Jan. 17, 2026

Mike and Mac - Top 10 Greatest Late Night Hosts (Part 1)

Mike and Mac - Top 10 Greatest Late Night Hosts (Part 1)
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Johnny Mac teams up with Mike Chisholm, host of the Letterman Podcast, to discuss and react to Mike's personally curated list of the top 10 late-night hosts of all time. The conversation covers the first four entries on Mike's list, starting with a pioneer of the genre, Steve Allen, and moving on to influential figures such as Arsenio Hall, Craig Ferguson, and the polarizing Jay Leno.  

00:36 Reacting to the Top 10 Late Night Hosts List
01:48 10. Steve Allen: The Blueprint of Late Night
04:37 9. Arsenio Hall: A Cultural Phenomenon
09:31 8. Craig Ferguson: The Punk Rock Host
16:29 7. Jay Leno: The Controversial Choice

17:28 The Jay Leno Controversy
18:21 Conan O'Brien's Short Run
19:18 Jay Leno's Legacy and Influence
22:46 The Evolution of Late Night TV
24:17 The Art of Interviewing
27:33 Comedy Legends and Influences
32:29 The Magic Behind the Curtain
 


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WEBVTT

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Callaroga Shark Media.

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Hi there, I'm Johnny Mack with your daily Comedy News

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Today crossover episode with The Letterman Podcast. Mike Chisholm is

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the host of The Letterman Podcast, and he had seen

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a list of the top ten late night host of

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all time and he didn't like the list, so he

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made his own and he wanted me to react to it.

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So over the Christmas break he was like, Hey'm going

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to send you a list. I'm like, don't send me

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the list. I don't want to see your list. I'll

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just react to it. So that's what you're going to

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hear right now.

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We've talked a little bit about your reaction to the

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Billboard Top twenty five Comedians of the Century. Well, there's

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been a few late night ones as well. One particular

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late night list came out, the top ten late night

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Hosts of All Time list, which I appreciated. It's hard

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when it's a mount rushmore when you got to pick four.

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It's hard when it's ten. You've got a little bit

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more breathing room and you can talk about things. I

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did not like the list that came out. I don't

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even want to, you know, I don't wanna. I wasn't

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a fan of the list that came out, and and

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and so I decided to pend my own top ten list,

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and I find I think that I did a pretty

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good job. I have not made this list public to anybody.

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You're the first person that's going to hear it. And

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the whole premise of the show was you reacting to

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what I think is the definitive top ten late night

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hosts in history list.

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So that got this up, you gotta say. From the

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home office in Vancouver, it's the top ten late night

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hosts of all time, topka late night hosts of all time,

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number ten.

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Okay, I got that, I got that in I got

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that in my head. And so what we're gonna do? Okay,

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from the home office in Lumbee, British Columbia, the top

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ten late night television hosts in history. For me, the

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top ten late night host it has to be started

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by Steve Allen. Number ten is Steve Allen. And this

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list is is I like this list because there's a

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couple that are sort of combined with each other. There

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are a couple that are kind of group together. But

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I start the list with Steve Allen because as far

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as I'm concerned, this is the guy that set the blueprint.

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You do talk about a blueprint that even in twenty

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twenty five, the format is the same for the most part,

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the desk, the monologue, the guests, the panel, the way

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that they're set up. This is the guy that basically

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said this is how it's gonna be. Yes, there were

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shows before him, there were stuff that came along before him,

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but Steve Allen is the guy that actually set the tone,

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and all these years later, you know that blueprint is

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still being followed. So to me, you start the list

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with Steve Allen, you know, not because he was the

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first to do it. You make him number one, but

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you say, okay, you're the guy. You're the guy that's

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going to start the list, just like you're the guy

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that started the genre. That's why I positioned him at

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number ten.

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Oh absolutely.

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If we had a magic wand and you could take

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Steve Allen in his prime and say, you know, we're

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going to use doctor Who technology here, Steve Allen in

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your prime, right now, I need you to host. I

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need you to fill in for Johnny Carson on a

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Tuesday night in nineteen seventy six.

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Done.

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I need you to fill in on Late Night with

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David Letterman on a Monday in nineteen eighty five. No problem,

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where's the Alka Seltzer suit. I got this same note

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on Conan Hey, John Stewart's throwing up in the bathroom.

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You think you can wing the Daily Show for us? Absolutely?

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Jimmy Kimmel doesn't want to do it anymore. You want

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to show on ABC in twenty twenty eight, Sure, so

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on Steve Allen one.

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There we go, and and and the cool thing about

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Steve and not just Steve, but some of the other

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the other you know, pioneers of of of of this genre.

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If you go onto Don Giller's David Letterman YouTube channel,

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if you go to Don Giller's YouTube channel, there's the

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talk show host compilation. And I've talked about this one

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a lot. I don't know if there's any series. And

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this is a this is a big commitment because it's

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like there's seven parts to it, and I think they're

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all an hour each something like that. But it's in

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order every single talk show host appearance on one of

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David Letterman shows, and Steve Allen appeared on Late Night.

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I think you've appeared on the Morning Show too. Now

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I think about it the Morning Show and Late Night

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and it's it's it's really cool watching Steve. His influence

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on Dave is obvious in the first couple interactions. There's

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a nervousness that Dave has, and I love that about

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early Dave. You know, it's the exact opposite of where

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he is right now. He's not the elder statesman that

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can that can communicate with anybody. He is really nervous

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and UH. And and to watch Steve come in and

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and and and im part some wisdom and grace in

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doing so and even doing the show is such a

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cool thing. And and so I highly recommend that for

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people who love this stuff, highly recommend going and watching

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that compilation. UH number nine another trailblazer in his own right.

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Arcinio Hall and I have our studio here at number

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nine because, of course UH the first talk show host

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of of UH of color who has his own full

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time show. Johnny of course had guest hosts of color

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for the Tonight Show, but this is the first one

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that it's really helmed his own deal, and not just

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helmed his own deal, but was he was a culture,

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a significant person in culture, all culture. I was a

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huge hip hop fan growing up, and I love the

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music on late night. I love the music that would

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show up on late night. There was but but to

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be perfectly frank, the bullseye for me when it came

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to music on any late night talk show of me

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growing up, it was our Senio Hall, our senior Hall.

