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Conan
O'Brien ("Late Night with Conan O'Brien," NBC,
1993-present): O'Brien, an alum of The Harvard Lampoon, brings a big
dose of silliness to his show, which is always welcome in the wee
hours. Favorite highlight: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog ("I think
Eminem should relax a little. I mean,
my mom's a bitch too, but I don't sing songs about
it.") | |
 |
Merv
Griffin ("The Merv Griffin Show," CBS,
1962-1986): Forgive
him those "Circus of the Stars" appearances
back in the '80s.
Griffin was actually a stellar talk show host,
attentive and
disarming as an interviewer. His guests ranged
from Roy Rogers,
Richard Burton and Totie
Fields to Arnold Schwarzenegger,
Richard Pryor and Rose
Kennedy. Griffin interviewed several
current and former
presidents (Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan,
whose wife,
Nancy, became a close confidante). He knew how to lob a tough
question in between the softballs -- not an easy
trick. | |
 |
Steve
Allen (Several incarnations on CBS and NBC, including
launching "Tonight" on NBC, 1954-1957): Allen's shtick was informal,
usually beginning with his playing one of his own compositions at
the piano. Although there were guest stars and some regulars, the
focus was on Allen's comic standup and, most famously, his deadpan
ad-libbing. On his first "Tonight" appearance, he said, "Boy, you
think you're tired now. Wait until you see one o'clock roll
around | |
 |
Jay Leno
("The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," NBC, 1992-present): Leno's like
the Tom Hanks of talk shows:
appealing, self-deprecating, not too edgy but supremely gifted at
keeping the laughs coming. Our favorite bit: The "torn from today's
headlines" crazy ads, typos and other printed
goofs | |
 |
Arsenio
Hall ("The Arsenio Hall Show," syndicated, 1989-1994):
Hall flamed hot and bright in 1989 and 1990 but couldn't sustain his
sudden burst of popularity. He was appealing and hip but a pretty
lame interviewer, and once the audience tuned out, sadly, he became
his own punchline. But in the first year or two, he was
smokin'. | |
 |
Larry Sanders ("The Larry Sanders Show," HBO,
1992-1998): OK, so "The Larry Sanders Show" was fictional. But was
there ever a more hilarious group of broadcast misfits and colliding
egos? Nah. The writing sparkled, and the cast, headed by Garry Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor and Rip Torn, was acidly
funny. Thank you very much. And no
flipping. | |
Kati Johnston is a
freelance writer who focuses on entertainment, especially the
unintentional kind.
Agree or disagree with Kati? Send
comments to: kati.johnston@comcast.net |
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