The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson's Best Moments

The 30-year run of Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show was both memorable and historic. It was the setting for a number of classic TV moments remembered by television watchers of several generations. Though many people remember Carson for his hilarious characters and skits, he was not one to shy away from controversial topics when it was something that he truly believed in. Many of his best-known moments have been captured on various classic TV DVD's, enabling fans of Carson to watch their favorite bits over and over again.

One of Johnny Carson’s best known moments, one that demonstrated to the world just how quick his wit really was, happened two years after he began his run on The Tonight Show. On April 29, 1965, Ed Ames of the Daniel Boone television series was Carson’s guest. Ames was demonstrating how to throw a tomahawk using a wooden silhouette of a man, and when he threw the tomahawk it landed squarely in the silhouette’s crotch. As the crowd laughed, Carson quipped, “I didn’t even know you were Jewish.” This piece of classic television comedy was so popular that it was often replayed on the show’s anniversary.

Other classic moments on The Tonight Show revolved around some of the recurring characters that Johnny Carson portrayed, often with the help of Ed McMahon. Quite possibly the most famous of these classic television characters was Carnac the Magnificent, a mentalist played by Carson who would claim to be able to answer questions sealed in envelopes without ever seeing the question. The answers, of course, would never be straight answers and would instead be puns. When the audience didn’t like one of the jokes, he would respond with equally outlandish curses, such as “May a diseased yak befriend your sister.” Carson had a number of other popular characters as well, such as Floyd R. Turbo, Ralph Willie, and Aunt Blabby.

Not all of the comedy sketches that Carson did contained these repeating characters. There were a number of one-shot skits which appeared on the classic television show, including Carson’s portrayal of Hamlet delivering the famous “To be or not to be…” soliloquy. In the Johnny Carson version, however, were a number of product advertisements which flowed directly from the famous Shakespearean lines to create one of the funniest portrayals of the play to date.

In addition to providing laughs and unexpected punchlines, Carson would from time to time use his show as a means of exposing scams and fakes who were taking advantage of the public at large. Famed psychic Uri Gellar appeared on the show in 1973. Carson himself set up the props for Gellar’s act without Gellar or his manager being able to see them before filming. Despite Gellar’s claims of having genuine mental powers, he was unable to reproduce his usual tricks with the props that Carson provided. This method of proving Gellar a fraud had been suggested by Carson’s friend James Randi, a trained stage magician (like Carson himself) who later appeared on the show in 1987 to expose the supposed faith healer Peter Popoff. Though Popoff claimed that his knowledge of the audience’s problems came from “Godly visions”, Randi provided Carson and his audience with video that showed Popoff’s wife describing the people for him to heal via a microphone which broadcast to a speaker hidden in his hearing aid.

Other classic TV moments on The Tonight Show included visits from zoologists such as Joan Embery and Jim Fowler. They brought animals which Carson would often interact with in some way; many episodes featured Carson being crawled on by smaller animals. One famous incident often shown as a clip featured Carson leaning down too close to a panther’s cage which caused the cat to swipe at him with its paw. Carson ran across the stage and jumped into Ed McMahon’s arms for comedic effect.

When Johnny Carson retired from the show, his final episodes were considered major events. The most sentimental moment came on the next-to-last of his episodes. Bette Midler and Robin Williams were his guests. After Carson revealed in conversation some of his favorite songs, Midler began to sing one. The song soon became a duet between her and Carson. She finished her appearance by singing “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road).” An emotional Carson began to tear up on camera. This historic and touching moment was caught on film using a long camera angle never used in the previous 30 years of Carson’s run. One of his most emotional classic moments became a historic milestone in late night television filming.

Carson was an amazing entertainer, a charismatic personality and a moment maker. His appeal as a celebrity and a comedian carries on to future generations as classic television shows become available on DVD.

~Ben Anton, 2009

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DVDs Bring Classic Donny and Marie Back to the Small Screen

Long time fans and even a new generation of Osmond fans were not surprised that Marie Osmond did so well on “Dancing with the Stars.” Great talent, hard work, and determination in the face of hardships and crisis are what we have come to expect from Marie, Donnie, and the entire Osmond clan over the years. This was evident in all the Osmond children even from the youngest of age, and Donny and Marie have credited their parents for instilling this in them many times in interviews.
The Osmond family celebrates a momentous achievement this year along with throngs of fans young and old with fifty years of entertainment that has been forever captured on TV, film and now on DVD’s so that generations from now can watch and be entertained just as we have been all these years by the mega-talented Donny and Marie Osmond.
Donny and Marie were clean-cut kids, with strong, religious, caring parents that kept all of the Osmond children well grounded. But they were a little bit Country and a little bit Rock and Roll, and very “cool” as far as kids were concerned. The Donnie and Marie show was a variety show originally aired on ABC from 1976-1979.
Donny and Marie had already made names for themselves in the music industry prior to the airing of their variety show. Donny and his brothers sang together as The Osmonds. While Marie had a #1 hit song on the billboard charts, (one of the youngest singers to achieve this) titled Paper Roses in 1973.
The Donny and Marie show had songs of course, but also comedy skits, a skating bit, and always a spectacular finale before Donny and Marie would close the show with a song that became special to many of us that tuned into their show every week. That song was “May Tomorrow be a Perfect Day.”
Donny and Marie are certainly the embodiment of true classic television stars. But they have also been able to maintain their popularity even as the face of television has changed so much since the late 70’s. The tapings of the Donny and Marie variety show could have been hidden away in forgotten vaults along with other classic TV shows like I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffin Show, Happy Days, The Carol Burnet Show, and other truly wonderfully entertaining classic TV shows.
Thankfully, someone had the foresight to bring these classic TV shows out from their dark vaults and run them again for a new generation of kids to fall in love with and an older generation to enjoy the shows that were such a part of the culture of our time back then. There is something comforting about re-living the experiences of our youth as we watch reruns of our favorite classic TV shows. It is nice too, sharing these fond favorites with children and grandchildren and discovering that there is no gender gap when it comes to enjoying wholesome classic television shows together. You can see many favorite classic TV shows aired on networks devoted to broadcasting classic TV, which have large audiences of every age.
DVDs have become a popular medium for watching movies and special episode series of our favorite television shows. You don’t need a television schedule to mark special broadcast dates on the calendar because with DVDs, you are in control of when you watch them. Keeping up with changing times, many of our favorite classic tv shows are now being digitally re-mastered onto DVDs for crisp, clear picture and sound formats to allow us to relive the magic those classic television shows created for us then and continue to as we watch them again.
The Donny and Marie Variety Show is now available on DVD and the Osmonds have been creating magic, entertainment, and a fascination with everything Osmond for fifty years. One secret to their longevity is the absolute humbleness they display even with the celebrity stature they have gained over the years. They have also always been very open in sharing not just their successes and triumphs but the hardships as well. For instance, Donny and Marie openly share sadness about two of the elder Osmond brothers being deaf, and how hard it must be for them to be a part of a singing family and not be able to hear the singing. Donny and Marie and the Osmond family showed strength and determination, even in crisis and hard times. There strength as a family became even clearer this past year when Donny, Marie and 125 other Osmonds appeared on the Oprah show just days after their father, George Osmond, died.
I don’t see the star over Donny and Marie Osmond ever fading. I hope your family buys or receives a Donny and Marie Show DVD this year. You will surely be inspired and entertained.
~ Ben Anton, 2008