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Had phenomenal music, he had phenomenal guests. He had a

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different vibe to things, of course, and I thought, uh,

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just the way that he I mean, he's the guy

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that many people said, oh yeah, Carson's in trouble because

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this new hip person is coming in. And he was

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a cultural phenomenon as well. Obviously didn't have the lasting power,

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but at the same time significant enough to make it

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to the top ten.

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Oh absolutely. If you think of a lot of people

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that took on the Johnny timeslot, if not Johnny specifically,

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they were all playing on Johnny's corner, Let's do something

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similar like if you looking like Pat, say, Jack Show,

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what is that? It's you know, it's the Tonight show

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without being the Tonight show, Like what are we doing?

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Whereas Arsenio did something different for a different audience. And

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there was a lot of different audience out there and

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both shows could coexist. You you are reminding me of

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the Carsenio sketch. Now, yes, I'm trying to remember. I've

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read several Carson books, and I can't remember where the

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experts have landed if that sketch actually bothered Johnny or not.

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But the Carsenio sketch, for people who have not seen it,

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it's on YouTube. It's a must watch, and it really

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speaks to that particular moment.

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It does and from where I from what I have heard,

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let me ask Mark Malkoff about it. But but yeah, Johnny,

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one of the things that gave Johnny pause in his

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entire career was Arcinio. But also Carcinio, the idea of

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of of of being able to, you know, maybe get

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maybe not a full on gut shot, but a grazing

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bullet to the bulletproof man. I think is something that

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happened there. And apparently Arsenio gave Johnny pause saying well,

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maybe it is time to hang it up. So I mean,

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that's that's significant in itself. Yeah.

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I mean, you know, we all age, and I increasingly

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feel my own age, and I love doing my podcast.

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I'm like, you know, at some point in the not

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crazy future, it's gonna be like, Okay, seventy year old

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man talking about Dane Cook. What David Letterman? That show

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aired sixty years ago, old timer, what are you talking about?

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You know, I do sort of have an unofficial line.

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I've never really pondered where it is. But there are

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comedic things that I don't talk about because it's like

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speaking a different language. I self possess profess to live

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on Old Man Mountain, and at some point it's just

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it's just not my thing. Somebody's doing something on TikTok.

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It's wonderful, it's great, people love it. I don't get

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it if you ever want to feel old. Every now

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and then Variety will do a top twenty, like you know,

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next gen Superstars of Media thing, and you go down

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the list you mentioned before, not being familiar with mister Beast,

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never mind mister Beast. You go down their top twenty

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listen and you're like, I don't know any of these people,

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which is fine, Which is fine. You know, I could

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say to my kids, Hey, there was this guy Dave,

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and he threw watermelons off a tower and they'll be like, yeah, okay, Boomer, Yeah.

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I keep saying that to my granddaughter, she's seven. I'm

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putting all this pressure on her, saying, you're the one

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that's got to keep me cool. You make sure you

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only like cool things.

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Okay, you see, there's no window here. So when he

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throws the card and it's a sound effect, and that's funny.

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It's funny because there's no window. Kids, it's really funny.

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What that being said? She and I because I mean,

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I'm playing he out the idea of her, of her

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doing some reaction videos to some of the stuff Dave did.

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When I put on Dave's stuff where he's throwing stuff

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off a tower, she absolutely to this day. Twenty in

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twenty twenty five, a seven year old girl laughs her

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little off when she sees him throwing stuff off the

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tower or running things over with the steamroller. She loved

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the running scens over with the steamroller. But oh, she

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asks to watch it. She's seven, So that gives me

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hope for that generation.

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Right, But like, what's funny about Larry Budd Melman not

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being able to really hear what Dave's saying. All the

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timing's wrong. The guy is not really delivering the lines. Well,

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like why is that funny?

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It just is? But like, hey, kids want to watch

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Larry Budd Melman. What?

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Yeah, I don't know. Okay, now you go. Now I've

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got it. Now I've got an assignment. Lara needs to

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see Larry Budd Melman and we'll have to find out.

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Number eight Craig Ferguson. The people that made this list

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are ones who definitely changed, who added something to the game.

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Maybe it didn't change the game, but they added something

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to me. Ferguson, you know, I loved him. My golden

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age in watching late night television, h was when I

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could watch late show Conan's Show on TBS and Craig Ferguson.

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I know that that is not necessarily popular to a

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lot of the purest. As far as I'm concerned, Conan

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and Ferguson are two that were influenced by guys like

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Dave and and some of this stuff that's out there

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that the esoteric stuff perhaps or you know, just the

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plain weird, uh, you know, and and the idea that

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he evolved his show to a place where he had

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a robot skeleton for a sidekick and they had a

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you know, two guys in a in a two man

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horse costume that would come in every single night, and

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the audience not only bought it, but they yearned for

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it when Secretariat would come in. You know, he had

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a he had a cult following. I really appreciate his sensibility,

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but he also brought some seriousness to the zaniness. You know,

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when he had Desmond tutu on as a guest or

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some of these other people that Craig ferguson to me,

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moved the ball up the field and did it in

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a very very compelling way. That's why he makes the

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list in the top ten. Did you did you ever?

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You know he started as a stand up I don't

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know if you guys his past ever would have crossed

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the curious thing? You must have?

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You must have?

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Yes, I got to work with Craig a handful of times.

