VINTAGE Chat Shows- A Celebration Thread

I asked Mr. E, the Moderator of this forum, and a few other TV Forum regulars about how this thread might go or be set up so hopefully I've got it right. But look, if it doesn't take off so be it.

There's lot's of Youtube clips focusing on Vintage (let's say pre- year 2000 as a general rule but you won't be shot the odd clip since then if a regular contributor) Chat shows.

The thing I've found is that once you start exploring these clips you just keep looking at more and more and more.

With Irish chat shows being at an all time low, I think it's great to look back at the past classic chat shows and interviews that kept people glued to their TV sets.

If you could post a video and talk a little around what you like about the interview, that would get some discussion going, as opposed to just posting video after video without comment. it's the comments that will make this thread as we can all explore youtube.

a few to start off the thread.

Robin Williams on any TV Chat show will be classic viewing so enjoy and explore where the youtube links will take you- his rapid delivery of jokes per minute are just mesmerising.

Johnny Carson and Robin Williams 1992

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGxdvkoYqrc

Dick Cavett is a great Chat show host from the 70's US TV, who I never heard of until seen him on the Tube, but has had some serious stars on his show through the years so worth exploring in detail

Here's a very interesting Dick Cavett Robert Mitchum interview and really explains why he was a pain in the ass on Parkinson

Also- very well handled by Dick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbwK6pAnsnM

Let's hope this thread can celebrate the best in the bygone era of classic chat shows with some great discussions throughout

Ol' Donie

Nice one Plenty.

Great idea for a thread.

Skid X

Nice one PlentyOhToole, that's a great idea and this could be a fine compendium of classic talk show clips

I'll throw in this one of Richard Harris on Parkinson. It's a good example of an interviewee with entertaining yarns and stories to tell, and an interviewer who just gives him a lead and lets him get on with it.

No plugging a new film, no mention of illness or disease. It's a full hour but it's worth a look when you have the time (as is pretty much any Richard Harris Talk Show Interview, you should see more shown in the Youtube Side Links

(Parts 1, 3 and 4 are on Youtube - Part 2 is here )

Agent Coulson

They just don't make Hollywood legends and raconteurs like these anymore.

Harris, O'Toole, Burton, Ustinov, Reed etc..


I always loved this one from Richard Harris living in London he went out to buy a newspaper and ended up in Dublin for two weeks.

Agent Coulson

Agent Coulson wrote: »

I always loved this one from Richard Harris living in London he went out to buy a newspaper and ended up in Dublin for two weeks.

I remember seeing that interview- I still refuse to believe that it's true he did that but a great story all the same.

Agent Coulson

Oh I'd well believe it.


This story by O'Toole kind of sums up the lifestyle they all lived.

Him and Peter Finch buy a pub so they can't get thrown out and keep drinking.

Skid X

Frank Sinatra with Johnny Carson, being gatecrashed by Don Rickles.

Love it.

there's something of a "Parkinson" about Dick Cavett in that he's more of, or at least wants to be more of, a journalist, than a chat show host. He wants to probe and he wants to uncover the real person as opposed to the personae that the celebrity puts forward to the world.

I suppose you have to remember this was the early 70's so this sort of approach was new enough. It also tells me that Parkinson was not unique in what he did and maybe he took inspiration from this style of interview, in his early years?

Here's Dick with Bob Hope.

Interview itself starts about 5 minutes into this over 1 hour video. There are points throughout where Bob is guarded- Dick is not looking for Hope's writers to give a reply (although there are plenty of "gags" throughout)- but for the real Mr. Bob Hope to stand up and respond instead- he's successful in some respects but I could see some people being wary of this style of interview. An hour is a long time to be interviewed- so there's a lot at risk here for Bob.

I like the style of Dick Cavett. You'd swear I knew him forever but only discovered him this year.

Anyway, here you are:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9skPeQPuF0

Brian Scan

Deleted User wrote: »

there's something of a "Parkinson" about Dick Cavett in that he's more of, or at least wants to be more of, a journalist, than a chat show host. He wants to probe and he wants to uncover the real person as opposed to the personae that the celebrity puts forward to the world.

