American TV series or program
The Late Show
is an American late-night
talk show
and the first television program broadcast on the then-new
Fox Network
. Hosted by comic actress
Joan Rivers
, it debuted on October 9, 1986, under the title
The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers
. It is also the first
late-night show
hosted by
Arsenio Hall
.
Background
[
edit
]
The talk show was a direct attempt at competing against
NBC
's
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
, where Rivers had been Carson's permanent
guest host
since 1983.
[1]
The show was initially broadcast live.
Many in
1986
, including top executives at NBC, thought it was possible that
Johnny Carson
would retire after reaching his 25th anniversary on October 1, 1987, as it was such a logical cut-off point. In spring 1986, a confidential memo between top NBC executives listing about 10 possible successors in the event of Carson's retirement the next year was leaked. Rivers was shocked to see that she was not on the list.
[1]
In an article she wrote for
People
magazine, Rivers said that NBC offered her only a one-year contract in 1985 as permanent guest host while Carson's contract had been renewed for two years, which signaled to her that her future was uncertain as her previous one year contracts had run the same length as Carson's. In addition, Rivers noted numerous snubs from NBC executives over the years, such as not being invited to the annual Carson party until recently, and taking the fall for a controversial joke that management approved during rehearsal. Rivers had received higher-paying offers from other networks in prior years but declined them out of her loyalty to Carson, but in 1986 as NBC was unwilling to give assurances on her future and negotiations were fruitless, this was the impetus for Rivers to seriously consider the Fox offer.
[1]
Rivers and Carson
[
edit
]
Fox was looking for a host for a late-night talk show for the network's launch in October 1986. Through its purchase of
Metromedia
, it had been airing
The Merv Griffin Show
(a syndication stalwart for two decades) but opted to drop that program (leading to its cancellation) to make room for its own show. The new network offered Rivers the job at a salary higher than what NBC was paying. She accepted and Carson was blindsided by the news when he saw the press conference on television. Moments later, when Rivers called him at home, he refused to take the call.
[1]
Carson was furious when he found out about Rivers going to Fox. Carson stated that he felt betrayed by Rivers ? not because she dared to compete with him, but because she was not honest with him beforehand about her intentions and did not ask him for advice and his blessing. For her part, Rivers was adamant that her problem was with NBC and not with Carson, who was like a father figure to her. She stated that she didn't want to tell Carson before the announcement was made because she was afraid Fox would cancel the deal if word leaked out. She had previously been ordered by Carson's producers and lawyers not to go to him with her problems, as they kept Carson completely insulated since he was a major source of NBC profits; thus Carson had been completely unaware of Rivers' problems with NBC.
[1]
When others obtained their own competing shows (such as
David Brenner
,
Alan Thicke
,
Joey Bishop
, and
Pat Sajak
), Carson always had them on
The Tonight Show
beforehand to wish them luck ? and again after he had forced their show into cancellation by maintaining superior
ratings
. Rivers did not appear on the
Tonight Show
again during the remainder of Carson's tenure after 1986 or during that of his successors (in this case,
Jay Leno
and subsequently,
Conan O'Brien
) until February 17, 2014, when she appeared in a cameo on
Jimmy Fallon
's
first show
, by which point Carson had been dead for nine years.
[2]
Rivers spoke highly of Carson the night he died on January 23, 2005, but revealed that he never spoke to her again.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
Sagging ratings and carriage refusals
[
edit
]
After a moderate start,
ratings
for the talk show soon sagged. The ratings struggles also made it hard for Fox to attract affiliates for its primetime launch on April 5, 1987. Some prospective affiliates, such as
Milwaukee
's
WCGV-TV
, would only sign with the network if they did not have to carry
The Late Show.
KPTM
in
Omaha
refused outright out of loyalty to Carson, who hailed from
Corning, Iowa
, east of Omaha and started his career on local radio and television. The network acquiesced to allow some stations out of that obligation so that the network launched in primetime with as many affiliates as possible, at the cost of ratings and access to
The Late Show
. For instance, at the time the show launched Fox had not closed on its purchase of its
Boston
station, WXNE-TV (now
WFXT
). That station's previous owners, the
Christian Broadcasting Network
, objected to the show's content and refused to clear it. As a result, until Fox took control of the station in January, its audio feed aired on a low-rated AM station.
The behind-the-scenes relations between Rivers and network executives quickly eroded and Rivers was fired in May 1987. For the final show, which aired May 15, 1987, the set was vandalized with toilet paper, slime, and shaving cream. Her guests were
Howie Mandel
,
Pee-Wee Herman
, then-fledgling comedian
Chris Rock
,
Wendy O. Williams
, and show stage manager Michelle Aller as her alter-ego Mavis Vegas Davis.