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He came up, maybe to just do a guest appearance,

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and we asked him to do some vo for the

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Radio Classics channel, and he started improving and we're like, wait,

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there's something here, and he agreed to come back the

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next day. We grabbed this guy Ghosty, who was on

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the staff who could do voices and improv, you know,

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well enough to keep up with Craig Ferguson. And they

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came back and just rift and I forget what we

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even did with it, but it was just one of

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those magical things of like, oh, this is fun. I

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get to do this today. I'm going to just hang

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out in the studio and watch Craig Ferguson improv and

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really super nice guy. I've always said, not that he's

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a troll on TV, but he's in person. He's super handsome, Like,

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he's a really good looking dude. YEA. Loved working with him,

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would love to run into him again. I've got to

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see him just as a fan, you know, not going hey,

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can we meet you? Back to say, it's just like

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I'm going to buy tickets, go to a show and

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go home. Really fantastic. It's a shame he didn't stay

249
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with Late Night because he would have had a thirty

250
00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:05.360
year run at it. You know, boy, don't you wish

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you could put him on at twelve thirty tonight and

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he was on.

253
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He's fantastic. I would put him on any like. I

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listened to his podcast now and it's fun to the

255
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one thing that you mentioned there when you the idea

256
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of bringing him back to do some work with Ghosty.

257
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The thing that Craig brings to the table is something

258
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similar that Dave has, where his reactions are very good

259
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and very funny and very out out of left field.

260
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And when he has somebody like Josh Robert Thompson who

261
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did the voice for Jeffrey Pretyson, and then of course

262
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Morgan Freeman and all these other stuff. Josh is amazing.

263
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Josh has been on this show and we had a marathon.

264
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I think it was a two hour conversation with Josh

265
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two and a half hours on here. And the idea

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that there's this guy that is so good that he

267
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is actually the voice of Morgan Freeman when they want

268
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to edit and make the safe for TV movies and

269
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they edit his dialogue. He's the guy that does not

270
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just Morgan, but other people's voices, and yet he's crazy

271
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as as I'll get out. And then Craig can react

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to that. I love that Craig can react to that.

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Craig was so he would take the blue cart of

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what the segment producer had prepared for him for who

275
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his upcoming guest was, and he would tear it up

276
00:13:14.919 --> 00:13:18.159
beforehand because he wanted to have a spontaneous conversation with people.

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That is playing with a net, like being able to

278
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rely on your rap year like wit and and and react,

279
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and that be the source of the entertainment. Even the

280
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monologue was loose. The monologue was on bullet points and

281
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the idea that he would just come out and start

282
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talking and and not just be able to sustain an audience.

283
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But like you said, if he chose to, could have

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gone on a run that would put him up there,

285
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you know, with the greats. But his sensibility was I

286
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don't want to be part of this late night club.

287
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And and that was fun too. He's a little punk rock,

288
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He's a lot punk rock in fact, when you look

289
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at Craig's history. So yeah, to me, he's a guy

290
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that that certainly deserves to be on the last Sorry

291
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to cut you please.

292
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Is that is that.

293
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Part of the magic that I don't want to be

294
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part of this club. Now I can break that apart

295
00:14:07.480 --> 00:14:10.039
because Jimmy Kimmel wants to be David Letterman. David Letterman

296
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wanted to be Johnny Carson but wasn't allowed to be

297
00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:18.279
Johnny Carson twice and that sort of created David Letterman. Yep,

298
00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:20.600
Conan O'Brien, some random writer in the game who.

299
00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:23.080
Has the who are you giving the show too? What

300
00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:23.639
are you saying?

301
00:14:23.679 --> 00:14:23.960
So? Like?

302
00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:27.519
Is that part of the magic of not wanting to

303
00:14:27.559 --> 00:14:32.240
do the show? And conversely, is that part of the

304
00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:37.080
problem people have with Jimmy Fallon who I respect Jimmy's game.

305
00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:39.840
Jimmy understands what the Tonight show is and he runs

306
00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:41.360
he runs the playbook.

307
00:14:42.039 --> 00:14:42.720
Is it cool?

308
00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:45.679
It is not cool? Nope, But he runs the playbook

309
00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:47.240
the way he's asked to run it. He runs it

310
00:14:47.320 --> 00:14:49.080
very well, and he's going to wind up being the

311
00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:52.799
last eleven thirty show standing. It sounds like, but you know,

312
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is there something to be said to I don't actually

313
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want to do this?

314
00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:00.440
Well, this is okay, John, Jimmy Kimmel one more year.

315
00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:02.600
I'm gonna sign on a one year contract. And I

316
00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:05.120
mean some people look at it and go, okay, Yeah.

317
00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:06.639
He doesn't want to get in the way of the

318
00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:09.480
Colbert because Colbert is gonna have his big send off, Like,

319
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I mean, we're about to enter an era here, you know,

320
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I remember the last six weeks of Dave. There's gonna

321
00:15:17.200 --> 00:15:19.200
be an era here where Colbert is ramping up to

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his leaving. I can see why Kimmel didn't want to

323
00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:23.000
be a part of that. But there's also a part

324
00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:25.120
of me that goes, it'd be cool to see Jimmy

325
00:15:25.200 --> 00:15:27.200
Kimmel do this for year to year, for the next

326
00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:31.639
five years. Because he's walking on the knife's edge. He's like, Okay,

327
00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:32.919
am I going to keep doing it? Am I not

328
00:15:32.960 --> 00:15:34.879
going to keep doing it? And to me that adds

329
00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:38.039
an element of freshness, just like the hesitation, I don't

330
00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:40.480
want to do this. I don't want to be that guy. Ferguson,

331
00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:42.639
you know, for a long time wasn't wearing a tie,

332
00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:44.879
and then he went and started wearing vests and he

333
00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:47.639
started doing different things to try and because he was

334
00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:53.480
uncomfortable with conformity and the idea of wanting to break

335
00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:56.440
out of that. Somehow, I think absolutely is part of

336
00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:59.240
the magic. A hesitation I'm doing this, but I don't

337
00:15:59.240 --> 00:16:01.039
really want to be here kind of an attitude. Oh

338
00:16:01.080 --> 00:16:04.600
we love that stuff. But again, it's the same example

339
00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:06.879
that Bill Carter used in his in his book talking

340
00:16:06.919 --> 00:16:10.200
about in Late Shift, talking about the difference between Dave

341
00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:11.879
and j you know, it's it's it's it's pop music

342
00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:15.639
versus Pink Floyd. You know, they're different atmospheres, they're different people,

343
00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:18.320
they're different everything. There's a big group of people that

344
00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:21.720
love Jimmy Fallon and it's it's a pop music group,

345
00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:24.480
whereas some people who are more like aficionados like us,

346
00:16:24.759 --> 00:16:27.919
are like, well, yeah, it's just that that was my

347
00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:30.279
thing with Dave and j And by the way, number

348
00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:34.360
seven on the list of the top ten greatest late

349
00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:36.639
night hosts in history, Number seven is Jay Leno.

