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The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Season 17 Episodes

6 Episodes 1978 - 1979

Episode 11

Episode #17.11

Wed, Oct 18, 1978

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Episode 52

Bob Hope/Dick Van Paten/Gil Fates

Thu, Dec 21, 197890 mins

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Episode 59

Episode #17.59

Mon, Jan 1, 1979

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Episode 75

Richard Pryor/Tim Conway/Dr. Lendon Smith

Fri, Jan 12, 197990 mins

A look at Superman's wedding night. Richard Pryor (California Suite (1978), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)); Tim Conway (The Tim Conway Show (1979) (TV)); pediatrician Dr. Lendon H. Smith.

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Episode 75

Richard Pryor/Tim Conway/Dr. Lendon Smith

Fri, Jan 12, 197990 mins

A look at Superman's wedding night. Richard Pryor (California Suite (1978), Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)); Tim Conway (The Tim Conway Show (1979) (TV)); pediatrician Dr. Lendon H. Smith.

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Episode 98

Charlton Heston/Johnny Yune/Jack Douglas/Blair Brown

Wed, Feb 14, 197963 mins

Ed comments on being the official starter for an annual collegiate canoe race between Southern California universities, held at Busch Gardens in Van Nuys (the park closed months later). Then Johnny reads through a list of pilots for the upcoming fall TV season, followed by photos depicting pilots that didn't make the cut. Johnny Yune performs a stand-up routine. During his interview, he talks about his own pilot, which was scheduled to air in January but got pre-empted by the response to the State of the Union address by the Senate minority leader; he jokes about being a minority who got bumped by another minority. He then talks about being a Korean stand-up comedian, and the restrictive attitudes toward comedy in his native country - because of both government censorship and the cultural attitude that it's rude to laugh at someone, regardless of the reason. Johnny notes that Yune has also been a successful singer, and Yune surprises him and the audience by performing "'O sole mio" in Italian. Charlton Heston comes out wearing a track suit, and explains that he's in between the afternoon matinee and the evening performance during previews of his play "A Man for All Seasons". He comments on the brilliance of the play, and also promotes his book "The Actor's Life" by recollecting various incidents in his career, both in movies and on stage. Blair Brown talks about her recent marriage to actor Richard Jordan, and the challenges of a marriage between two performers. She then discusses her upcoming movie "Altered States", and the complicated narrative which combines science fiction with a love story, recalling her own experience in a sensory deprivation tank. She also talks about being the daughter of a CIA officer, and her own initial hopes of pursuing a career more along the same lines. Jack Douglas talks about his upcoming book "Rubber Duck", which involves the problems he encountered years before when his housekeeper died accidentally after he had made repeated public comments about planning to kill her because of how much she irritated him. He then presents one of his typical compilations of odd film footage, connected by his satiric narration which presents it as a promotion for Palm Springs.

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Episode 224

Carol Burnett/Tim Conway/Robert Easton/Tracee Talavera

Fri, Aug 10, 197959 mins

The comedy segment is Floyd R. Turbo, American, discussing the issue of giving raises to lifeguards, and then other types of public employees. Tracee Talavera is a 12-year-old gymnast. She talks about the sport - she started at age seven - and her hopes for the upcoming Moscow Olympics. She then does a demonstration on the uneven bars, and coaches Johnny through a basic floor skill. Carol Burnett first gushes about the previous night's 30th anniversary party for James Stewart and his wife, which she and Johnny attended with celebrities she grew up idolizing, including Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. Carson tells about his first awkward encounters with Clark Gable and James Cagney, and they talk a bit about Stewart. She talks about growing up as a very quiet person, good student, who went to many movies (four double features a week) with her grandmother and would act them out at home. She then talks about the summer TV show she is doing. Tim Conway then comes out and talks about the show, and his own limited experience with Hollywood parties, and then about movies he recently made with Don Knotts: "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again" and "The Prize Fighter". He talks about having been a boxer in school, and then a clip from "The Prize Fighter" is shown. Carol, Tim, and Johnny then talk about "The Garry Moore Show", where they all met. Robert Easton is a dialect coach, and humorously demonstrates different regional and national accents; Burnett and Conway ask him about the accents they created for their characters Eunice and Mr. Tudball.

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