All About Late Night Talk Shows
What is the standard format of a late night talk show?
The basic format is a monologue and commercial on the first guest. Sometimes it is a comedy piece to start off the show and it's your first guest that's usually a star. The second guest is a little less of a star, and it's your third guest that's usually a music act.
How does the format of late night talk differ from that of daytime talk shows?
I think they were always simultaneously existing. When Johnny Carson was doing his show in late night, Mike Douglas was doing his version of it in daytime. Look, these shows are all talent-driven. It's all about the edginess and the point of view of the host. Somebody like a Conan O'Brien, with his point of view, I don't think exists in daytime television. And conversely, I don't necessarily think Rosie O'Donnell is a late night star.
What is the appeal of late night talk shows?
It's an intimacy. I think the biggest mistake people make in doing these shows is when they do big productions. You don't want dancers and singers. When we started doing the Letterman show at The Ed Sullivan Theatre, we were always very concerned and Letterman used to be real concerned about the size of the stage. It was a big theatre and a big stage, so what we subsequently did was we put set pieces and that made the stage a little smaller. The balcony, we cut in half. There are sound panels in the back of the balcony at The Ed Sullivan Theatre that have maybe three hundred seats behind it, so there are three hundred empty seats that you don't see in that theatre because it's an intimate form of television. You're watching it in bed, you're watching it in your bedroom, you're watching it right before you drift off to sleep. I don't think you want to be blown out of your seat. It's small and that's what makes these shows so great. They're small shows, they're not big shows.
How do after-midnight shows differ from those that air at 11?
The network basically said it's twelve thirty, we are going home, we'll leave you the keys to the studio, do what you want to do. And our next show at twelve thirty, we often celebrated failure, failure became a part of the show for technicians on the show screwed up, we take a shot at him, and everybody got to know who wash the stage and everybody got to know who the camera people were and it was always, you know, we celebrated failure, we would have a magician on who would screw up a trick, you know, and that's always better than a magician doing a trick and succeeding. When a magician screwed up and stabbed his assistant, as they once did on the Letterman show, you know, that was always fun, not that stabbing someone is fun but, she had a mild cut, but that is what made it great. Garey, who was the director of the show would take a shot of the girl holding her stomach, he'll see a trickle of blood coming, you know, that was funny, that was brilliant found comedy.
When did the first late night talk shows air?
The earliest roots of late night television were out of burlesque and vaudeville. Jerry Lester used to do a show called "Broadway Open House", and he was an old vaudeville comedian who did this Cavalcade kind of crazy comedy show. Then I think it morphed into being a little bit more sophisticated.
How have talk shows changed over the years?
If you look at any of these old shows, for instance, if you look at the old Steve Allen, Jack Parr or the early Johnny Carson shows and you look at the audience; they're wearing suits and ties. It was like a very classy club type feel. People used to get dressed like they were going to the 21 Club or to El Morocco. There was a formality to it that was really, really nice. Now, you look at these audiences, and it's people in shorts and tank tops; it's terrible. So, there was a certain sophistication. There was an exclusivity that went with these shows very early on.
