 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "The Late Show" 1986 talk show – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| The Late Show | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers (1986–1987) |
| Genre | Comedy/Talk/Variety show |
| Developed by | Fox Broadcasting Company |
| Written by | Monty Aidem Hank Bradford Stan Burns Londos D'Arrigo Wayne Kline Toem Perew Michael Prescott Daniel Rosen Dennis Snee Levi Taylor Patric Verrone Billy Sammeth |
| Starring | Joan Rivers Arsenio Hall Ross Shafer |
| Announcer | Clint Holmes Daniel Rosen |
| Theme music composer | Mark Hudson Michael Sembello |
| Composer | Jay Richard Kennedy |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Edgar Rosenberg Howard Bolter |
| Producers | Bruce McKay, John Scura, Nora Fraser, Thomas Juvik |
| Production locations | Fox Television Center, Los Angeles,California |
| Running time | 45–48 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Fox |
| Release | October 9, 1986 (1986-10-09) – October 28, 1988 (1988-10-28) |
| Related | |
| The Joan Rivers Show The Arsenio Hall Show | |
The Late Show is an American late-nighttalk show and the first television program broadcast on the then-newFox Network. Hosted by comic actressJoan Rivers,[1] it debuted on October 9, 1986, under the titleThe Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. It is also the firstlate-night show hosted byArsenio Hall.
The talk show was a direct attempt at competing againstNBC'sThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, where Rivers had been Carson's permanentguest host since 1983.[2] The show was initially broadcast live.
Many in1986, including top executives at NBC, thought it was possible thatJohnny Carson would retire after reaching his 25th anniversary on October 1, 1987, as it was 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.[2]
In an article she wrote forPeople 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.[2]
Fox was looking for a host for a late-night talk show for the network's launch in October 1986. Through its purchase ofMetromedia, it had been airingThe 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.[2]
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.[2]
When other performers launched competing shows (such asDavid Brenner,Alan Thicke,Joey Bishop, andPat Sajak), Carson always had them onThe Tonight Show beforehand to wish them luck – and again after he had forced their show into cancellation by maintaining superiorratings. Rivers did not appear on theTonight 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 onThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon's first show, by which point Carson had been dead for nine years.[3]
Rivers spoke highly of Carson on the night he died (January 23, 2005), but revealed that he never spoke to her again.[4]
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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 asMilwaukee'sWCGV-TV, would only sign with the network if they did not have to carryThe Late Show.KPTM inOmaha refused outright out of loyalty to Carson, who hailed fromCorning, 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 toThe Late Show. For instance, at the time the show launched Fox had not closed on its purchase of itsBoston station, WXNE-TV (nowWFXT). That station's previous owners, theChristian 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 wereHowie Mandel,Pee-Wee Herman, then-fledgling comedianChris Rock,Wendy O. Williams, and show stage manager Michelle Aller as her alter-ego Mavis Vegas Davis.[5][6] Soon afterward the program was renamedThe Late Show and featured rotating guest hosts includingSuzanne Somers,Richard Belzer, andRobert Townsend. After firing prospective guest hostFrank 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.
On April 16, 1987, a meeting was held betweenHoward Stern and management ofWNYW,Fox'sflagship television station. The network was considering Stern as replacement toThe Late Show.[7] Five one-hourpilots titledThe Howard Stern Show were recorded at a cost of about $400,000.[8] They featured rock guitaristLeslie West ofMountain fame as band leader andSteve Rossi as announcer and singer.[9] By early June, air dates were yet to be scheduled; the pilots were instead being tested amongfocus groups inCalifornia. With no formal announcement, in July, the network decided not to put the Stern show on the air.[10] 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."[10]
Fox had originally cancelledThe 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 entitledThe 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 theEddie Murphy featureComing 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."[11]
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 theLate Show Band".
Guests tended to be third-string actors, with performances by lesser-known bands such as The Williams Brothers (Los Angeles) andThe Amazing Pink Things (Seattle). One noteworthy guest during Hall's era wasBob Barker, then in his fifteenth year as host of the game showThe Price is Right.
World-famous "Earthquake Astrologer fromKROQ andKFOX", Farley Malorrus, appeared as a guest following an accurate earthquake prediction in Los Angeles during October 1987.
When problems developed withWilton North, Fox attempted to bring back Hall – but it was too late.[12]Wilton North debuted on December 11, 1987 and was cancelled after 21 episodes on January 8. Fox started airingLate Show repeats with both Hall and Rivers on January 11, 1988, and scrambled to revive the talk show.
The show came back with a new group of guest hosts, including comedians Jeff Joseph andJohn Mulrooney;Daniel Rosen took over as announcer, whileJack 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 personalityRoss Shafer to take overThe Late Show in April.
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 launchedThe Chevy Chase Show.
Despite the show's low ratings by 1988, Shafer's tenure as host produced some notable episodes. In some cases, they were the last public appearances of well-known celebrities:
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 coupleseparated. Rivers made the first of several career comebacks with the debut ofThe Joan Rivers Show in daytime on September 5, 1989. The show was nominated for numerousEmmy Awards with Rivers winning theDaytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host in 1990.[13][14]
The Arsenio Hall Show launched on January 3, 1989. Hall had sealed a deal withParamount 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 ofMatch Game forABC in 1990.
The title ofThe Late Show was revived byCBS in 1993 for their unrelated late-night talk show franchiseThe Late Show forDavid Letterman and since 2015 forStephen Colbert.
| Stand-up specials |
|
|---|---|
| Films |
|
| Television |
|
| Related | |
| Family |
|
