Johnny Carson's Last Tonight Show

October 1st 1962 is a day I'll always remember I was 36 years old taking my place as host of America's most popular late-night program The Tonight Show Johnny Johnny the night is young 20 back nail rock repeating singers kitchen with him around me ladies and gentlemen thank you this is kind of an emotional thing for me because I've known about this show for a long time and the newspaper is the magazine's I've probably been interviewed 150 times in the last nine months since I've known about this as I say you work up to it we came over here this afternoon we meet the guests that are on the show and you get kind of charged up I don't mean to be maudlin about it but I know that tonight a lot of people a lot of my friends are watching all over the country and I only have one feeling as I stand here knowing that so many people are watching I want my man well I made it through that first night with the help of Groucho Marx Rudy Vallee Joan Crawford Tony Bennett and Mel Brooks I could never have imagined I would walk through that curtain almost 5000 times in 30 years the following program is brought to you in living color on NBC and now here's Johnny please thank you very much thank you that is uh that is very that is very kind of you thank you very much I thank you I love you too we are around his studio so emotionally high from last night's show we have not come down yet and I want to thank Robin Williams and Bette Midler for last night for giving us an extra closing they wrapped really sensational the show tonight is our farewell show it's gonna be a little bit quieter it's not going to be a performance show and one of the questions that people have asked me especially last month is what's it like doing the Tonight Show and what does it meant to me well let me try to explain it if I could magically somehow that tape you just saw make it run backwards I'd like to do the whole thing all over again it has been it has been a just a hell of a lot of fun um as an entertainer has been the great experience in my life and I cannot imagine finding something after I leave tonight in television that would give me as much joy and pleasure and a sense of exhilaration as this show has given me it's just very hard to explain now we want the show to be more pieces it's kind of it's a farewell show there's a certain sadness among the staff here a little melancholy but look on the bright side you won't have to read or see one more story about my leaving the show I mean the press coverage has been absolutely tremendous and we are very grateful but I my god I mean the Soviet Union's in didn't get this kind of publicity ah the press has been very decent and honest with me and I thank them for that and that's about it the greatest accolade though I think I received today ge named me Employee of the Month and God knows that was a dream come true I don't like saying that bye farewell shows are a little awkward and I really thought about this no joke I thought God how can I wouldn't it be funny I thought instead of showing up tonight put on a rerun NBC did not find that funny at all next question I get is is what are you gonna do well I really had not made any plans but the events of this last week have helped me make a decision I'm going to join the cast of Murphy Brown and become a surrogate father to that kid the least I can do for wholesome family values now during the run of the show there been seven different United States presidents and thankfully for comedy there been eight vice presidents of the United States no I know I've made a lot of jokes at the expense of Dan Quayle but I really want to thank him tonight for making my final week so fruitful here is a mess here is an interim statistic it may stun you and we started the show October 1 1962 the total population of the earth was 3 billion 100 million people this summer it is 5 billion 500 million people which is a net increase of 2 billion 400 million people which should give us some cause more amazing statistic is that half of those 2 billion 400 million people will soon have their own late-night TV show now originally originally NBC came and says you know we'd like you to do in the final show we'd like to do a two-hour primetime special with a lot of celebrities and a star-studded audience and I said well I'd really prefer to end like we started rather quietly in our same timeslot in front of our same shabby little set it is rather shabby we we offered it to a homeless shelter and they said no thank you I am thinking applause sign halt put again in the bedroom maybe once a week just turn it on ah well we do have a VPI audience via BPI audience we should have had that too what we did I asked the members of the staff and the crude invite their family relatives their friends to come tonight and they did we've had some other invited guests my family is here tonight my wife Alex my two sons christen Corey my my my brother dick my sister Katherine and the sprinkling of nephews and nieces and I realize that being an offspring of somebody who is constantly in the public eye is not easy so guys I want you to know I love you and I hope your old man hasn't caused you too much discomfort ah it would have been it would it would have been a perfect evening if their brother Rick could have been here with us but I guess life does what it's supposed to do and you accept it and and go on uh know about tonight's show this is really not a performance show this is kind of a look back a retrospective we're going to show you some moments in time some images of the many people there have been some 23,000 people we're gonna show you a little excerpt of way or way this show is put together so go get some more cheese dip we'll be back in just a moment thank you for over the over the past 30 years we have had some 24,000 guests on this show from every perfection actors comedians singers dancers politicians writers and so forth what we have tonight are just little images we pick these things out just to show you these are not long sketches like we do on our anniversary show we just want to give you a sense of some of the foolishness that has happened on this show