Johnny Carson
The Larry Sanders Show
May 14, 2010
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
With all of the talk about the late night talk show wars during the past few months, one name has been left out of the discussion.
Larry Sanders.
From 1992 to 1998, The Larry Sanders Show aired on HBO. It was a look at a fictional late night talk show hosted by Larry Sanders, played by Garry Shandling.
Occasionally, episodes featured scenes from the actual talk show hosted by Sanders in front of a television audience.
Stars played themselves.
Dana Delany. Sharon Stone. Dana Carvey.
For advice about navigating the shark-infested waters of the entertainment industry and his own staff, Larry frequently turned to veteran producer Artie for advice. Rip Torn played Artie while Jeffrey Tambor played sidekick announcer Hank Kingsley.
Jeremy Piven played Jerry, a young writer on Larry’s staff. Years later, a mini-reunion occurred when Jeffrey Tambor played himself on an episode of Entourage while Piven played his agent, Ari Gold.
The Larry Sanders Show debuted in the firestorm of the early 1990’s when Johhny Carson left The Tonight Show, David Letterman started a late night franchise at CBS, and the audience split its loyalties between Jay Leno and David Letterman.
The area was ripe for exploration as the public became more aware of the business side of show business.
But The Larry Sanders Show explored another side beyond advertisers, demographics, and ratings. This side features topics familiar to every industry -- insecurity, office politics, and the high pressure of job performance in an increasingly competitive atmosphere.
david@davidkrell.com
With all of the talk about the late night talk show wars during the past few months, one name has been left out of the discussion.
Larry Sanders.
From 1992 to 1998, The Larry Sanders Show aired on HBO. It was a look at a fictional late night talk show hosted by Larry Sanders, played by Garry Shandling.
Occasionally, episodes featured scenes from the actual talk show hosted by Sanders in front of a television audience.
Stars played themselves.
Dana Delany. Sharon Stone. Dana Carvey.
For advice about navigating the shark-infested waters of the entertainment industry and his own staff, Larry frequently turned to veteran producer Artie for advice. Rip Torn played Artie while Jeffrey Tambor played sidekick announcer Hank Kingsley.
Jeremy Piven played Jerry, a young writer on Larry’s staff. Years later, a mini-reunion occurred when Jeffrey Tambor played himself on an episode of Entourage while Piven played his agent, Ari Gold.
The Larry Sanders Show debuted in the firestorm of the early 1990’s when Johhny Carson left The Tonight Show, David Letterman started a late night franchise at CBS, and the audience split its loyalties between Jay Leno and David Letterman.
The area was ripe for exploration as the public became more aware of the business side of show business.
But The Larry Sanders Show explored another side beyond advertisers, demographics, and ratings. This side features topics familiar to every industry -- insecurity, office politics, and the high pressure of job performance in an increasingly competitive atmosphere.
Late Night
June 24, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
In the late 1980's and early 1990's, the late night television arena was a free-for-all.
With Johnny Carson leaning toward the exit, Jay Leno and David Letterman battled for the dream job of any comedian -- host of The Tonight Show.
Bill Carter captures the behind-the-scenes action in his excellent book -- The Late Shift.
Arsenio Hall attracted younger viewers when he debuted the first-run syndicated The Arsenio Hall Show in 1989.
With friends including Magic Johnson and Eddie Murphy, Arsenio redefined 'hip' in the era of Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli and the first George Bush.
As Jimmy Durante used to say, Everybody wants to get into the act.
CBS attempted to bring a powerhouse game show host into its nighttime galaxy.
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak got the 11:30 pm job on the Eye Network. He competed with Johnny Carson for a little more than a year from January 1989 to April 1990.
It was a standard talk show format.
Pat Sajak performed a monologue.
Dan Miller was the announcer.
Couch for guests on the left, desk for host on the right.
Miller and Sajak worked together on WSM-TV newscasts in Nashville back in the day.
Tom Scott was the band leader.
Scott was also the band leader for another short-lived offering -- The Chevy Chase Show. It debuted in the Fall of 1993 concurrently with Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Radio DJ Rick Dees gave late night a try on ABC with Into the Night. It debuted in 1990.
Like Sajak, Dees' tenure could be measured in months, Chase's in weeks.
The Arsenio Hall Show ended in 1994 after a five-year run.
During this era, television entered a transition phase with a passing of the baton to the future custodians of late night television.
Why didn't these shows work?
Perhaps Sajak was overexposed because of his daily air time on Wheel of Fortune.
Perhaps Dees simply couldn't compete with Arsenio for the younger viewers.
Perhaps Arsenio Hall got too political during the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots in 1992.
And, of course, the Johnny factor.
America could always revert to Johnny for familiarity, which breeds comfort.
At least the decision makers tried to take on the late night Goliath. In the cases of Dees and Sajak, the networks jumped into the fray. For Arsenio Hall, the strength of a network was absent.
