Posted on 05/22/2015 2:44:51 AM PDT by iowamark
Johnny Carson’s retirement truly was the end of an era. Jay Leno’s retirement felt like the end of an era. David Letterman’s retirement feels like the end of an argument that probably mattered once upon a time but now drags ceaselessly on due only to the bitter loser’s unwillingness to let go.
It is not hard to trace the long, sad, bitter fall of David Letterman. In early 1992, Letterman lost “The Tonight Show” to Jay Leno. Letterman believed Johnny’s chair was rightfully his (it was), that he was Carson’s heir apparent (he was), and that he had more to offer than Leno (he did).
Letterman turned the heartbreaking loss of a lifelong dream (a dream we, his devoted fans, shared) into a beautiful piece of performance art. He (and we) coped with this injustice through brilliantly subversive jokes aimed at the NBC suits. Out here in the real world, we also hate our bosses. Out here in the real world, we also dream of open rebellion. And here was our Dave, before our very eyes, living in real time through our pain and humiliation, and doing so with humor, honesty, and dignity...
After a promising start in the ratings, Leno began what would become two decades of beating Dave like a drum. Leno won, and did so handily. Like Dave, we his fans were humiliated. We were so sure we were right. We were so sure we’d bury Leno...
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Paul Shaefer?
After the hour, in the shower room, we all noted that he was a "looker"....his gaze never rose above navel-level when studying those having a rinseoff......creepy.
Yes. He wanted Letterman. Letterman was a nice person in those days. I have a friend who worked as a dresser on the show in the 80s and she thought Letterman was the greatest boss.
To see Paul Schaeffer together with Chevy Chase is to see two of the worst people I’ve ever had the mispleasure to meet. I was only at some event where the host was introducing. Two major putzes.
I used to love Letterman when he was on NBC but he seemed to get less funny the older we both became.
Interesting! Some people crave power more than others but I didn’t think that of Leno. And I actually miss Jonny Carson. He was a funny guy I just enjoyed watching.
Oh, Leno is famous for his conniving. Remember he also connived to remain on the Tonight Show after his contract was up. He does have a nice guy persona on tv, of course - unlike Letterman. Years ago, I saw Leno’s act and he was fantastic. He works clean.
Yeah, you’re right.
Take care.
What they didn't (and couldn't have) were characters like Art Fern, Floyd R Turbo, El Mouldo or Carnac the Magnificent.
Leno's Cop and Kitty was OK but Carnac defining Sis boom Ba as the sound of an exploding sheep was genius.
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