and Dave One. I'll counter argument that,

253
00:13:04.679 --> 00:13:07.440
<v Speaker 1>as I've talked about on this show many times, hosting

254
00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:10.240
<v Speaker 1>the Tonight Show is a certain skill. Jay Leno hosted

255
00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:13.120
<v Speaker 1>The Tonight Show. The Jay Leno of Tonight was different

256
00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:15.440
<v Speaker 1>than the edgyj that used to guest on Late Night

257
00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:18.320
<v Speaker 1>with David Letterman Jimmy Fallon. You've heard me talk about him.

258
00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:20.600
<v Speaker 1>I think he's much more talented than the role he

259
00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:23.559
<v Speaker 1>plays as host of the Tonight Show, Conan, same kind

260
00:13:23.559 --> 00:13:27.639
<v Speaker 1>of box. Conan inherited the Letterman slot with almost no

261
00:13:27.799 --> 00:13:31.159
<v Speaker 1>on camera experience. Early reviews were brutal, but instead of

262
00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:35.600
<v Speaker 1>chasing traditional expectations, Conan doubled down on the weird dancing

263
00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:39.240
<v Speaker 1>Bears masturbating Bear in the year two thousand triumph. It

264
00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:42.000
<v Speaker 1>wasn't Johnny Carson's Late Night. He helped make absurdity and

265
00:13:42.039 --> 00:13:46.519
<v Speaker 1>self deprecation the default tone for a generation of comedy writers. Okay,

266
00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:50.639
<v Speaker 1>let's get some commercials in. We've got Carson and Letterman

267
00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:53.360
<v Speaker 1>and two more. Take the break, we'll come back and

268
00:13:53.399 --> 00:13:56.879
<v Speaker 1>I'll tell you what I think. Oh boy, this is fun,

269
00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:02.720
<v Speaker 1>all right, Carson Letterman spot number three, and I have

270
00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:04.799
<v Speaker 1>changed my opinion about this, But as the more I

271
00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:07.159
<v Speaker 1>thought about it, I gotta give it to Steve Allen,

272
00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:10.559
<v Speaker 1>because George Washington represents the birth and the founding of

273
00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:13.879
<v Speaker 1>the nation as the first president. Without Steve Allen, there's

274
00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:16.559
<v Speaker 1>no late night period. He created the Tonight Show in

275
00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:19.639
<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty four. He built the blueprint. Everybody else follows.

276
00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:24.679
<v Speaker 1>Monologue bits, desk segments, sketches, musical guests, interviews from Carson

277
00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:29.480
<v Speaker 1>to Conan. It's remixing Steve Allen's formula. Steve Allen makes

278
00:14:29.519 --> 00:14:33.679
<v Speaker 1>the Late Night mount rushmore all right, Steve Allen, Johnny Carson,

279
00:14:34.279 --> 00:14:37.440
<v Speaker 1>David Letterman, Who am I giving the fourth spot to

280
00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:41.919
<v Speaker 1>Conan O'Brien and I wish I were this good? This

281
00:14:41.960 --> 00:14:45.519
<v Speaker 1>is the AI wrote this. In twenty ten, NBC handed

282
00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:47.559
<v Speaker 1>the Tonight Show to Conin, only to Yan get back

283
00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:50.559
<v Speaker 1>for Jay Leno. Within the year. Rather than meltdown, Conan

284
00:14:50.679 --> 00:14:53.679
<v Speaker 1>delivered some of the most savagely funny, cathartic, and bitter

285
00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:56.440
<v Speaker 1>yet classic comedy and TV history. His final episodes were

286
00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:59.399
<v Speaker 1>a mic drop moment and his farewell speech, which was

287
00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:01.639
<v Speaker 1>if you work with hard in your kind, amazing things

288
00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:04.960
<v Speaker 1>will happen. Turned him into a folk hero. He went

289
00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:07.440
<v Speaker 1>from Late Night to The Tonight Show, to Conan on TBS,

290
00:15:07.480 --> 00:15:10.480
<v Speaker 1>to Conan O'Brien needs a Friend, and somehow kept evolving.

291
00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:12.399
<v Speaker 1>He took a show on the road, did specials in

292
00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:15.039
<v Speaker 1>Armenia and Cuba. He made podcast Theys feel like a

293
00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:18.480
<v Speaker 1>legitimate format for a former network host. Few late night

294
00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:21.360
<v Speaker 1>stars have redefined themselves as many times as Conan without

295
00:15:21.360 --> 00:15:23.960
<v Speaker 1>becoming irrelevant. I have a big smile on my face

296
00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:26.639
<v Speaker 1>as I read that Conan O'Brien makes the late night

297
00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:30.840
<v Speaker 1>mount Rushmore alongside Steve Allen, Johnny Carson, and David Letterman.

298
00:15:30.919 --> 00:15:34.279
<v Speaker 1>Those are four. If I had a fifth, I would

299
00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:37.039
<v Speaker 1>give it to Jay Leno. But again there's no legacy,

300
00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:39.759
<v Speaker 1>and any legacy is tied back to the Conan fiasco.

301
00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:42.919
<v Speaker 1>A good caretaker, but didn't advance the format, which is

302
00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:45.080
<v Speaker 1>no sin and it is exactly what the gig is.

303
00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:48.000
<v Speaker 1>Jay hosted the Tonight show and kept the ship steady.

304
00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:50.519
<v Speaker 1>But does that get you on the mountain? It does not.

305
00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:54.440
<v Speaker 1>And that's today's episode of Daily Comedy News. See you tomorrow.