Now, late night is dominated by the next generation -- Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, and the new eminence grise, David Letterman.
david@davidkrell.com
In the late 1980's and early 1990's, the late night television arena was a free-for-all.
With Johnny Carson leaning toward the exit, Jay Leno and David Letterman battled for the dream job of any comedian -- host of The Tonight Show.
Bill Carter captures the behind-the-scenes action in his excellent book -- The Late Shift.
Arsenio Hall attracted younger viewers when he debuted the first-run syndicated The Arsenio Hall Show in 1989.
With friends including Magic Johnson and Eddie Murphy, Arsenio redefined 'hip' in the era of Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli and the first George Bush.
As Jimmy Durante used to say, Everybody wants to get into the act.
CBS attempted to bring a powerhouse game show host into its nighttime galaxy.
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak got the 11:30 pm job on the Eye Network. He competed with Johnny Carson for a little more than a year from January 1989 to April 1990.
It was a standard talk show format.
Pat Sajak performed a monologue.
Dan Miller was the announcer.
Couch for guests on the left, desk for host on the right.
Miller and Sajak worked together on WSM-TV newscasts in Nashville back in the day.
Tom Scott was the band leader.
Scott was also the band leader for another short-lived offering -- The Chevy Chase Show. It debuted in the Fall of 1993 concurrently with Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Radio DJ Rick Dees gave late night a try on ABC with Into the Night. It debuted in 1990.
Like Sajak, Dees' tenure could be measured in months, Chase's in weeks.
The Arsenio Hall Show ended in 1994 after a five-year run.
During this era, television entered a transition phase with a passing of the baton to the future custodians of late night television.
Why didn't these shows work?
Perhaps Sajak was overexposed because of his daily air time on Wheel of Fortune.
Perhaps Dees simply couldn't compete with Arsenio for the younger viewers.
Perhaps Arsenio Hall got too political during the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots in 1992.
And, of course, the Johnny factor.
America could always revert to Johnny for familiarity, which breeds comfort.
At least the decision makers tried to take on the late night Goliath. In the cases of Dees and Sajak, the networks jumped into the fray. For Arsenio Hall, the strength of a network was absent.
Now, late night is dominated by the next generation -- Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, and the new eminence grise, David Letterman.
Private Parts
June 15, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
The 1997 movie Private Parts, based on Howard Stern's autobiography of the same title, has fairly rich television connections.
The shock jock plays himself in Private Parts. His gang of Robin Quivers, Gary Dell'Abate, Fred Norris, and Jackie Martling also play themselves.
But Private Parts does more than merely take Howard Stern's storybook rise to fame from the page to the silver screen.
The movie features future stars of the small screen.
Mary McCormack plays Alison Stern, the wife of the self-proclaimed King of All Media. She steadfastly supports her husband as he finds his unique broadcasting voice.
In the final years of The West Wing, McCormack played Deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper.
Currently, she stars in the USA drama In Plain Sight where she plays Deputy US Marshal Mary Shannon. Shannon is responsible for shepherding federal witnesses through the Witness Protection Program in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Allison Janney also shares a West Wing - Private Parts connection.
In Private Parts, she plays Dee Dee, a radio executive.
In The West Wing, she plays Press Secretary extraordinaire C.J. Cregg who later gets promoted to President Bartlet's Chief of Staff.
Kelly Bishop plays Howard Stern's mother in Private Parts.
We also know her as the matriarch on the poignant, successful, and thoughtful mother-daughter drama Gilmore Girls. Bishop played Emily Gilmore -- mother of Lorelai, grandmother of Rory, and wife of Richard.
Film is a director's medium. Private Parts benefits from a television veteran who draws on her experience to create a definite realism in her productions.
Betty Thomas got her big break as Officer (later Sergeant) Lucy Bates on Hill Street Blues, the highly acclaimed 1980's television drama. Thomas directed the HBO tv-movie The Late Shift based on the book of the same title by Bill Carter. The Late Shift recounts the controversy concerning who would ultimately succeed Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show. Thomas has also directed other movies with roots in television -- I Spy, The Brady Bunch Movie.
And lastly, Paul Giamatti.
This fine character actor has starred in American Splendor, Sideways, and Cinderella Man.
In March - April 2008, Giamatti starred in the title role of the HBO miniseries John Adams based on the book of the same title by David McCullough. Giamatti won an Emmy for his portrayal of the unsung founding father.
In Private Parts, Giamatti plays Pig Vomit, Howard Stern's corporate nemesis during his days at WNBC-AM radio in New York City. Stern supplied the moniker.
david@davidkrell.com
The 1997 movie Private Parts, based on Howard Stern's autobiography of the same title, has fairly rich television connections.
The shock jock plays himself in Private Parts. His gang of Robin Quivers, Gary Dell'Abate, Fred Norris, and Jackie Martling also play themselves.
But Private Parts does more than merely take Howard Stern's storybook rise to fame from the page to the silver screen.
The movie features future stars of the small screen.