350
00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:39.440
Jay Leno, that guy's the worst. Okay, we'll take the

351
00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:41.600
break here and we'll come back and talk about the

352
00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:44.960
most hated man in the world, Jay Leno. We continue

353
00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:47.720
with a look at Mike Chisholm from The Letterman Podcast's

354
00:16:47.960 --> 00:16:51.159
Top ten Greatest late night Hosts of All Time and

355
00:16:51.720 --> 00:16:53.639
apparently this next guy who.

356
00:16:54.039 --> 00:16:56.919
On the list of the top ten greatest late night

357
00:16:56.960 --> 00:17:00.240
hosts in history, number seven is Jay Leno. Oh the

358
00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:03.720
list the worst guy whoever? Let this guy, this guy,

359
00:17:03.799 --> 00:17:09.000
Jay Leno, He's the worst. The way he will have

360
00:17:09.079 --> 00:17:12.079
opinions about late night television as if he knows anything

361
00:17:12.119 --> 00:17:12.680
about it.

362
00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:14.799
Did you see during the summer they asked him about

363
00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:16.079
Colbert and he weighed in on it.

364
00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:17.799
What a hirk? What does he know?

365
00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:20.640
He's hosted what twenty two years of The Tonight Show,

366
00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:23.799
more episodes than anybody, including Johnny Carson. As if jay

367
00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:28.079
Leno has any expertise in Late Night The worst guy

368
00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:30.200
plus the way you know his poor wife has dementia

369
00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:31.799
and he takes care of her and cares in the bathroom.

370
00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:34.440
This guy's the worst. I can understand why people can't

371
00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:36.279
stand Jay Leno. He just seems like an awful guy,

372
00:17:36.319 --> 00:17:36.720
doesn't he?

373
00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:42.480
Oh, I was so hoping you would do that. Let's

374
00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:44.000
I want to talk about that a little bit, because

375
00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:47.079
this is this is the thing on your show whatever,

376
00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:50.000
somebody whatever jay Leto seems to pipe up about something,

377
00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:52.119
somebody seems to have a problem with it, and it

378
00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:55.200
makes the news and and is it just?

379
00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:55.559
Is it?

380
00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:58.079
You know, a generation of people who were in their

381
00:17:58.079 --> 00:18:00.400
formative years, they saw what happened during the Cone thing,

382
00:18:00.640 --> 00:18:02.680
and they've now just labeled him. Is that what's going

383
00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:03.680
wrong with Jay Leno?

384
00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:08.640
Yeah, it's yes, it's we're backing Conan because it's the

385
00:18:08.680 --> 00:18:13.720
same sensibility. Leno was the establishment candidate. Yep, and Conan

386
00:18:13.880 --> 00:18:16.240
was the scrappy up and comer who's only been in

387
00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:19.720
Late night for fourteen years himself. You know this poor

388
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:23.720
struggling artist. Did Conan get a short run to shows?

389
00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:25.000
Need time to find her legs?

390
00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:25.400
Of course?

391
00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:29.200
And of course yep was when they pulled the chair

392
00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.400
back out for Jay Leno and he says, no, I've

393
00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:35.559
brought this up on your show before. What happens then?

394
00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:37.880
Do they just keep Conan on ago w hoope this

395
00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:39.759
works out? Or do they pull out the Jimmy Fallon

396
00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:42.000
chair kind of quickly and now we all hate Jimmy

397
00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:45.079
Fallon because he stole Conan's job. I I don't know,

398
00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:50.119
putting aside that I might understand why you're on team

399
00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:53.680
Conan and and are mad at j Us Letteran. People

400
00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:56.119
got over it. I'm not mad at Jay. You know

401
00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:58.279
back in the original Late Night Wars that I want

402
00:18:58.359 --> 00:19:02.400
Dave to get the Tonight show. I did, absolutely, But

403
00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:03.759
I don't go around kicking a box.

404
00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:05.160
All day going. I can't believe Jay Leno got the

405
00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:07.079
Tonight show. What does he know about late night comedy?

406
00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:11.359
You know it, It's okay, It's okay, guys. But putting

407
00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:14.400
aside the the horrible sin of taking the Tonight's Show back.

408
00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:17.200
I just don't understand why people hate Jay Leno.

409
00:19:17.720 --> 00:19:20.200
Yeah, me too. I I mean this is this is

410
00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:24.480
one of the greatest joke writers in history. And I mean,

411
00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:26.160
you know, you look at you look at the hosts

412
00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:29.759
of the Tonight Show, how many of them were stand ups?

413
00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:31.759
You know, really, at the end of the day, Jay

414
00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:35.079
is really the only one like Fallon was as well.

415
00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.359
Fallon definitely definitely was a stand up, but he was

416
00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:40.839
more an actor and an impressionist and things like that.

417
00:19:40.880 --> 00:19:42.480
He had a different he had a very different stand

418
00:19:42.519 --> 00:19:45.119
up aact than than than Jay. That's for sure. Jay

419
00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:48.160
is a pure joke writer. He is a pure stand up.

420
00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:51.680
Not only when you talk about you know, he's an

421
00:19:51.720 --> 00:19:55.039
influential one. You got guys like David Letterman himself, Jerry

422
00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:58.599
Seinfeld who called Jay, you know, the greatest joke writer ever,

423
00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:01.000
and and and when you look at what he wanted

424
00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:04.720
to add to the Tonight Show, you know, he has

425
00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:10.720
this huge, huge like the fact that somebody followed Johnny

426
00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:14.359
and they stayed the job is nuts. And this goes

427
00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:17.000
back to what you were saying about giving time for

428
00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:20.000
shows to find their feet. You know, he for a

429
00:20:20.039 --> 00:20:23.279
year and a half letterman handed him his lunch, and Leno,

430
00:20:23.839 --> 00:20:29.240
to his credit, was a tactician and did everything he

431
00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:34.039
possibly could to rough the edges off the Tonight Show.

