[uofmtiger]

Carson is the benchmark. I like Conan, but he is no Johnny.

 

[AdamCalifornia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zotjen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Johnny will always be King. The problem I have with Letterman is that it's the same schtick over and over and over. Of the current hosts, I prefer Leno but I do wish he'd do something about his writers. I though he was much funnier during the recent strike. I also think Kimmel has great potential.

(I've highlighted the first sentence in the above quotation.)

Recently I watched two DVDs:
"The Best of The Tonight Show - King of Late Night" (2 Discs),
Starring Johnny Carson (Released 2007)

(On the back cover of the packaging):
...
There's only one king of late Night!

Well said! God bless Johnny!

************************************************

In my original post I also mentioned other leading comedians from the past:
Dick Cavett, Merv Griffin, Jack Paar and Steve Allen.
They definitely belong to the Greatest of All Time!
Go to google or yahoo to find more about them.

************************************************
Of course there are more names which could be mentioned,
but we have only 10 poll options available.
(Please complain to Jude! I'm not kidding!)
I chose only two names from the past: The King = Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett.

 

[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had absolutely no idea there was a predecessor to Stewart on The Daily Show! Kilborn was a riot, but his show just couldn't seem to hold a candle (overall) to Conan, so he was usually relegated to "between ads" duty. I still remember every guest, no matter who it was, coming out to "Me So Horny" by 2 Live Crew. Classic. When he decided to pursue acting, though... yikes. I wonder what he's doing now?

Yeah, I'm sure there are some torrent downloads of it somewhere. I rebelled against watching TDS for a long time after that. But I'd forgotten that I actually already liked Jon Stewart.

Craig took his 5 Questions segment from TDS to the Late Late Show. But yeah, tough to go up against Conan, as played by Chip Whitley.

I didn't start watching Conan until shortly before Andy left. This being Finland, my husband had been watching it for some time already and was the one that got me into it.

So Craig tried acting? Did it go over as well as Death to Smoochy (which I liked)? His movie poster review will be much missed.

 

[Tgun5]

Carson, then Kimmel

 

[RYCeT]

Well, I just get late night tv recently so my exposure is limited to Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. At first, I tivo'd all three of them. Now, I just tivo'd Jay Leno. I hate slapstick comedy so I don't find Conan O'Brien entertaining. Letterman is boring. Jay Leno is funny.

 

[Wmcmanus]

I kind of grew up with Carson, then Letterman. I was bummed that Dave didn't get that gig. I don't have any problems with Leno, I just think he gets old. Letterman has as well, I guess. I voted for Letterman but probably should have voted for Carson. As someone said, he was much more versatile than the rest of them.

I used to watch Conan in the early days and kind of thought he sucked, but he's matured nicely in terms of his demeanor and is much better now. True about Dick Cavett never demeaning himself for a laugh too, but those were different days. I would have liked to see Bob Newhart take off a little more than he did as a host, but I think stand up was his forte'.

 

[GlendaleViper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plainsong /img/forum/go_quote.gif I didn't start watching Conan until shortly before Andy left. This being Finland, my husband had been watching it for some time already and was the one that got me into it. So Craig tried acting? Did it go over as well as Death to Smoochy (which I liked)? His movie poster review will be much missed.

Conan just wasn't the same without Andy for a long, long time. After a while, you kind of just adapted, but there really was a special chemistry and magic there, so when he was gone, it felt almost like there was a hole in the show.

As far as Death to Smoochy, it's been a long time. I liked it too, but I don't recall Kilborn in it. Just take a look at his role in Old School for a prime example. It's cringe-worthy stuff.

Anyone else remember Howie Mandel's talk show? I can't say I remember a thing about it specifically, but I remember he knew how to make me laugh. Me, and about seven other people, anyway. Would have liked to see Chevy's show get more of a chance as well.

 

[SptsNaz]

Recently it's been Craig Ferguson. The laughs are kind of cheap, but I don't really care because there are a lot of them. He's underrated in my opinion

All time it's too hard to call. On any given night I would be satisfied watching Conan, Letterman, Ferguson or Leno. They all have their unique qualities and I like them all, so I usually just watch each one for a week at a time and then switch

 

[LFF]

Voted based on normal TV and not CATV.

For me it's Conan all the way.

For CATV:

Stewart and Colbert all the way.

 

[Aimless1]

Carson took late night talk shows to a whole new level. He set the bar by which all others must be measured, and none have surpassed him yet ... IMHO of course.

 

[AdamCalifornia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aimless1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Carson took late night talk shows to a whole new level. He set the bar by which all others must be measured, and none have surpassed him yet ... IMHO of course.

(I highlited the text in the above quotation.)

Here's Johnny and Johnny

 

[musicmind]

Jon Stewart's Daily Show is the only one I get to see regularly.

 

[scompton]

I voted for Carson because I liked him better than any of the current crop on broadcast TV. Of the current crop, I like Leno the best. We don't have cable and the few times I've seen Stewart or Colbert, I've loved em. I've seen Ferguson a few times and liked him. I don't like Conan at all. He's just not funny to me. Kimmel is even worse. I used to like Letterman but he's lost it. I remember when he had a 10AM show. Back in the 80s my friends and I would watch Twilight Zone, PTL Club, then Letterman every night. Talk about a surreal string of shows.

 

[AdamCalifornia]

Jay Leno said last year that he would retire in 2009.
I don't know whether NBC wants to have younger Conan O'Brien and
therefore wants to get rid of Leno or Jay will retire from the business.
This was confirmed by him a couple of times on his show this year.

It was reported in January 2008 that Conan O'Brien bought a $10.5-million mansion
in Los Angeles’ Brentwood area.

Also on one of Leno's shows someone from the audience asked Leno:
'NBC is building a new studio for Conan O'Brien in Burbank, California.
What do you think about this ....? ....
Jay Leno responded in a funny way.

 

[HiFiRE]

For the old 1 hour format: Conan.
The new comedy channel 30 minute format: Colbert.

When I read people fawning over Carson I thought they were talking about Carson Daly! Ha! Some of you are old(er than me).