Mary McCormack plays Alison Stern, the wife of the self-proclaimed King of All Media. She steadfastly supports her husband as he finds his unique broadcasting voice.
In the final years of The West Wing, McCormack played Deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper.
Currently, she stars in the USA drama In Plain Sight where she plays Deputy US Marshal Mary Shannon. Shannon is responsible for shepherding federal witnesses through the Witness Protection Program in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Allison Janney also shares a West Wing - Private Parts connection.
In Private Parts, she plays Dee Dee, a radio executive.
In The West Wing, she plays Press Secretary extraordinaire C.J. Cregg who later gets promoted to President Bartlet's Chief of Staff.
Kelly Bishop plays Howard Stern's mother in Private Parts.
We also know her as the matriarch on the poignant, successful, and thoughtful mother-daughter drama Gilmore Girls. Bishop played Emily Gilmore -- mother of Lorelai, grandmother of Rory, and wife of Richard.
Film is a director's medium. Private Parts benefits from a television veteran who draws on her experience to create a definite realism in her productions.
Betty Thomas got her big break as Officer (later Sergeant) Lucy Bates on Hill Street Blues, the highly acclaimed 1980's television drama. Thomas directed the HBO tv-movie The Late Shift based on the book of the same title by Bill Carter. The Late Shift recounts the controversy concerning who would ultimately succeed Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show. Thomas has also directed other movies with roots in television -- I Spy, The Brady Bunch Movie.
And lastly, Paul Giamatti.
This fine character actor has starred in American Splendor, Sideways, and Cinderella Man.
In March - April 2008, Giamatti starred in the title role of the HBO miniseries John Adams based on the book of the same title by David McCullough. Giamatti won an Emmy for his portrayal of the unsung founding father.
In Private Parts, Giamatti plays Pig Vomit, Howard Stern's corporate nemesis during his days at WNBC-AM radio in New York City. Stern supplied the moniker.
Heeere's Conan!
May 29, 2009
by David Krell
david@davidkrell.com
Tonight is Jay Leno's last night as host of The Tonight Show.
Leno enjoyed great success because of his immense dedication to the craft of comedy, a Must See TV lineup lead-in with powerhouses Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Friends, Seinfeld, and ER, and a 1995 appearance by Hugh Grant after his arrest for soliciting a prostitute that turbocharged ratings.
But great success came with a cost. Leno's tenure at The Tonight Show will be forever marked by intense competition with Late Show with David Letterman preceded by the confusion over which comedian would succeed Johnny Carson. Additionally, the furor created by Leno's manager Helen Kushnick when she was the initial Executive Producer of The Tonight Show triggered her dismissal only four months into the show. A seventeen-year relationship between the likable comedian and tough entertainment manager evaporated. This, after building Jay Leno's career, increasing his exposure, and taking him from small clubs to the most coveted job in comedy.
Leno will be gone from late night after tonight's broadcast, but not from NBC. In a few months, we will see him on prime time as the host of a Monday-Friday 10:00 pm show (9:00 pm in the Midwest).
Ironically, this is the same time slot that NBC offered to David Letterman after they gave The Tonight Show to Jay Leno. Letterman refused and went to CBS.
A Jay Leno talk-variety show in prime time will be cheaper to produce with more original shows than a drama. But is NBC foregoing potential licensing dollars by not investing in a drama?
To put a spin on a well-known phrase, prime time will tell.
Conan O'Brien takes the baton of The Tonight Show on Monday, June 1st.
david@davidkrell.com
Tonight is Jay Leno's last night as host of The Tonight Show.
Leno enjoyed great success because of his immense dedication to the craft of comedy, a Must See TV lineup lead-in with powerhouses Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Friends, Seinfeld, and ER, and a 1995 appearance by Hugh Grant after his arrest for soliciting a prostitute that turbocharged ratings.
But great success came with a cost. Leno's tenure at The Tonight Show will be forever marked by intense competition with Late Show with David Letterman preceded by the confusion over which comedian would succeed Johnny Carson. Additionally, the furor created by Leno's manager Helen Kushnick when she was the initial Executive Producer of The Tonight Show triggered her dismissal only four months into the show. A seventeen-year relationship between the likable comedian and tough entertainment manager evaporated. This, after building Jay Leno's career, increasing his exposure, and taking him from small clubs to the most coveted job in comedy.
Leno will be gone from late night after tonight's broadcast, but not from NBC. In a few months, we will see him on prime time as the host of a Monday-Friday 10:00 pm show (9:00 pm in the Midwest).
Ironically, this is the same time slot that NBC offered to David Letterman after they gave The Tonight Show to Jay Leno. Letterman refused and went to CBS.
A Jay Leno talk-variety show in prime time will be cheaper to produce with more original shows than a drama. But is NBC foregoing potential licensing dollars by not investing in a drama?
To put a spin on a well-known phrase, prime time will tell.
Conan O'Brien takes the baton of The Tonight Show on Monday, June 1st.