432
00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:38.319
So it was a perfect, you know, gleaming shine that

433
00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:42.799
you could see yourself in and every little detail counted

434
00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:46.000
and became a tactician. Whereas again you look at Dave. Yes,

435
00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:48.240
everybody was working their asses off, but they came across

436
00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:51.559
as a product that you know, isn't like that. It's

437
00:20:51.559 --> 00:20:54.200
not shiny, it is a little bit more clunky, and

438
00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:56.920
that's kind of their identity. Leno went the exactly other way.

439
00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:58.799
It said, no, no, no, no, we need a monologue where

440
00:20:58.839 --> 00:21:02.960
I have to do credit to what is considered one

441
00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:07.559
of the greatest pieces of television content of all time,

442
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:10.279
which is Johnny Carson's monologue, and I have to do

443
00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:13.319
that justice. So I mean, of course it's gonna take

444
00:21:13.400 --> 00:21:18.039
him time to adjust and to grow. That's where I

445
00:21:18.119 --> 00:21:20.480
have the little problem with. You know, he talks about

446
00:21:20.559 --> 00:21:23.920
Conan and Conan's numbers with the Tonight Show, and you know,

447
00:21:23.960 --> 00:21:25.880
we're in a diminishing market and there's all these sorts

448
00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:27.559
of things and he says, Oh, the numbers are the numbers,

449
00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:30.680
you know, you know, that's what happens. Yeah, but you

450
00:21:30.759 --> 00:21:33.319
were given that time. And to answer your question what

451
00:21:33.359 --> 00:21:35.839
you said earlier. If Conan was given the time with

452
00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:40.200
the Tonight Show, hindsight is twenty twenty, look at what

453
00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:43.880
Conan has become since then. Now, he wouldn't have had

454
00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:48.039
the bump of the of the of the robbery, you know,

455
00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:50.720
and people getting you know, that culmination point of people

456
00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:53.440
getting excited or whatever and all coming together and creating

457
00:21:53.480 --> 00:21:55.640
Team Coco. That might not have happened if he was

458
00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:58.519
given that eighteen months to run the Tonight Show and

459
00:21:58.839 --> 00:22:00.839
do it the way he wanted to do it and

460
00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:03.559
give time people, give people time to get used to it.

461
00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:07.079
I I think Conan would have been just fine in

462
00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:09.400
the Tonight Show chair. But NBC had a whole bunch

463
00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:12.039
of things going on and Jay took the brunt of it.

464
00:22:12.079 --> 00:22:13.759
The fact that Jay had this contract, this pay and

465
00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:18.799
play contract. You know, why aren't people up in arms

466
00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:23.400
about NBC creating this impossible scenario for you know, for

467
00:22:23.400 --> 00:22:27.079
for themselves. So there's a lot more to it. But

468
00:22:27.200 --> 00:22:30.279
the idea that Jay Leno isn't revered today. Even if

469
00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:32.400
he's not your cup of tea, it is asinine to

470
00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:34.079
me twenty two years on the Tonight Show, Are you

471
00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:38.079
kidding Me? And and and yeah, so so Leno is

472
00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:41.119
to me? Leno is formidable. You heard it here first

473
00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:43.160
on the Letterman podcast. But he's formal at number seven

474
00:22:43.200 --> 00:22:44.359
on the top ten list all time.

475
00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:47.720
So two things about Jay, and I imagine your audience,

476
00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:50.160
of course, is familiar with Jay's appearances on Late Night

477
00:22:50.200 --> 00:22:53.880
with David Letterman. Yes, thank you for watching. Watch those

478
00:22:53.960 --> 00:22:57.759
you'll see a different Edgier. You know, maybe he's not

479
00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:00.720
a Dice Clay, but he's it's an edgier Jay Leno.

480
00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:04.480
I'm also brilliantly parried parodied by Chris Elliott, who came

481
00:23:04.480 --> 00:23:07.079
out just as Jay Leno. One Night had a classic schedule.

482
00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:09.880
I'd probably watched once a week, and you know you

483
00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:12.920
have that version of Jay Leno. I also think the

484
00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:16.480
NBC ten pm idea was the right idea, maybe a

485
00:23:16.519 --> 00:23:21.400
little too early. And as we've seen TV budgets evolve,

486
00:23:21.599 --> 00:23:25.079
if you told me I could have Stephen Colbert at

487
00:23:25.160 --> 00:23:28.839
ten pm, uh, you know, a paired down. Hey, we're

488
00:23:28.839 --> 00:23:31.599
gonna put two chairs on a stage and I need

489
00:23:31.640 --> 00:23:34.079
you to talk to somebody for an hour, four nights

490
00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:37.680
a week. That's probably pretty budget friendly. And I would

491
00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:39.720
welcome that on my network lineup if I could get it.

492
00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:43.720
Absolutely absolutely. And if you look at guys like Charlie

493
00:23:43.799 --> 00:23:48.480
Rose and and and Steve alor Tom Snyder. Uh, you

494
00:23:48.519 --> 00:23:50.680
look at these long for there's always been a hunger

495
00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:54.359
for for for for the long form and uh and

496
00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:57.240
and this we're podcasting is right now you know the

497
00:23:57.480 --> 00:23:58.200
reason why.

498
00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:00.440
Sorry Snyder was upon podcast.

499
00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:03.359
Yeah, and now we're putting podcasts on Netflix and every

500
00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:06.400
everything's come all the way around again. You know, if

501
00:24:06.400 --> 00:24:09.160
I could get you Tom Snyder in his prime and go, hey,

502
00:24:09.240 --> 00:24:11.039
he's going to do it an hour and a half

503
00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:13.880
once a week deep dive podcast and we'll shoot it

504
00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:14.759
and throw it on Netflix.

