The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson - Format

Format

Carson's show established the modern format of a late-night talk show: A monologue sprinkled with a rapid-fire series of sixteen to twenty-two one-liners—Carson had a rule of no more than two on the same subject—regular use of sketch comedy, and guest interviews. While his early guests included politicians such as John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Hubert Humphrey, Carson mainly had as guests people that had a book, movie, television show, or stage performance to promote. Other regulars were selected for their entertainment or information value, in contrast to those who offered more cerebral conversation; it was Carson's preference for access to Hollywood stars that prompted the show's move to the West Coast in 1972. (When asked about intellectual conversation on Tonight, Carson and his staff invariably cited "Carl Sagan, Paul Ehrlich, Margaret Mead, Gore Vidal, Shana Alexander, Madalyn Murray O'Hair" as guests.)

Carson almost never socialized with guests before or after the show; frequent interviewee Orson Welles recalled that Tonight employees were astonished when Carson made a rare visit to Welles's dressing room to say hello before a show. Unlike his avuncular counterparts Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, and Cavett, Carson was a comparatively "cool" host who only laughed when genuinely amused and abruptly cut short monotonous or embarrassingly inept interviewees. Mort Sahl recalled, "The producer crouches just off camera and holds up a card that says, ‘Go to commercial.’ So Carson goes to a commercial and the whole team rushes up to his desk to discuss what had gone wrong, like a pit stop at Le Mans." Actor Robert Blake once compared being interviewed by Carson to "facing the death squad" or "Broadway on opening night." But the publicity value of appearing on Tonight was so great that most guests were willing to subject themselves to the risk.

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