As great as Robin Williams is, he couldn’t hold a candle to this man with a stick.
Every time Winters was on, he used to make Johnny Carson practically pee in his slacks.
For me, he was a “CAN’T MISS” on the old “Tonight Show!”
If he was on, I had to sneak out of bed, turn the TV on quietly, and, with the volume down, and my ear to the speaker, I’d try to watch and listen as best I could. And, usually got caught laughing or snorting so loudly, that I was busted.
And now, they’re almost all gone – the people who Carson was wise enough to let grab hold of his show after his monologue, and monopolize most, if not all, of the rest of it.
Many times, after he did some quick interview with some lesser light, he’d let Winters, Mel Brooks, or Rodney Dangerfield (and maybe one or two others) use up the rest of the time, and enjoy the show along with the rest of the viewing audience.
If I could get any material thing to help me remember my joyous mis-spent youth, it would be a complete recording of all of Carson’s “Tonight Show” episodes. After one of these special guests was on, all of the guy’s in my HS group used to come in to school with material from his shows, when we could sneak down in our homes and watch them (no wonder we weren’t at the top of our class – we were too sleep-deprived from laughing until we got caught).
Even when Johnny had an off night, he knew how to make bad stand-up material written for him seem funny, even as he was bombing. He made bombing seem like what he wanted!
And his interviews will never be topped. He was The King of Late Night TV.
And now, only Mel Brooks remains, out of that group that Carson allowed to outshine him. It takes a great man, and a great comedian, to give way the spotlight to an even greater comedian, rather than try to grab it back.
Jack Paar was a bit before my time, but he seemed like he had that in him sometimes, too.
Thanks for that clip, maha.
Who, but Jonathan Winters, could do a 4-minute routine with just a stick?
I thought it’d be cool to be like Maudie Frickert when I got old, and now I’m there. Thanks for the role model, Jonathan! You were delightful.
I used to sneak out of bed at night for TV, too. On the old tube sets (before transistors, you young whippersnappers!) if you turned the volume all the way down, there was still some sound you could hear with your ear to the speaker. I could close the livingroom door to prevent light from alerting anyone. Jack Parr and Steve Allen were more intellectual than what appears on late-night nowadays, though Conan and Craig and Jimmy Kimmel and that little guy who thinks he’s getting Leno’s slot are all better than Leno. I expect Leno to backstab him somehow. I’ll never forget Carson’s turbaned Kreskin act as a fortuneteller and clairvoyant, either. Jonathan Winters was always a special treat whenever he was performing.
Sad to see him go.
Bill Bush,
It was “Karnack, the Magnificent!”
My two favorite insults:
“May the fleas of a thousand camels, infest your public hairs!”
“Wrong, Moose-face!”
And my favorite line, when asked to devine what the audience member who’d asked what the clue, “FROM A HERMETICALLY SEALED MAYONNAISE JAR KEPT ON FUNK & WAGNALLS’ PORCH,” meant by, “Peter Pan,” Karnack said, “Something to fry your peter in.”
“GET BACK IN YOU ROOM!!!!” sounds even harsher in Russian at 11:40 in the evening.
And, my other favorite, which was when he asked would he will divine the answer to the statement:
“Two stiffs and a geek!”
And the question is…
“Name the past, present, and future hosts of The Tonight Show.
But, this post should belong to Winters, not Carson.
FSM, I’ve always said that the funniest spontaneoug person I ever saw in my lifetimg, was Jonathan Winters.
“Cut off your Slauson.” Ohhh Johnny. Maudie F. could make him turn very red in the face.
Gulag- Robin Williams was exactly who I was thinking of, tho I think he’s a comic genius in his own right. I too, remember Winters on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I know I’m getting old cause the new comics aren’t really doing it for me. I’m not a prude but many modern comics seem to get a lot of mileage out of masturbation jokes. Ok, tell some jerk-off jokes but a half hour of you describing yourself pulling the chain just ain’t that funny.
Off topic, in terms of a tribute to the late great – I remember my dad talking about a comic he saw on the Tonight Show, a ‘colored’ comedian who had dad in stitches with a routine about Noah. The unknown comic – Bill Cosby. (If you never heard the routine, find it on youtube.) Parr to Carson became a romper room for some great stars who seemed to really have fun. If there is a hereafter, it’s a funnier place than we are in without JW and JC and a the true talent who graced that stage.
joan,
LOL!