I suppose you have to remember this was the early 70's so this sort of approach was new enough. It also tells me that Parkinson was not unique in what he did and maybe he took inspiration from this style of interview, in his early years?

Here's Dick with Bob Hope.

Interview itself starts about 5 minutes into this over 1 hour video. There are points throughout where Bob is guarded- Dick is not looking for Hope's writers to give a reply (although there are plenty of "gags" throughout)- but for the real Mr. Bob Hope to stand up and respond instead- he's successful in some respects but I could see some people being wary of this style of interview. An hour is a long time to be interviewed- so there's a lot at risk here for Bob.

I like the style of Dick Cavett. You'd swear I knew him forever but only discovered him this year.

Anyway, here you are:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9skPeQPuF0

I think that a few years ago, in one of his "This year I'm going to make the Late Late Show my own" autumn previews, Ryan Tubridy said that he had been studying old Dick Cavett interviews.

Obviously not a good student - probably too much acting the maggot down the back of the class.


"Besides the new set, Tubs says he’s “fizzing with ideas” and is “extremely fired up” about the return of the chatshow.
He’s been studying the likes of US chatshow host Dick Cavett, saying “I find him fascinating because his show was very conversational and what I’ve come to terms with with the Late Late is that it is not like anything else, ever, anywhere. Particularly nowadays.”

Skid X

Bowie on Cavett

This is the full extended interview, there are also smaller chunks of it on Youtube. Cavett doing his best to figure out what planet Bowie just landed from. Two Worlds Collide.

Haven't watched it in a while, I must revisit it.

I like it Skid X. Bringing a music theme to the VINTAGE Interview Chat thread- bring it on, there's a whole lotta great Rock N Roll interview videos out there that people would love to see - you're in charge!


BTW, for those of you new to this forum, check out the LEDGE - the ONE and the ONLY place you need to go to to see what's on the TV box this weekend that's quality music related.

Established in 2013, the BEEBROCK thread is a must-see every week:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057079197

For doggie fans. Nice doggie poem by the great James Stewart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLyn8MCIC4M

Skid X

Our very own Gay Byrne did a bit of moonlighting across the water now and then, here he is with John, Paul, George and Ringo. And Ken.

Paul was so impressed with Gay that he asked him to manage the Band.

Honestly

"And Paul asked me to take on the job as manager, which I turned down for some reason. It was a real career choice. Anything was possible," he said to Parkinson.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/in-my-life-fab-four-asked-me-to-manage-them-reveals-gaybo-26710938.html

Skid X

Skid X wrote: »

Our very own Gay Byrne did a bit of moonlighting across the water now and then, here he is with John, Paul, George and Ringo. And Ken.

Didn't Gay do some work in America one Summer back in the 80's i think. I know he was dipping his toe in those waters but he decided not to pursue it. But nearly sure he did some US Televised work- i'l love to see it if he did.

Skid X

Deleted User wrote: »

Didn't Gay do some work in America one Summer back in the 80's i think. I know he was dipping his toe in those waters but he decided not to pursue it. But nearly sure he did some US Televised work- i'l love to see it if he did.

Yeah, in the Mid 80s he was defrauded by his accountant and ended up broke.

He made noises about moving to America for the money, even guest presented a few times on some shows over there (Can't find the exact details of this). There was a 'Save Gay' campaign here and eventually RTE gave him a decent pay increase and he stayed.

I don't know if he was ever seriously thinking about going or just rattling the cage.

ohnonotgmail

Grace Jones on Russel Harty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz_UHLfZKAA

Skid X

I would highly recommend this PBS documentary on Johnny Carson, The King of Late Night and the Greatest Talk Show Host of them all.

I didn't know much about his life before watching but I found it enthralling. It's long but well worth a look.

Agent Coulson

Grace Jones was right in that having Rusell in between them like was rude as he would have to turn his back on someone.



Russell was a very good interviewer and died very young.

Skid X

Skid X wrote: »

I would highly recommend this PBS documentary on Johnny Carson, The King of Late Night and the Greatest Talk Show Host of them all.

I didn't know much about his life before watching but I found it enthralling. It's long but well worth a look.