[4]
[5]
Soon afterward the program was renamed
The Late Show
and featured rotating guest hosts including
Suzanne Somers
,
Richard Belzer
, and
Robert Townsend
. After firing prospective guest host
Frank Zappa
, producer John Scura replaced him with Arsenio Hall, who made his debut as a talk show host. Eventually, Hall was named the permanent replacement host in mid-1987.
The Howard Stern Show
[
edit
]
On April 16, 1987, a meeting was held between
Howard Stern
and management of
WNYW
,
Fox
's
flagship
television station. The network was considering Stern as replacement to
The Late Show
.
[6]
Five one-hour
pilots
titled
The Howard Stern Show
were recorded at a cost of about $400,000.
[7]
They featured rock guitarist
Leslie West
of
Mountain
fame as band leader and
Steve Rossi
as announcer and singer.
[8]
By early June, air dates were yet to be scheduled; the pilots were instead being tested among
focus groups
in
California
. With no formal announcement, in July, the network decided not to put the Stern show on the air.
[9]
Paul Noble, the former executive producer for WNYW, was never told of Fox's decision. "By today's standards, they were absolutely tame." He also said, "They were not the kind of thing that a local New York television station was prepared to get involved with at that time. It was more like off-the-wall radio."
[9]
Arsenio Hall
[
edit
]
Fox had originally cancelled
The Late Show
, but executives were stunned by the success of Hall, who was performing well among adults 18?49. In return, Hall was given a 13-week deal to host the show ? however, a replacement program entitled
The Wilton North Report
was already in pre-production and scheduled, which meant that the deal would not be extended beyond that. Further, Hall would not be available in any event, as he was committed to filming the
Eddie Murphy
feature
Coming to America
. During the monologue of his final appearance as host, Hall stated that the reason he had agreed to only do 13 weeks was because that was as long as he was able to stay, as he had plans "to do other things."
[10]
Clint Holmes continued as announcer while Mark Hudson remained as band leader. However, the band's name changed from "Mark Hudson and the Party Boys featuring the Tramp" ? as it had been known during Rivers's tenure, with "the Tramp" referring to baritone sax player Beverly Dahlke-Smith ? to simply "Mark Hudson and the
Late Show
Band".
Guests tended to be third-string actors, with performances by lesser-known bands such as The Williams Brothers (Los Angeles) and
The Amazing Pink Things
(Seattle). One noteworthy guest during Hall's era was
Bob Barker
, then in his fifteenth year as host of the long-running game show
The Price is Right
.
World-famous "Earthquake Astrologer from
KROQ
and
KFOX
", Farley Malorrus, appeared as a guest following an accurate earthquake prediction in Los Angeles during October 1987.
When problems developed with
Wilton North
, Fox attempted to bring back Hall ? but it was too late.
[11]
Wilton North
debuted on December 11, 1987, and was a disaster on all fronts. Fox canceled it after only 21 episodes on January 8. It started airing
Late Show
repeats with both Hall and Rivers on January 11, 1988, and scrambled to revive the talk show.
1988 hosts
[
edit
]
The show came back with a new group of unknown guest hosts, including comedians Jeff Joseph and
John Mulrooney
;
Daniel Rosen
took over as announcer, while
Jack Mack and the Heart Attack
became the new house band. Ultimately, none of the tryout hosts would work out, and the network turned to Seattle TV personality
Ross Shafer
to take over
The Late Show
.
Ross Shafer
[
edit
]
By the time Shafer began hosting, ratings were so low that the show could only attract newsmakers and human interest-style guests; this led to a format change in the summer to focus on tabloid and ripped-from-the-headlines stories.
Fox canceled the show effective October 28, 1988, getting out of late night until 1993, when it launched the ill-fated
The Chevy Chase Show
.
Notable episodes
[
edit
]
Despite the show's low ratings by 1988, Shafer's tenure as host produced six notable episodes. These are especially notable for being the last public appearances of well-known celebrities:
- The movie
Leonard Part 6
won three
Golden Raspberry Awards
on April 10, 1988, for Worst Actor (
Bill Cosby
), Worst Picture, and Worst Screenplay (
Jonathan Reynolds
and Cosby). It was nominated for two more Razzie Awards, for Worst Supporting Actress (Foster) and Worst Director (Weiland). A few weeks after the ceremony, Cosby accepted his three Razzies on
The Late Show
. He requested that the three Razzies he earned be specifically made out of 24 karat (99.99%) gold and Italian marble.