“Annnnnd realize what a painful thing you’ve done!!!”
Buckeyblue,
That, and every other word is of the 4-letter variety.
And I LOVE to feckin’ curse!
But to me, the only ones who ever did it well, were Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and, of course, the great George Carlin – who explained it all for us.
“From Rugs to Riches,” an internal training film for salesmen from Caprolan Carpets – courtesy of LG&M:
Heck, any comedian that is widely considered “PC,” whatever-T-F that is, isn’t worth listening to.
joan,
I love cursing, but I gotta admit I love Bill Cosby even though he’s as clean as a whistle (which never made any sense to me, since whistles are about as dirty as anything else people put in their mouths).
I got a whole repertoire of ethnic jokes that are no longer usable( non-PC). The times they are a changing.
Why aren’t Itailians allowed to swim in the East River?
Why are Synagogues round?
How many Pollacks does it take to make popcorn?
How can you tell who’s the bride at a Polish wedding?
Why wasn’t Jesus born in Italy?
What do you call a 7 course Irish meal?
What’s the fastest thing in the world?
How can you tell the groom at a Polish wedding?
Etc, etc…Those were the days..no harm intended..But it is true that Marconi was trying to make spaghetti sauce when he accidentally invented the radio.
Point being, “non-PC” can be whatever somebody doesn’t want to hear. As human beings go, I always considered Jonathan Winters to be an especially gentle soul.
Well, I thought that George Bush’s comedy skit of looking for those elusive weapons of mass destruction in the oval office was side spiltting funny.. I was in tears of laughter when he picked up the throw rug and said; “Gee, they’re not under here”. Ha, ha, ha.
As great as Robin Williams is, he couldn’t hold a candle to this man with a stick.
Every time Winters was on, he used to make Johnny Carson practically pee in his slacks.
For me, he was a “CAN’T MISS” on the old “Tonight Show!”
If he was on, I had to sneak out of bed, turn the TV on quietly, and, with the volume down, and my ear to the speaker, I’d try to watch and listen as best I could. And, usually got caught laughing or snorting so loudly, that I was busted.
And now, they’re almost all gone – the people who Carson was wise enough to let grab hold of his show after his monologue, and monopolize most, if not all, of the rest of it.
Many times, after he did some quick interview with some lesser light, he’d let Winters, Mel Brooks, or Rodney Dangerfield (and maybe one or two others) use up the rest of the time, and enjoy the show along with the rest of the viewing audience.
If I could get any material thing to help me remember my joyous mis-spent youth, it would be a complete recording of all of Carson’s “Tonight Show” episodes. After one of these special guests was on, all of the guy’s in my HS group used to come in to school with material from his shows, when we could sneak down in our homes and watch them (no wonder we weren’t at the top of our class – we were too sleep-deprived from laughing until we got caught).
Even when Johnny had an off night, he knew how to make bad stand-up material written for him seem funny, even as he was bombing. He made bombing seem like what he wanted!
And his interviews will never be topped. He was The King of Late Night TV.
And now, only Mel Brooks remains, out of that group that Carson allowed to outshine him. It takes a great man, and a great comedian, to give way the spotlight to an even greater comedian, rather than try to grab it back.
Jack Paar was a bit before my time, but he seemed like he had that in him sometimes, too.
Thanks for that clip, maha.
Who, but Jonathan Winters, could do a 4-minute routine with just a stick?
I thought it’d be cool to be like Maudie Frickert when I got old, and now I’m there. Thanks for the role model, Jonathan! You were delightful.
I used to sneak out of bed at night for TV, too. On the old tube sets (before transistors, you young whippersnappers!) if you turned the volume all the way down, there was still some sound you could hear with your ear to the speaker. I could close the livingroom door to prevent light from alerting anyone. Jack Parr and Steve Allen were more intellectual than what appears on late-night nowadays, though Conan and Craig and Jimmy Kimmel and that little guy who thinks he’s getting Leno’s slot are all better than Leno. I expect Leno to backstab him somehow. I’ll never forget Carson’s turbaned Kreskin act as a fortuneteller and clairvoyant, either. Jonathan Winters was always a special treat whenever he was performing.