[/YOUTUBE]

Started watching it a few weeks ago but got side tracked so need to go back to it again when i have time

gnarbarian

I still remember the interview with Meg Ryan on Parkinson

Agent Coulson

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Grace Jones was right in that having Rusell in between them like was rude as he would have to turn his back on someone.


Russell was a very good interviewer and died very young.

The seating was all wrong in that interview. Maybe they were trying something different at the time? Hard to know. I've seen even a few modern interviews go that way in terms of the interviewer turning their back from left to right etc (no Grace Jones reaction though ) and I always think back to what happened with this one.

gnarbarian wrote: »

I still remember the interview with Meg Ryan on Parkinson

In Parky's autobiography, he stated that pre-interview, there was tension also. However, I totally disagree with Parky's approach here.

He challenged Meg around being "wary around journalists"- that's not a way to win over your guest. She was a megastar- why wouldn't she be wary.

And remember, they are guests. Parky would say that when inviting on these celebrities, there's a "deal" here- I give you the air time and you be the personality and the entertainment, or words to that effect.

But he didn't handle this well at all. Meg was starting to relax a bit, but Parky was having none of it. I think he took this interview personally and I think it's a very unprofessional interview- he could have cut her more slack and made her feel a bit more confident.

I do like Parky, but he failed here just as he failed in 1972 with this interview.

A very young Helen Mirren with eh, "physical attributes" , very well handled by Helen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VuvyItN3es

Just combining the concept of this interview thread with a brief tribute to the late & very great, Tom Petty.

A short interview clip from 1988 with the Travelling Willburys. RIP Tom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTDKbQFda3c

David Letterman had a morning show back in 1980 before his Late Night shows kicked off
Here he is with Steve Martin in bed.

Steve Martin appeared in multiple DL shows through the years including his final Late show in 2015.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05psa9FPlwo

Skid X

Johnny Carson, undisputed King of Late Night, was about to leave the Tonight Show on NBC after 30 glorious years

But who would replace him? - David Letterman (who did the late late night show after Johnny) or Jay Leno (Johnny's regular replacement after he was on vacation)

This HBO film 'The Late Shift' (here on Youtube in full) gives a great insight into that battle, its even better if you don't know the final outcome

Also, 'The War For Late Night' is a book by Bill Carter on the same era - its very entertaining and you could get it for a few euro on amazon

Skid X

Skid X wrote: »

Johnny Carson, undisputed King of Late Night, was about to leave the Tonight Show on NBC after 30 glorious years

But who would replace him? - David Letterman (who did the late late night show after Johnny) or Jay Leno (Johnny's regular replacement after he was on vacation)

This HBO film 'The Late Shift' (here on Youtube in full) gives a great insight into that battle, its even better if you don't know the final outcome

Also, 'The War For Late Night' is a book by Bill Carter on the same era - its very entertaining and you could get it for a few euro on amazon

Thank-you Mr. SkidX:)

Following on from that..

Yes, this is a fascinating story. To also help tell the story, I'll have to break into the 2000's to show how it developed. (Sorry OP :P )

So, in 1991, it was announced that Jay Leno would take over the Tonight Show, from the one and only- Johnny Carson- here's the interview with Dave & Johnny, after it was announced. David was the supposed heir to Johnny's seat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLQwp-kTXEg

Now, roll forward to 2009 and Jay Leno get's the boot to make way for Conan O'Brien- the younger heir in waiting.


Now, a funny thing happened. Conan's reign didn't go well in terms of ratings and Mr. Leno was asked back to take back the mantle of The Tonight Show.

Conan found himself out of job and on to the Dave Letterman show- an incredible instance of history repeating itself with role reversal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQF5JF06NYM

Here's Jay's reflection on that situation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnK40x6Nqlw

All of these guys are comedians in their own right. And how they handle it on National TV is just brilliant.

Patty O Furniture

@PlentyOHToole:

What's up with the videos? as i'm getting this writing:

Content Encoding Error

The page you are trying to view cannot be shown because it uses an invalid or unsupported form of compression.

Please contact the website owners to inform them of this problem.

