THE TONAUGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARESNONE

THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARSON
1962-1992 NBC

And now, heeeeeeeeeere's Mort Drucker!

MAD never actually did a parody of The Tonight Show, but everyone caricatured here has a show that was parodied by them which has been or will be posted here. Featured are Alan Alda (M*A*S*H), Tom Selleck (Magnum, P. I.), Larry Hagman (Dallas), Dan Rather (60 Minutes), Mary Tyler-Moore, Joan Collins (Dynasty), Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd (Moonlighting), Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas (Miami Vice), Bob Denver(Gilligan's Island), Ted Danson (Cheers), Bob Newhart (Newhart), Alan Thicke (Growing Pains), Pat Sajak and Vanna White (Wheel of Fortune), Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Tony Danza (Who's the Boss?), Bill Cosby (The Cosby Show), and Joan Rivers, an occasional guest host who later had her own talk show on Fox, The Muppets are all nondescript.

THE TONAUGHT SHOW WITH JOHNNY CARESNONE
Crazy #85, April 1982
w: Murad Gumen
a: Kent Gamble

At the time this was written, this was basically the only late night talk show in existence. The ones that exist now with a monologue, a comedy sketch, celebrity interviews, and a comedian or musician, were basically patterned after this.

Ed McMahon was the announcer of the show, Doc Severinsen usually was bandleader, but Tommy Newsome ocassionally filled in as announcer and bandleader. Carson himself often had guest hosts when he took a day off, one of his more frequent hosts was comedian David Brenner.

Stump the Band was a regular routine they did, where an audience would mentiona song title and the band would play it. The bit was that they almost never knew the song and would make one up.

Ed McMahon often did commercials built into the show. Usually for Alpo dog food. Joan Embry of the San Diego Zoo was a frequent guest that would bring on a species unfamiliar to Carson that he'd usually be scared of. 4

food.

Being a comedian on a talk show used to be a bigger deal than it was when 15% of the country actually saw you on TV. Back then, several guest would sit with the host at once and getting to sit at the desk next to Carson meant you were “made”.

Loni Anderson was the 15-minute sex symbol then.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE HAPPENING
Cracked #65, November 1967
a: John Severin

A weird time when middle-age people were trying to relate to this hippie stuff. Here's Liberace playing a beat club with Jimmy Durante in attendance.

The comedy stylings of Jackie Gleason, Milton Berle, and Soupy Sales were somehow different from what Carson's sketches. Cracked must have known some subtlties that were way over everyone's heads.

COMEDIAN OF THE MONTH: JOHNNY CARSON
Sick #99, August 1974
artist and writer unknown

MAD again. From TV Theme Songs by Frank Jacobs and Sam Viviano from #266, October 1986. The article had lyrics to theme songs that didn't have them, though it did before becoming the show's theme.