505
00:24:14.839 --> 00:24:16.680
Yeah, okay, great, sign them up. Yep.

506
00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:20.440
Absolutely. By the way, Jay Leno also, I don't think

507
00:24:20.440 --> 00:24:23.200
he did the way Dave did. Jay Leno did evolve

508
00:24:23.319 --> 00:24:25.640
as a as a as a talk show host, you know,

509
00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:28.640
the stand up comedian. I mean, yes, he was phenomenal.

510
00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:30.880
That was his That was what brought him to the

511
00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:33.160
dance as a stand up and as a joke machine

512
00:24:33.160 --> 00:24:35.680
and whatnot. But he did get better at communicating with people,

513
00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:37.599
not even close to where Dave is, of course, But

514
00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:41.839
but but the thing that differentiates to me people ask

515
00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:45.160
me that sometimes about their their their interview skills as

516
00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:49.119
at their best. This is something Shecky told me from

517
00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:51.279
the very beginning in fact CHECKI even said this to

518
00:24:51.319 --> 00:24:53.680
me that the day that I got my picture, my

519
00:24:54.359 --> 00:24:56.039
letter and picture signed and whatnot, there was a there

520
00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:58.000
was a small window opportunity where I could have met him,

521
00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:00.720
And Shecky said this to me. He goes, if Dave's

522
00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:04.680
curious about you, it's gonna be great. And and Dave

523
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:07.160
had this way when he had people across from him

524
00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:10.279
that he was having conversations with, a curiosity would come out.

525
00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:13.039
And I think there was an everyman curiosity that came

526
00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:16.039
out where when it was Jay, it felt manufactured. It

527
00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:17.880
felt like he was asking questions off of a card

528
00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:22.000
as opposed to a genuine curiosity connection that was created.

529
00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:24.200
So that's in my mind, that's something I've wanted to

530
00:25:24.200 --> 00:25:25.480
say on the show for a long time because people

531
00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:27.920
ask me about that all the time. I think that's

532
00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:30.440
a major major difference between the two. Did you ever

533
00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:31.960
encounter j back in the day.

534
00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:36.519
No, I've never met Jay. I would love to get

535
00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:39.880
him on the podcast. It's funny if you asked me, like,

536
00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:42.039
you know, who do like if Dave Chappelle were available,

537
00:25:42.039 --> 00:25:44.599
of course I'm gonna say yes to Dave Chappelle, you know,

538
00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:44.960
any of.

539
00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:45.680
The big comedians.

540
00:25:45.720 --> 00:25:47.559
But for the people who I really want to talk to,

541
00:25:47.839 --> 00:25:52.000
I think right now I would love to talk to

542
00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:55.200
Jay Leno and do a version of my bit and

543
00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:57.000
just break that whole thing down with him.

544
00:25:57.559 --> 00:25:59.839
Oh god, it would be so good. It would be

545
00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:04.799
so good because the guy does deserve credit, like like like,

546
00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:09.599
and it's it's his generosity as well. Is just it's crazy,

547
00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:14.079
his generosity, you know, he's He's accused sometimes of being

548
00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:17.240
self aggrandizing. I think sometimes when you do as many

549
00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:20.000
good things as as as as you do, and if

550
00:26:20.039 --> 00:26:22.839
you're not careful and not saying that there might not

551
00:26:22.920 --> 00:26:25.759
be some you know, some marketing involved or whatever to

552
00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:28.799
promote things that that could be there. But that being said,

553
00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:31.519
when you do so many good things, many times you

554
00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:35.839
might get tagged with that. But every single person that

555
00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:38.680
I've ever talked to who have ever said something about

556
00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:41.680
Jay Leno's generosity, and it's I don't know, more than

557
00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:46.160
more than ten. They talk about him being this kind,

558
00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:50.359
giving but very high level. You know, he plays at

559
00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:51.960
a high level when it comes to writing jokes and

560
00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.680
making jokes and things. But the man himself, you know,

561
00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:59.960
very very he's he's he's an amazing American. And uh,

562
00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:03.039
you know, I'm glad, I'm so, I'm glad you're poking

563
00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:05.400
fun at this and bringing it to people's attention. But yeah,

564
00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:07.519
people shitting on Jay Leno at this day and age,

565
00:27:08.920 --> 00:27:10.359
I don't know if there's a huge need to it.

566
00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:13.039
Making fun that's completely different making fun of him, But

567
00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:15.319
people who come across with anger that's not cool.

568
00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:17.720
Well sure, and as a comedian, he would appreciate you

569
00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:21.799
making fun of him, you know. And again, you know,

570
00:27:22.279 --> 00:27:23.920
for some reason I got on this raidar Hey, this

571
00:27:23.960 --> 00:27:25.880
guy is making fun of you, saying you're the worst

572
00:27:25.880 --> 00:27:27.640
person who ever lived, and then you actually listen to

573
00:27:27.640 --> 00:27:31.519
the bit I'm doing. Yeah, you know, I'm clearly not

574
00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:34.799
saying he's a horrible, horrible person. Now, the other white

575
00:27:34.839 --> 00:27:37.519
whale guest I would like to get is Robert Smigel,

576
00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:42.200
who I think it's quietly been the influence in comedy

577
00:27:42.200 --> 00:27:45.720
in the last thirty years. He's not really in front

578
00:27:45.839 --> 00:27:48.640
of the camera. But boy, you look at the stuff

579
00:27:48.640 --> 00:27:51.839
that guy's attached to, and there's a Hall of Fame career.

580
00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:55.480
Absolutely. Yeah, that guy might be you know, and it

581
00:27:55.559 --> 00:27:58.559
might be by design. Maybe he does like flying under

582
00:27:58.559 --> 00:28:01.400
the radar a little bit, you know, for being someone

583
00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:03.880
as big as he is. You know, the guy's a legend.