Can Craig Ferguson's chat shows be added here as vintage , as how long did his go on for?
Really miss it, guest would come to flog stuff & end up talking about something else more crazy.

Craig was next to get Letterman's show not Colbert, so it was in his contract to get $5M if he didn't get it!

Patty O Furniture

Patty O Furniture wrote: »

@PlentyOHToole:

What's up with the videos? as i'm getting this writing:



Can Craig Ferguson's chat shows be added here as vintage , as how long did his go on for?
Really miss it, guest would come to flog stuff & end up talking about something else more crazy.

Craig was next to get Letterman's show not Colbert, so it was in his contract to get $5M if he didn't get it!

I can see all 3 videos here Patty, not sure what the issue is- they're all Youtube clips/links.

Listen, go ahead and post what you want- I had an idea in my head when starting the thread that was more focused on the 70s/80's but really, the thread is more about interviews from the past as opposed to any strict rules so if you think there's a story worth telling after the 2000's, go for it.:)

I'm not really familiar with Craig Ferguson so interested to learn more.

A good humoured Rock Hudson interview from WOGAN, 1984. Very hard to believe he would be dead 1 year later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqMcOx9al9A

Skid X

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm not really familiar with Craig Ferguson so interested to learn more.

Craig's clips are well worth a look. Scottish Comedian (now a US Citizen) but virtually unknown in the UK outside of US Talk Show Fans

He did The Late Late Show on CBS (after Letterman) for 9 years on CBS.

Very clever and funny.

Skid X

Going way back to the early sixties, there was a BBC Series called 'Face to Face' which was an extended interview by John Freeman with a single subject. Nothing being promoted, but the focused dialogue usually revealed more about the interviewee than other media.

The one that I particularly recall is an interview with Tony Hancock, the legendary comedian. It probes and gets to the soul of Hancock and gives a revealing insight into his troubled character.

tc20

^ @ Skid X - the Face to Face reminded me of a Spike Milligan interview I watched a while back - the program was called "Face your Image", interviewed by David Dimbleby back in '74/75. Not a chat show per se, as it includes talking head contributions from friends/acquaintances of Spikes, but well worth a look, it's about 40 minutes long.
I did look to see if there were other episodes/interviews but none are coming up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke04t3ITU3c

Skid X

tc20 wrote: »

^ @ Skid X - the Face to Face reminded me of a Spike Milligan interview I watched a while back - the program was called "Face your Image", interviewed by David Dimbleby back in '74/75. Not a chat show per se, as it includes talking head contributions from friends/acquaintances of Spikes, but well worth a look, it's about 40 minutes long.
I did look to see if there were other episodes/interviews but none are coming up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke04t3ITU3c

Very interesting, thanks.

It certainly unveils a different side of Spike Milligan's character, he's in serious mode there.

Agent Coulson

I love Spike.


This to me is just the most beautiful four lines as you can get.

The Butterfly by Spike Milligan

"This evening in the twilight's gloom
a butterfly flew in my room
oh what beauty, oh what grace
who needs visitors from outer space"

Skid X

Here's one I found gripping, Brian Clough on the day he was sacked by Leeds United, unexpectedly positioned beside his predecessor Don Revie (who left to become England Manager) ... you might have seen a fictionalised version of this in the film 'The Damned United' with Michael Sheen (Clough) and Colm Meaney (Revie)



Two hugely talented men with massive egos and polarised management styles ... Revie revelling in his successor's misfortune (although Clough would recover to win Leagues and European Cups at other clubs)

They hate each other, nothing is held back here, a rare example of raw tempers and emotions broadcast live on local television (YTV). You would never see this now, Media Advisors would not allow anything like this on air.

monkey9

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnwJuA5n8Gc

Skid X

David Letterman will return to do a monthly one to one interview on Netflix

http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2018/01/05/38813/david_letterman_hosts_a_new_talk_show

The former king of late night will be hosting six hour-long episodes of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, starting next Friday.

His line-up of guests is George Clooney, Malala Yousafzai, Jay-Z, Tina Fey, Howard Stern and President Barack Obama.

Might be worth a look.

Good spot_ thanks Skid.