Sad to see him go.
Bill Bush,
It was “Karnack, the Magnificent!”
My two favorite insults:
“May the fleas of a thousand camels, infest your public hairs!”
“Wrong, Moose-face!”
And my favorite line, when asked to devine what the audience member who’d asked what the clue, “FROM A HERMETICALLY SEALED MAYONNAISE JAR KEPT ON FUNK & WAGNALLS’ PORCH,” meant by, “Peter Pan,” Karnack said, “Something to fry your peter in.”
“GET BACK IN YOU ROOM!!!!” sounds even harsher in Russian at 11:40 in the evening.
And, my other favorite, which was when he asked would he will divine the answer to the statement:
“Two stiffs and a geek!”
And the question is…
“Name the past, present, and future hosts of The Tonight Show.
But, this post should belong to Winters, not Carson.
FSM, I’ve always said that the funniest spontaneoug person I ever saw in my lifetimg, was Jonathan Winters.
“Cut off your Slauson.” Ohhh Johnny. Maudie F. could make him turn very red in the face.
Gulag- Robin Williams was exactly who I was thinking of, tho I think he’s a comic genius in his own right. I too, remember Winters on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I know I’m getting old cause the new comics aren’t really doing it for me. I’m not a prude but many modern comics seem to get a lot of mileage out of masturbation jokes. Ok, tell some jerk-off jokes but a half hour of you describing yourself pulling the chain just ain’t that funny.
Off topic, in terms of a tribute to the late great – I remember my dad talking about a comic he saw on the Tonight Show, a ‘colored’ comedian who had dad in stitches with a routine about Noah. The unknown comic – Bill Cosby. (If you never heard the routine, find it on youtube.) Parr to Carson became a romper room for some great stars who seemed to really have fun. If there is a hereafter, it’s a funnier place than we are in without JW and JC and a the true talent who graced that stage.
joan,
LOL!
“Annnnnd realize what a painful thing you’ve done!!!”
Buckeyblue,
That, and every other word is of the 4-letter variety.
And I LOVE to feckin’ curse!
But to me, the only ones who ever did it well, were Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, and, of course, the great George Carlin – who explained it all for us.
“From Rugs to Riches,” an internal training film for salesmen from Caprolan Carpets – courtesy of LG&M:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yT6KEsjxECY
I can’t believe he got away with his first character in the first episode of this 15 minute training film, back then!
Nobody noticed him crossing the line into un-PC territory, more than once, there?
Philo — speaking as one old enough to remember that far back — people went by a whole different set of rules back then.
I used to laugh my, then not yet substantial, @$$ off at Ernie Kovacs character, poet Percie Dovetonsils.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmEuK_UNwSs
Not quite PC, either.
Heck, any comedian that is widely considered “PC,” whatever-T-F that is, isn’t worth listening to.
joan,
I love cursing, but I gotta admit I love Bill Cosby even though he’s as clean as a whistle (which never made any sense to me, since whistles are about as dirty as anything else people put in their mouths).
I got a whole repertoire of ethnic jokes that are no longer usable( non-PC). The times they are a changing.
Why aren’t Itailians allowed to swim in the East River?
Why are Synagogues round?
How many Pollacks does it take to make popcorn?
How can you tell who’s the bride at a Polish wedding?
Why wasn’t Jesus born in Italy?
What do you call a 7 course Irish meal?
What’s the fastest thing in the world?
How can you tell the groom at a Polish wedding?
Etc, etc…Those were the days..no harm intended..But it is true that Marconi was trying to make spaghetti sauce when he accidentally invented the radio.
Point being, “non-PC” can be whatever somebody doesn’t want to hear. As human beings go, I always considered Jonathan Winters to be an especially gentle soul.
Well, I thought that George Bush’s comedy skit of looking for those elusive weapons of mass destruction in the oval office was side spiltting funny.. I was in tears of laughter when he picked up the throw rug and said; “Gee, they’re not under here”. Ha, ha, ha.
And there goes Lumpy…..http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=802618