June 17, 2007
Peeking behind the curtain
Scott Johnson, one-third of the triumvirate that powers Power Line, convinced a reader of his blog to write about working on the Tonight Show. If you miss Johnny Carson, as I do, it makes for some interesting reading
"Tonight" had a reputation as an unpleasant, cold place to work. That was accurate. The staff was competitive, and some of its members had personalities even their mothers would reject. Johnny Carson wasn't particularly cold, but was distant. Staff morale was not his priority.
When people left the show, they found they'd made no friends. And yet, you could find wonderful moments with some of the guests, and in discovering new talent. It was important, however, to watch your back.
[...]
On Johnny Carson: He had natural talent. As I said, he was distant, yet could make you laugh at a staff meeting. Among his gifts was remarkable self-discipline and a clear sense of who he was and what he wanted to do. Carson would tell us that "Tonight" wasn't a talk show, but a variety show. And he was right. Every part of the show had to be strong, not just the chats.
In the middle of the afternoon, no matter what he was doing, Carson would get up and say, "I've got to do the monologue," and return to his office. There he'd select the jokes submitted by his writers, write some of his own, and learn them. When the show went on the air, I would look at "the board," a series of cue cards laid out left to right on a panel placed in front of him for the monologue. All it had on it were key words and phrases. Carson had essentially memorized the jokes. He did this every day. One of the many things I learned from Johnny Carson was the importance of memory in making presentations. Learn the material. Don't depend on a written text.
Carson also taught, "Buy the premise, buy the bit." It's another good lesson, applicable to presidential candidates as well as comedians. If people don't buy the premise of a comedy sketch, or a speech, or an immigration proposal, they'll never buy the rest.
[...]
If there was a steady influence on The Tonight Show then, it was Jack Benny ... Jack taught Johnny a fundamental lesson - to be generous with guests, to make them look good. Jack would say, "I don't care who gets the best lines. I just want people to stand around the water cooler the next morning and say, 'Wasn't the Jack Benny Show good last night.'" Johnny adopted that approach. It always worked.
[...]
Most of my work was with the guests. In my next memo I'll tell you some stories – Duke Ellington, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Rita Hayworth, Buddy Rich, and the sweetest woman in history, Betty Grable. And more.
I'm looking forward to his next dispatch. In the meantime, head over to Power Line and read the whole thing.
Posted by Mike Lief at June 17, 2007 07:24 AM
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