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Donny & Marie Show: The Clothes That Made The Show

She was a little bit country. He was a little bit rock and roll. Together, they were a whole lot of ridiculous. And somehow, through the magic of over-the-top musical numbers, phenomenal guest stars, and painfully kitschy acting skills, Donny and Marie Osmond captured the attention and hearts of the entire nation. While The Donny and Marie Show of the late seventies only lasted a handful of seasons, their outrageous prime-time antics have made a lasting impression on TV viewers of any generation.
The Donny & Marie Show was created by SId and Marty Krofft, the famed creators of other such offbeat television programs as H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost. It aired from January 1976 to May 1979 as a weekly on ABC and featured such famous guest stars as Redd Fox, Lucile Ball, Betty White, Jerry Lewis, and Milton Berle. The format usually consisted of an elaborate opening act followed by a series of comedy sketches and an even more elaborate closing musical number. But for all the campy scripts and synchronized dance routines, the real stars of the Donny & Marie Show were, without a doubt, the costumes.
The 1977 Christmas special episode is a great example of Donny and Marie's ability to balance cutesy-poo costumes on that thin line between adorable and nauseating. Donny kept it simple; dressing in a matching white knit sweater and slacks combo with a red, white and green striped scarf, he wasn't afraid to say to the world, "Hi! I'm Donny Osmond! I taste like spearmint!" Marie made bolder choices in her winter finest with what looks to be a one-piece body suit but, upon closer inspection, turns out to be a sweater and stretch pants that are just slightly different shades of green. What makes this episode so memorable costume-wise is the fact that the entire Osmond family was featured --Mother, Father, the small army of twenty-eight that is the rest of their immediate family-- and they all match. I'm not sure who was in charge of coordinating outfits for that episode, but my hat certainly is off.
Another interesting costume extravaganza was the episode in which Marie celebrated her 18th birthday. In this episode, Marie and Donny sing their familiar weekly number, "I'm A Little BIt Country, I'm A Little Bit Rock-and-Roll", but this time -- gasp! -- they switch lyrics! That's right! And what kind of dramatic turn events would it be without ridiculous costumes. Both Donny and Marie sport matching silver outfits. Donny has a faux-western theme going on, while Marie looks like she just got back from touring with David Bowie. Marie also has an enormous new hairdo or, as Donny refers to it, a "hair don't."
Donny and Marie didn't stop at matching scarves and silver jumpsuits, though. In one episode, Donny portrays a superhero character known as Captain Purple, wearing an oversized purple muscle suit and wig and, as his mild-mannered alter-ego, a flannel suit. Not to be outdone, Marie suits up herself as Gnidder Neleh (Helen Redding spelled backward) in an equally campy red-orange mini-skirt and wig.
Star Wars being the cultural phenomenon that it was, it only made sense that Donny and Marie would have to do a parody of it. Donny plays Luke and Marie plays Leia with such guest stars as Redd Fox, Kris Kristofferson, Paul Lynde, and a few of the Osmond brothers. The costumes were polished, Osmond-style variations of the originals; unfortunately, C-3PO ends up stealing the show.
The best costumes of the entire series, however, belong to the famous Wizard of Oz episode. Marie plays Dorothy in a red checkered dress and pigtails, Donny is a Willy Wonka-esque Wizard in a yellow-green, curly wig and sparkling fez hat, and Paul Lynde is a downright terrifying Wicked Witch of the West in full green face paint, black gown and gruesome fingernails. Additional victims...err, guests...of this episode include Lucille Ball as the Tin Man, Paul Williams as the Cowardly Lion and Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow. The entire production is technicolor bizarre; the epitome of classic Donny and Marie.
While the show did indeed host a laundry list of Hollywood greats, the real stars weren't the people on the stage but the clothes on the people. From platform shoes and bellbottoms to capes and ice skates, Donny and Marie weren't afraid to let their clothes pick up where their own talent left off. And while some may find The Donny & Marie Show silly and outdated, one thing is for sure; there hasn't been anything like it on television since. Wardrobe-wise, that is.
~Ben Anton, 2008

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