in the past 30 years uh well first let me tell you your assets you're young 42 right right uh you come over on television like gangbusters and boy I'm the expert on how important that is you're not gonna lend me your makeup man are you just gonna let him Belinda Johnson thank you I've no delighted to see you because I ride up and down in my building every day in the elevator and I see a man that says these Johnny Carson great to see you find love in a nation that how are you more important here RJ yeah Joanne whoo girl and race Caroline Tracy you two different girls yeah say the secret white and grant you'll come to your house I say my dressing room isn't good enough Oh oh you go right ahead here do your impression of interest work thirty years as faithful sidekick for Kemosabe mm-hmm hunt fish make food so close mm-hmm sweep up stay awake all night listen for enemies for Kemosabe risk life for Kemosabe hmm 30 lousy years I'm fight phalanges over a well you must have been pretty good cuz I don't see no mark so why don't see many marks on you either well I'm pretty good yeah you're having no that's why I thought you never drank we've been out together you hardly ever hella I hate all that ger and I hate wine but I don't know I think I was a little bit nervous and I thought wine would fix me up you know I'm always so nervous right now I'm a wreck Sam it's very reassuring in a way to know that all these fans are so interested in in film personalities that they would like to come you know and even just look at your house and your shrubs that sometimes it's rather embarrassing I'd love to see your shrubs huh I never hit anybody I know you huh any opening at all I jump right in huh Oh Lake Baringo is a body of water its surface is smooth as glass but getting to Lake Marengo is a genuine pain in the air well I hugged you a little higher but I okay why we change are you right-handed yeah doesn't matter but I so they really now you take the knuckle oh my god I'm okay now I'm out here mama mom TV for my friends in San Francisco should we come up with a laid-back place up I never could stand my face of course it was just one of those things no luthfi we never could stand my face directors kept me out of rushes because I'd be so depressed for days what didn't she like about your face I thought it was hideous I couldn't stand it well now I'm a great many years older and I see some of those films and I don't think there's any question I was the best-looking woman John from the bottom of my heart deep inside my body not Tommy Grimes clearly John so say it to the king I told you the Silver Fox sitting here John you wrote Mars doesn't matter you're going out on tour for what three three months scuse me there's something flying around here hmm must be that mousse that you put in your hair you guys you guys never had any girlfriends in their head at all did you uh you're four grown men in that you never had any girlfriends got on that ranch all by yourself I'm not a ranger Raiders a lot of rumors about that word a lot of rumors about me all right rice being homosexual they were great on I didn't mean that I would and and I am here to set the record straight we were not thank God hop sing was I got to ask you something last night my son yeah you were talking about Josh I Gabor yeah everybody's talked my sons said you know she was on Johnny Carson show one time she came there with a cat on her lap and she said to you you want to pet my put my son said that you said I'd love to if you'd remove that damn cat is it true no I think I would recall that the hell you're fighting is I'm not familiar Allyson Rodriguez now is he a good fighter I hope not well are you gonna be staying out here long I'm leaving tonight I gotta drop the audition tape off over at CBS in the NEM Dora you said you feel your musical well I'm a Pisces and we're very sensitive yeah what does that mean Alice I was married to a Pisces once I'm sure thanks for the memory sunburns at shore nice in Singapore you might have had a hey but you never were lore so soon music has been an integral part of the show and over the years we have had everything from heavy metal to classical rock and roll to opera country music and what's amazing that all these people we are so in their debt they come here and we don't pay a great deal of money on this show and all these artists have showed up year after year on this program so settle back and we were rather stunned by the depth of field in the music watch please stay with me till after the holidays that's when I need Oh Sweet Georgia Brown mr. Bojangles the man with dance it seems we stood and talked like this one stripper yeah my baby love I need you oh no one need you when Joanna loved me every sound was music there's no Sun up in the sky and he'll be big and strong you were always on my mind always on my mind brown dream Oh st. the neon lights on wrong while six you Oh oh it seems to me sorry seems to be the hardest word the children bothers hell it's only go I'm going to be said squeeze simple stable enough for a spare they never do let down stammers that number just shaves our soul Fred my sale take it down what an amazing run of college we'll be back in a moment stay with it my good friend and this show would have been almost impossible to do and it sure is gonna hell of a lot more fun to do it with these two guys it has been a rock for 30 years sitting over here next to me and doctor we have been friends for 34 years a lot of people who work together on television on that don't necessarily like each other this hasn't been true we've known each of the 34 years we have dinner together we're good friends you cannot fake that on television and some of the best things we've done on the show of just been you start something I'll start something I got a letter the other day from a guy came from television Guide he says now you're gonna find out if Ed McMahon really thinks you're funny how could you big lie do but you're going on you're gonna do your star search yes and if you're ever lonely and need a place to exhibit something come down and I'll help you no thank you this you know it's been wonderful really I have to say