584
00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:07.720
The guy is an absolute you know. I was watching

585
00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:09.640
The Downy Dock and I mean, you've got some of

586
00:28:09.640 --> 00:28:13.839
these people who come along who are just they transcend,

587
00:28:14.160 --> 00:28:17.640
you know. They the people who create new things and

588
00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:19.920
the people who imitate those things that have just been

589
00:28:19.960 --> 00:28:22.160
created that people love, but they just do a little

590
00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:25.480
bit of a different thing, you know, to it. Smigle's

591
00:28:25.519 --> 00:28:28.079
a guy that actually kicked the ball down the field.

592
00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:33.160
I was watching Christmas Time for the Jews the Darlene

593
00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:37.640
Love So and I said, no Christmas Special, and I

594
00:28:37.799 --> 00:28:41.160
just like his cartoons, like like that is one of

595
00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:43.400
the funniest things I've ever seen. And my wife walked

596
00:28:43.440 --> 00:28:45.640
in the room while it was on, and she heard

597
00:28:45.680 --> 00:28:47.880
the she heard the hook, and she heard Darlene say

598
00:28:47.920 --> 00:28:50.000
Christmas Time for the Jews and she started. She just

599
00:28:50.039 --> 00:28:52.200
sat there and she started looking at it. And I

600
00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:53.680
don't know if Candy had seen it before or not,

601
00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:55.200
but she doesn't love comedy the way that I do.

602
00:28:55.279 --> 00:28:57.519
And she just looks at it and goes, what year

603
00:28:57.640 --> 00:29:01.480
was this maid? And I told her, geez, like, how

604
00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:03.720
do you come up with that? Like? How does Robert

605
00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.759
Smiel come up with some of the crazy things and

606
00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:09.240
the tonnage of it? Like there's just that's just the

607
00:29:09.240 --> 00:29:11.519
way that he thinks and it. Yeah, that's a great

608
00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:13.519
that's a great poll. I'm glad you brought that up.

609
00:29:15.279 --> 00:29:17.400
You ready for Are you ready for? Number? Okay? So

610
00:29:17.559 --> 00:29:19.000
are we done with? Oh? No? One of the thing

611
00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:22.279
with Leno Adam Sandler. One of the things that Adam

612
00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:24.640
Sandler did that I loved because it goes back to

613
00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:28.359
Adam Sandler. I watched Adam Sandler's last special, his most

614
00:29:28.400 --> 00:29:33.000
recent special. Okay now, in it, he does a song.

615
00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:35.359
Can you believe that he does a song? He actually

616
00:29:35.359 --> 00:29:38.920
does a song. Oh. The song is a tribute to

617
00:29:38.920 --> 00:29:42.640
comedy and the things that influenced his life and his

618
00:29:43.400 --> 00:29:45.640
you know, it's all it's all comedians and stuff. And

619
00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:47.559
as I was watching and I'm like, Oh, I forget

620
00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:49.519
where he talks about because I know Letterman's in there

621
00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:52.319
for him, because Letterman's a huge influence, and he's going

622
00:29:52.319 --> 00:29:54.400
through the song and he's going through these people, all

623
00:29:54.400 --> 00:29:56.240
of these things, and it's so clever the way that

624
00:29:56.359 --> 00:30:01.200
he puts those guys in it. He the line is

625
00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:04.160
Leno on Letterman. And there's a picture that shows up

626
00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:07.000
and it's exactly what you're referring to. It's Jay on

627
00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:10.359
panel with Dave on Late Night. And that's the way

628
00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:14.559
that Sandler tributes them that it's Leno on Letterman, and

629
00:30:14.640 --> 00:30:18.720
that's the that's the thing. It's not the twenty two

630
00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:22.160
years the guy who succeeded Johnny Carson, but he did that.

631
00:30:22.720 --> 00:30:25.799
He did that. And for those who want to say

632
00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:27.960
I like Dave over j that's fine, but don't take

633
00:30:27.960 --> 00:30:31.720
the respect away. The guy followed Carson and did it

634
00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:33.519
for decades, well done, Jay Leno.

635
00:30:33.720 --> 00:30:37.160
But it also has a panel guest uh yep, talk

636
00:30:37.200 --> 00:30:41.880
show hosts, radio hosts, Jerk's doing a podcast in their basement.

637
00:30:42.359 --> 00:30:44.519
Hate when you ask a question and somebody goes into

638
00:30:44.599 --> 00:30:46.920
their bit. Now, clearly you just teed me up to

639
00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:47.559
do the Letterman bit.

640
00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:48.079
So I'm guilty.

641
00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:52.319
The leto get I'm guilty, but we're having a real

642
00:30:52.359 --> 00:30:55.960
conversation here, right, I'm not just doing material. But Jay

643
00:30:56.359 --> 00:31:00.000
on let did material. You know, it would be like, hey, Jay,

644
00:31:00.039 --> 00:31:01.720
what's going on? Jave, let me tell you what's going on?

645
00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:06.920
And then wouldn't just go into the act. But somehow

646
00:31:07.480 --> 00:31:10.240
kept Letterman engaged. Dave didn't just check out and be like, Okay,

647
00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:13.400
he's doing his four minutes, what's my beef? And uh

648
00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:15.799
it was fantastic again to Chris Elliott version of it.

649
00:31:15.839 --> 00:31:17.200
I just pick nails the.

