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6 Episodes 1979 - 1980
Episode 37
Wed, Nov 21, 197990 mins
Episode 57
Thu, Dec 20, 197962 mins
Johnny and Ed devote three segments to a variety of toys and unusual gifts for Christmas, ranging from several action figures and dolls to novelty items such as supposedly humane mousetraps, an inflatable brassiere and a talking scale, up to a $600 mink teddy bear and an 18K gold Snoopy bank with a diamond collar for $25,000. Bruce Dern discusses his upcoming movie "Middle Age Crazy", noting that he never met co-star Ann-Margret until they were established actors, even though they attended the same high school just a few years apart. David Letterman talks about buying a house near a nude beach, after having lived in Laurel Canyon through some wildfires. He also talks about naming his dog Bob. Judith Blegen performs "O Holy Night", then talks about her upcoming opera "The Elixir of Love" on PBS, which has been adapted to a setting in the American west.
Episode 71
Thu, Jan 10, 198064 mins
Kentucky First Lady Phyllis George Brown; Mike Farrell (M*A*S*H (1972)); Sean Morey performs stand-up; writer Jerzy Kosinski (Being There (1979), novel "Passion Play").
Episode 149
Wed, Apr 30, 198090 mins
After saying in the monologue that the NBC series "Here's Boomer" has been cancelled, Johnny apologizes and notes that the series is continuing; he then comments on the fact that the dog which stars in the show had been rescued from a local shelter, and compares the glossy color photo of the dog provided by NBC's publicity department with his own outdated black-and-white photo that they use. Johnny also comments on hosting the Academy Awards two weeks earlier, noting the effort in mounting such a huge event - he mentions that a technical problem during the show resulted in the last hour and a half having to be directed via hand signals and messengers. The next segment focuses on money-saving tips to fight inflation, inspired by an advertisement which offered similar advice. Wally Mohrman, an elementary school gym teacher in Bloomer, Wisconsin, talks about the local jumprope contest which he founded, now in its 20th year. He recalls that when he first told children that they would be jumping rope in gym class, they groaned - but it soon occurred to him to tap into children's natural competitiveness and have them see who could do it the fastest, eventually breaking the competition down into age divisions. Afterward, he introduces a boy and a girl who won championships - including Paul Morning, who set the world record with 72 jumps in 10 seconds. Johnny is startled to learn that the jumps are counted without electronic or mechanical assistance, and tries to count Morning's jumps himself, with limited success. Johnny also makes a couple of attempts at jumping rope himself. Charlton Heston discusses various aspects of his career, beginning with the various beards he has worn for different roles; Johnny shows stills from Heston's movies, and tries to guess which beards were fake. Heston then talks about his wife's career as a photographer, noting that she has an upcoming exhibition; he also recalls his early work as an art model, mentioning that female models were nude while male models wore small loincloths - which his wife made for him. He then talks about his perpetual dissatisfaction with his own performances, always finding something he feels he could have improved upon, but notes that the main goal is to please the audience rather than himself. Finally, he and Johnny discuss working with animals; Heston takes Johnny's side in his long-running argument with Ed, agreeing that horses are less intelligent than pigs, but all agree that camels are particularly mean and difficult to work with. Bobby Kelton then does a stand-up routine. Finally, Johnny introduces Dorothy Stratten, who has just been named Playboy's Playmate of the Year. She talks about the various gifts she has received as part of the selection, including a $65,000 Russian sable, a $26,000 Jaguar and an $11,000 bathtub which accommodates ten people. She then talks about the jobs she had in Vancouver before she modeled for Playboy, and recalls how she first met her now-husband. She discusses the changes in her physique and life from high school to her current situation; finally, she mentions her upcoming movie "They All Laughed", for Peter Bogdanovich.
Episode 209
Wed, Jul 23, 198062 mins
Johnny describes his vacation to France and Wimbledon. Dyan Cannon (Honeysuckle Rose (1980)); Rodney Dangerfield (Caddyshack (1980)) performs stand-up and is interviewed; Arnaud de Borchgrave (novel "The Spike"); Jim Fowler presents wild animals.
Episode 246
Fri, Sep 12, 1980
In the last 90-minute episode of The Tonight Show, the comedy segment is Floyd R. Turbo (American) discussing imported cars. The raucous segment goes quite well, with Johnny blurting a profanity at one point and apparently also making a rude gesture. Johnny and Ed chat about the reasons for shortening the program to an hour, and Ed recounts how Johnny forgot their lunch appointment earlier in the day. Robert Blake first talks about his reaction to the show becoming shorter, and then discusses his unreleased film "Second-Hand Hearts", complaining that the film was shown for snobbish types at the Montreal Film Festival rather than for the everyday beer drinkers he's sure will love it. At Blake's urging, Johnny reads a scathing review of the movie, and a clip from the film is shown. Blake also recalls critics' harsh reviews of his work in the movie "In Cold Blood" and his series "Baretta", noting that he later won critical acclaim and an Emmy Award for them. Erma Bombeck talks about critics and then her family's trip to Africa, and shows pictures from the trip. She then discusses how awful current television is, and suggests that instead of more glamorous spinoffs, there should be series depicting more everyday people. George Wallace does a stand-up comedy routine. Jeff Greenfield discusses the upcoming presidential election and the media. He notes how candidates angle for strategic advantage in debate formats, especially in the current race with John Anderson running as an independent, with President Carter opposed to including him in debates but Ronald Reagan being supportive.