- A reunion of the 1960s
Batman
TV series cast (
Adam West
,
Burt Ward
,
Frank Gorshin
,
Julie Newmar
,
Yvonne Craig
,
Alan Napier
, and
Eartha Kitt
) aired on April 28. Napier, who had been long-retired at this point and very frail when this special was recorded, died on August 8 after being checked into a hospital two months earlier. Yvonne Craig described the reunion show as overbooked, and when Ross Shafer finally turned his attention to Napier, it was only to ask him a silly question, then cut him off abruptly as he was telling a story, much to Napier's annoyance. Because
Cesar Romero
had other commitments at the time, he was instead interviewed by Shafer from his home. Also interviewed was
Batmobile
customizer
George Barris
.
- A reunion of the
Gilligan's Island
cast aired on May 18 with a custom set, audience members and a barbershop quartet singing the theme, cast member trivia, and more. This would be the last appearance of all the regular cast members together, including
Tina Louise
, who had distanced herself from the rest of the cast since the show ended, and
Jim Backus
, who was suffering from
Parkinson's disease
. Backus died in July 1989;
Alan Hale, Jr.
died in January 1990,
Natalie Schafer
died in April 1991,
Bob Denver
died in September 2005,
Russell Johnson
died in January 2014, and
Dawn Wells
died in December 2020.
- A "Game Show Hosts" special featuring
Gene Rayburn
,
Gary Owens
,
Tom Kennedy
,
Dennis James
, and
Jim Lange
, plus
Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows
co-author Fred Wostbrock. Various clips were shown, including rare footage of James'
Name That Tune
. (Shafer would later succeed Rayburn as host of
Match Game
.) James died in 1997, while Rayburn died in 1999, Lange died in 2014, Owens died in 2015, Wostbrock died in 2016, and Kennedy died in October 2020.
- Artist
Mark Kostabi
's appearance, where he wrapped Shafer in
aluminum foil
and threw large amounts of cash into the studio audience. Some of this footage resurfaced in the documentary film about Kostabi,
Con Artist
, directed by
Michael Sladek
.
- A reunion of the cast of
National Lampoon's Animal House
(
Tim Matheson
,
Martha Smith
,
Stephen Furst
,
James Daughton
, and
John Vernon
) in honor of its tenth anniversary, which aired on October 6.
Aftermath
[
edit
]
Edgar Rosenberg
, Rivers's husband and the show's producer during her tenure, committed suicide on August 14, 1987, three months after Rivers and he were fired, and shortly after the couple
separated
. Rivers made the first of several career comebacks with the debut of
The Joan Rivers Show
in daytime on September 5, 1989. The show was nominated for numerous
Emmy Awards
with Rivers winning the
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host
in 1990.
[12]
[13]
The Arsenio Hall Show
launched on January 3, 1989. Hall had sealed a deal with
Paramount Television
to launch his own show and was able to clear it on many Fox affiliates throughout the country. He essentially reclaimed his old time period, though not in the network.
Ross Shafer
went on to host a revival of
Match Game
for
ABC
in 1990.
The title of
The Late Show
was revived by
CBS
in 1993 for their unrelated late-night talk show franchise
The Late Show
for
David Letterman
and since 2015 for
Stephen Colbert
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Rivers, Joan (May 26, 1986).
"Can I Talk? I Am Mad and Sad and Feel Attacked?So Here Is the Truth About Why I Left Tonight"
.
People
. Retrieved
February 19,
2014
.
- ^
"Joan Rivers Returns To 'Tonight Show' After Decades-Long Ban"
.
Variety
. February 17, 2014
. Retrieved
February 19,
2014
.
- ^
Rivers, Joan (December 6, 2012).
"Joan Rivers: Why Johnny Carson "Never Ever Spoke to Me Again"
"
.
- ^
"Rivers Says Goodbye Not A Minute Too Soon"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
10 December
2014
.
- ^
"Name Is Fake But The Songs Are Her Own"
.
Philly.com
. Retrieved
10 December
2014
.
- ^
Colford, p. 176.
- ^
Colford, p. 177.
- ^
Colford, pp. 180?181.
- ^
a
b
Colford, p. 178.
- ^
"The Late Show with Arsenio Hall: Final Show"
.
YouTube
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-21
. Retrieved
10 December
2014
.
- ^
Njeri, Itabari (1989-04-16).
"We Be Havin' a Ball, Says Arsenio Hall. But Can the Talk-Show Host's Hip New Style Succeed on Late-Night TV?"
.
The Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
2010-10-09
.
- ^
Tucker, Ken (September 14, 1990).
"The Joan Rivers Show"
.
Entertainment Weekly
. Retrieved
May 31,
2016
.
- ^
Takeda, Allison (September 5, 2014).
"Joan Rivers' Daytime Emmy Acceptance Speech in 1990 Was Both Funny and Heartbreaking: Watch"
.
Us Weekly
. Retrieved
May 31,
2016
.
External links
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