Posted on 01/27/2005 8:42:29 PM PST by Lancey Howard
I grew up in Missouri and started loving base ball in the 50s, so naturally my hero was "Stan The Man"
My parents are in their mid 70's, both of them, my dad smoked like a chimney up until about 15 years ago.
She died from cancer shortly after Jay cut her loose. I am sure he fired her "gently" because she was with him all along and I'm sure she did what she did because she thought it would help Jay. But she was definitely over the top. Hers is an incredibly tragic story.
Koufax was my hero as a young boy. I listened to every game on my crystal radio when the Dodgers moved to LA. The first few seasons he was FAST, but threw, not pitched. Then he hit his stride, throwing 100 mph fastballs that batters said got faster, not slower, as some of his games approached 9 innings. And he had, at that time the most wicked curve ball in baseball. His elbow tendons died in his early 30's. He gracefully stepped down and left the game. What a humble giant of Baseball that this man was..
Johnny Carson did, also, on the show one night, tell the audience that "that was my last one," and he did quit, also suggesting that people not smoke.
I enjoyed watching Johnny Carson through all his years on television. He had a class act, that has not been matched, certainly not by Leno, and unfortunately, not by Letterman.
Mr. Carson had great respect for people with class and self-dignity, which are parts of what was American life, that I believe he regreted somewhat, to see passing by the wayside, in exchange for appearances of "professionalism" that are unsubstantiated.
Mr. Carson, as far I as I knew, was a gentleman.
He proposed to quit the show, in the early 1980's, but then he responded to the overwhelming support, of his audience, and remained with it, though now, I wish he had quit back then; and then, maybe, done a holiday special on some occasions.
He was a great admirer of Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart, and John Wayne.
Of course, Mr. Hope was the landlord for NBC in Southern California, and it is unlikely that Mr. Carson was "forced out" of anything.
It would be possibly more accurate to say, that he was a bit unhappy with deal makers of a sort, both in part of show business, and in the wife-lawyer-divorce business.
Mr. Carson was a good man.
That, unfortunately, is now a rarity.
.Everywhere.
That is without a doubt, my favorite skit. Carson's dead pan expressions were priceless! I wish I had a VHS copy!
Karnak and the Mighty Carson Art Players were a hoot too. The bimbo blonde babe, with Carson giving driving directions..."take a fork in the road," while pointing to a flipchart map showing a fork!
Carson was THE BEST.
You nailed it.
Most of the talent dried up...or died.
I think it's more than coincidence ratings have steadily declined for networks across the board.
Improv used to offer a wealth of material for Johnny. Most of the guests today cannot improvise. They read their scripts, curse, and genuinely are all me, me, me. There are exceptions. Not enugh to fill a show day after day throughout the year.
See post #32.
Helen was with Leno at the beginning of his stint at The Tonight Show. She went over the top in the guest-booking area.
John ,I like a few cigs a day-maybe 7.I only curse 5 times a day and think ill of my fellow brother most of the day:).Glad you have Mom and Dad.
Check out the link at post #16.
Very goof Koufax bio. Did you know that, at 36, Koufax is the youngest player ever voted into the Hall of Fame? I never knew that.
I'm trying to think of the celebrity that blew the lid off the guest booking attempted 'monopoly'. It was big news for a while. It was a male star who got really angry. The name's on the tip of my tongue.
All of Leno's skits involve essentially the same lie - the utter stupidity of American people (but never immigrants despite the very large immigrant population in California). It really, really gets old.
I wonder is the agent character in Fraiser was based on her?
You may want to take out a billboard ad. However, those that smoke already probably know this. We also know that those in combat, run a greater risk of being shot than sitting at home on the veranda, sipping unsweetened, low calorie, no caffeine, fat-free, clear, zero carbs, no sodium, iced tea, sans the tea leaves, and ice.
Yep, even though they split up a long time ago it's nice to have them around, even if I don't see my dad much anymore. And I know what you mean about your brother. :-)
Yeah, I remember when the whole thing blew up on Jay. He really played it real low-profile - - it was still early in his Tonight Show gig and he just wanted the problem to go away. You could tell the whole thing made him VERY uncomfortable. But he knew what his agent/manager was doing - - he HAD to know.
At one point in the late 1970's early 1980's when NBC literally had no primetime lineup to speak of Carson's show was generating something in excess of 20% of their profits. In today's megabuck world Carson would been worth more than Leno or Letterman and yet CBS is paying Leterman something like $38 Million a year, more than NBC pays Leno, and his ratings are lower than Leno's. Unreal.
He never pitched until High School. Some say that the lack of little league gave him his speed and skills. No man in sports has ever come close to Koufax in his prime. A humble man to this day, a great player. A giant.
Too bad Carter, Kennedy and Clinton don't
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