Once Steve Visard's embarrassing copy was off air the Oz networks eventually picked up this quirky, awkward humour with the now familiar tonight show interview format and the coveted band spot to close the show.
Letterman had been 'Rolling Stone' Magazine cool and bands wanted to play, comedians to ply their trade and the movie & TV stars came to plug movies, but created humour, vulnerability and in some cases awkward silences.
As Jay Leno grew the audience and grabbed some younger viewers for NBC the competition was well publicised. Leno [given that show instead of Dave when Johnny Carson retired] led to Dave's move to CBS and the Ed Sullivan Theater [US spelling] in New York [Broadway between W53rd and W54th St]. A renovated iconic TV location that still marks each significant anniversary of the night the Beatles first appeared live in stage etc etc... They drop watermelons off it's roof, ride bikes into swimming pools outside and stage NFL quarterback passing challenges through open taxi windows in a drive by.
I read an article about Leno moving ahead in the ratings after a Hugh Grant appearance following his infamous encounter in a car with LA prostitute 'Divine Brown.' As Grant too his seat Leno simply asked "What the hell were you thinking!!!! ?" Ah...TV history...
At first the 9 network had the show here, putting it to air anytime from midnight to 4am whenever they felt like it but then TV deals took it to TEN who are better, although it used to follow a hideous NZ soap for a while. At least it's no after the encore 'Project'!!
In the US it's now Kimmel or Fallon and Letterman can be klunky, tired and not funny but some of his interviews still draw the absolute best from some otherwise superficial celebrities. He has a way of asking about embarrassing stuff that gets them talking e.g. Paris Hilton
Recently Selina Gomez was on talking about a film and her music [post relationship with Justin Beiber]. Letterman brought up the fact they were no longer together and related a quip about ho the last time he was on the show Dave made him cry... Selina jumped right in and said "that makes two of us" [ouch]!! Dave kept referring back to that with a chuckle the rest of the show!!
OK, but there we are, standing outside the Theater in spring 1998... reading the instructions for the standby audience. We queue on two days and go into a lottery with day two placing us 3rd and 4th in the standby line around the corner from the Theater. We can see the crowd at the stage door where the guests arrive and with 5 mins to spare at the 5.30pm taping the first 22 in the line are ushered in and we are studio audience for John McEnroe and Joan Jett [whose band close the show]!! I am in some kind of ecstatic parrallel universe in this tiny 12 or 13 row seated TV show studio watching Letterman live!!
We later hit the merchandise corner store and top up my collection with this 'Late Show; t-shirt. Throw in the Kenny Kramer 'Seinfeld Reality Tour' on Sunday and you have one hell of a happy TV addict!!
We went back the stage door of the Ed sullivan on other days to see the guests arrive by limo and spotted two curious figures in the huddled crowd. Could that possibly be a stunt with George Clooney and Anthony Green standing outside anonymously in the crowd. No, but the next night the two people appear on the actual show after the staff wondered the same thing and discovered that they both worked as professional 'look a likes' for the two actors, doing openings, weddings, parties, anything... impersonating the two!! Wow, only in New York!!
No comments:
Post a Comment