something it's just been a joy I I met you oh we taught for seven minutes I just found out the other day there were seven other people up for that job and I got it I thank you my family thanks you forever thank you sir and man over here there's never been a better trumpet player in the world and television is gonna lose the last big swing ban in the world and to say and to say that this band is not hip is not to know the meaning of the word hip believe my words young and hip were not synonymous doctor what are you gonna be doing well I'm gonna be taking the guys out on a little tour I said we may be called the X tonight show Bansal we had some jewelry made up yeah get a load of that special stuff works but I'll be with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra and the Buffalo Philharmonic but before we leave here I I want to thank you Johnny for making life such a joy and I it's gonna be awfully hard every night about that time well we hit that theme and you walk out there through that curtain and I wondered if maybe once a week you can come into my house and walk out through this rape reason oh well you guys and I want to thank you for giving us a place to play our music thank you we'll stay inside we'll stay inside are we ready for our next little little segment now this was kind of strange to put together because I've told you we've had thousands and thousands of people and we didn't select certain people for any reason just to give you an idea of the dimension of the people who've been here it is sad that the first ten years of The Tonight Show are gone we don't have the tapes it would have been fun to show Jayne Mansfield's sitting with Boris Karloff or Peter Lorre talking to Tallulah Bankhead or Bette Midler's first appearance but unfortunately those tapes are gone you want to do this first of course a dollar is always a dollar nothing say that's right never will coming back right this segment anchor this this segment doesn't need any elaborate setup these are just a few of the faces that have passed this way in 30 years you I Doc Severinsen in the van for that wonderful music underneath that scrap go thank you guys we'll be back in a moment okay we're back you are you normally see myself and Edie and dock out here in the band in front of the cameras but like any television show this has a lot of people and I've had the good fortune of having a marvelous staff marvelous technical crew and all behind scenes people who have been very dedicated to the show and take great pride in it and most of them have been here for a good number of years so I think all of them for making this possible no Viet never we have never really let journalists come in and cover the show while we're putting it together we always think the show should speak for itself but what we did we got a camera crew and they went around and they just took shots of an average day what goes into putting the show that you see on the air so here is our little backstage look at the Tonight Show okay here's the rundown for tonight monologue of course then Johnny does his last teatime movie and Teresa ganzel is with that after commercial Stevie Wonder two songs we close with Steven Wright stand up to paddle and into a promo for tomorrow night's show and if you have any more questions that's it for today tonight Joe Stevie Wonder is here and Clint Eastwood is confirmed for the 15x good thank you very top on my time they'll be straight one two one two Manabu that came to me a question kind of too let you be busting world the final rest of the game Oh Jeffrey alright that warm again that's great you the studio holds 465 people and will fill up every last seat so if there's room we will get you a seat endless amount of mail mr. Parkson receives probably ten thousand pieces of week how much isn't talking about this issue hello feature-film Briggs our turn here with today's feature film that's it that's a monologue it's officially my loss when I write the truth journey best seat in the house I think really it's about five minutes till fire we'll do the show at 5:30 and we'll do it in real time beauty time basically this is what John sees as he sits her at the desk Sun TV yeah hope you fill my favorites for me I'll be letting you I'll be seeing you good evening and welcome to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson my name is Jeff's not say I'm gonna be many producers of the show it would show up we had a minute we're back well it's gone gosh I don't have a good time 30 seconds Sam I playback well so for what next time okay there you seconds John oh my god wait hi four three two one music tape Joe's starring Johnny Carson and now ladies and gentlemen you folks are here on a great night mighty Carson art players with Teresa ganzel and the final appearance of art fern in our tee time movie right now it's time for a visit with one of the mainstays of daytime television making his last appearance on The Tonight Show your friend and his lovable art fern your film crates are current here with today's feature film Woody Harrelson Woody Allen Woody Guthrie Woody Woodpecker Woody Herman Herman Munster and dump oh the Wonder pigeon in Heidi suffers an estrogen avalanche I'll be seeing you it's heart of mine embraces Oh way through well hi if I had realized their staff work that hard how to give them a raise we'll be back in come on and and so it has come to this I am one of the lucky people in the world I found something I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it I want to thank the gentleman who shared this stage with me for 30 years mr. Ed McMahon Mr Doc Severinsen I mean people watching I can only tell you that it has been an honor and a privilege to come into your home's all these years and entertain you and I open I find something I want to do and I think you will like and come back that you'll be as gracious inviting me in your home as you have been I bid you a very heartfelt goodnight

Channel: Jackson Harris

Views: 1,189,635

Rating: 4.8119297 out of 5

Keywords: Johnny Carson (TV Program Creator), The Tonight Show (Award-Winning Work)

Id: WVPl4eMEuC0

Length: 46min 0sec (2760 seconds)

Published: Thu May 14 2015