650
00:31:17.319 --> 00:31:22.039
Essence of it with Dave though it's the curveballs because yeah,

651
00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:25.519
he was staying curious and staying because he might throw

652
00:31:25.519 --> 00:31:27.799
a curveball at Git in the middle of it, and

653
00:31:27.799 --> 00:31:30.440
you didn't know how much of it. Like that's the thing, oh,

654
00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:33.640
I And the segment it's so crazy, John, like like

655
00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:36.839
like the segment producers are the most secretive of all

656
00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:38.240
the people I've talked to so far, Like some of

657
00:31:38.279 --> 00:31:39.799
them I've talked to in the background but won't even

658
00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:43.200
come on the show. And and but whatever I asked

659
00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:46.119
the questions, Okay, so like what lines did you give

660
00:31:46.279 --> 00:31:49.319
to you know this starlet who comes out and and

661
00:31:49.319 --> 00:31:51.680
and and Dave tees up a perfect question and she

662
00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:54.039
answers it and it gets a huge laugh. Well, guess

663
00:31:54.039 --> 00:31:56.440
what many times that starlet did not come up with

664
00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:59.319
that clever, clever line. It was a segment producer, you

665
00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:04.759
know before who did it. And I love talking about

666
00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:07.240
they don't. A lot of them are like magicians. They

667
00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:09.400
do not want to reveal. They don't want to reveal

668
00:32:09.440 --> 00:32:11.480
what lines they gave away or how they don't want

669
00:32:11.480 --> 00:32:13.759
to break down the mechanics of how things work. The

670
00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:17.599
Leno Letterman ones, to me, were astounding because you don't

671
00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:21.000
know where the material ends. And the banter, the real

672
00:32:21.039 --> 00:32:24.400
banter begins with those two. And there's only a few

673
00:32:24.480 --> 00:32:27.000
guests where you can say that for and Jay is

674
00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:30.519
probably the top of the heap. You know, you're reminded

675
00:32:30.559 --> 00:32:32.759
this is a total tangent, but you just when you

676
00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:35.759
talked about the magic behind a curtain. If you've ever

677
00:32:35.799 --> 00:32:39.279
seen Jackie Gleason on sixty minutes, I think it's with

678
00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:42.599
Morley Safer and he's talking about, oh you got to

679
00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:43.319
watch this, dude.

680
00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:45.240
Yeah, he starts talking about why.

681
00:32:45.160 --> 00:32:48.759
The Honeymooners is revered and Jackie talks about the characters

682
00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:53.039
and tells a story where they're in rehearsal and the

683
00:32:53.079 --> 00:32:57.720
sketch that they're gonna do just isn't flying, and Carney says,

684
00:32:58.039 --> 00:33:00.240
how about this, I'll walk in, I'll call you fat,

685
00:33:00.279 --> 00:33:02.440
you throw me out of the apartment, and they were like,

686
00:33:02.519 --> 00:33:06.200
let's just do that, and they sort of improved. Maybe

687
00:33:06.200 --> 00:33:08.160
not a full honeymoon Er his episode from the classic

688
00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:11.039
thirty nine, but one of the sketches and just like, okay,

689
00:33:11.079 --> 00:33:12.440
we all know what to do here, we all know

690
00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:15.200
who these characters are. Let's just do it. It's a wonderful

691
00:33:15.200 --> 00:33:17.000
episode of sixty minutes you'll find online.

692
00:33:17.400 --> 00:33:21.359
Yeah, well that's okay. And that's Dave in his testament

693
00:33:21.400 --> 00:33:24.319
to his longevity, because you know, after he stopped doing rehearsals,

694
00:33:24.359 --> 00:33:26.680
after he stopped, you know, you know, he starts slowing

695
00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:29.200
down a little bit, but the show must go on.

696
00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:34.519
His last years of Late Show, they were relying on

697
00:33:34.920 --> 00:33:37.480
the whimsy of what happens in the moment. They were

698
00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:41.200
relying on the on the inspiration. Now again, you know,

699
00:33:41.240 --> 00:33:43.279
we were talking about, you know, a guy with one

700
00:33:43.319 --> 00:33:45.160
of the greatest wits of all time. But it's like, no,

701
00:33:45.240 --> 00:33:48.640
let's rely on it as opposed to overproducing things, right,

702
00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:50.519
And they did. They let things get looser.

703
00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:53.200
Well, before you hit record, you started to tell me

704
00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:54.920
something and I said save it for the air. And

705
00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:56.920
that comes out of my radio training. Especially if you

706
00:33:56.960 --> 00:33:59.279
do a morning show. You don't want to do the

707
00:33:59.319 --> 00:34:01.720
show in the hall at four forty five am. So

708
00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:03.119
did you see the super Bowl?

709
00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:03.319
Up?

710
00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:05.200
We'll talk about it on the air like you You

711
00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:07.839
can't because the second time you do it is never

712
00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:11.639
as natural. I openly talk about on my podcast anytime

713
00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:14.320
there's a you know, top ten late night hosts.

714
00:34:14.639 --> 00:34:16.079
You didn't send me the list. I don't want to

715
00:34:16.119 --> 00:34:16.639
see the list.

716
00:34:16.679 --> 00:34:18.519
I want to react to it as we go along

717
00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:21.440
because I don't you know, I have a guess who

718
00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:23.880
you think number one is, but maybe you don't. And

719
00:34:24.239 --> 00:34:27.320
when you're like number four, David Letterman, I want to go, whoa, you.

720
00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:29.639
Haven't number four? Oh my god? All right, who's left

721
00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:31.639
on the list? Or right, it's gonna be Johnny and wow,

722
00:34:31.719 --> 00:34:34.079
you don't have quote part number two? Like I want

723
00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:35.599
to be able to do that. Where so if you

724
00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:37.159
send me the list, I look at it and go okay.

725
00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:39.079
When he talks about going in I'll say this.

726
00:34:39.639 --> 00:34:41.920
Yep, there you go, and and and that's the best.

727
00:34:42.159 --> 00:34:44.920
Like I I say that about with pre interviews, you know,

728
00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:47.840
with many the many of the guests who come on,

729
00:34:47.880 --> 00:34:49.559
I can just say, Okay, is there anything you want

730
00:34:49.559 --> 00:34:51.199
me to avoid? Is there anything you want me to

731
00:34:51.239 --> 00:34:53.239
make sure I hit? All right, let's go and uh.

732
00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:54.679
And it's a lot of fun doing that.

733
00:34:54.880 --> 00:34:58.280
Boy, we're just flying through this list. Huh.

734
00:34:58.440 --> 00:35:00.599
We got so chatty. I gotta cut this in two,

735
00:35:00.719 --> 00:35:02.880
so we'll come back tomorrow with the rest of the list.

736
00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:03.599
I'll see you then.