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An Appreciation of Johnny Carson
On the good nights, he was the second best thing you could do in bed -- but on his best nights, he was the best
By Jack Boulware Salon.com (February 20, 2001)
Readers opening the pages of the New Yorker last Oct. 30 found an unexpected tidbit in the midst of the usual Talk of the Town items -- a small humor piece entitled "Proverbs According to Dennis Miller ." Among the short parodies of Miller's reference-heavy style: "A bird in the hand ... is dead or alive, depending on one's will," and "What goes up ... will stay up if it has an escape velocity of 11.3 kilometres per second." The byline was Johnny Carson.
Journalists and television execs pricked up their ears. This was peculiar. Carson had waved goodbye to America in 1992 after hosting "The Tonight Show" for 30 years, and then abruptly vanished from the public eye. For eight years, no jokes, no interviews, no follow-up projects. Television's most recognizable figure, gone.
But here was Johnny, right there on the page, spoofing the pseudo-intellectual Miller's new gig as NFL announcer. According to the New York Times, Carson submitted the piece to the editors on the suggestion of humorist Steve Martin, and they printed it. And then, as if to dispel the sophomore slump, he published another two months later, a recently discovered collection of children's letters to Santa, as if written by Bill Buckley, Chuck Heston and Don Rickles.
Seeing him again was sort of like peeking through the curtains and seeing the divorced dad pull up in the driveway after an extended absence. Carson was a fixture to two generations of boob-tube Americans. Vietnam-era adults saw him as the nightly tonic to a pain-in-the-ass workday. Children sitting up past their bedtime marveled at a cocktailed Golden Age of celebrities, comedians and racy jokes. Each evening I used to hear the show's opening theme "Daaa dat dat da daa!" emanate from my parents' bedroom, accompanied by Ed McMahon's stentorian announcements, and it was like a signal. They were going to watch Johnny until they fell asleep, and I could do whatever I wanted. Until I could drive a car, I watched the show too.
Carson built up his on-screen family of regulars, and viewers learned to quickly identify the established comic premises. Johnny was the sideburned rascal, forever taken to the cleaners by ex-wives. Ed was the tippling Tonto sidekick who pitched for dog food. Doc Severinsen owned impossibly loud clothing and failed racehorses. Tommy Newsom: beige and boring. The shtick never varied; characters like Carnac the Magnificent and the oily Art Fern's Tea Time Theater continued year after year. This was old-school, steeped in vaudeville and radio, with the ribbon mike firmly planted atop the desk. Funny props, cute animals, a few caca jokes, ogle the cleavage, keep things moving. If it ain't broke, it stays in the show.
The most impressive feature was always Carson's opening monologue, sharp and topical, evolving with the nation's moods, delivered with a casual Midwestern air, textbook TV cool, each punchline set up with a completely plausible statement, as if Johnny were standing in line in front of you at the feed store, and turned to say, "Did you see this in the news?" When the material clicked, it killed. (Many maintain that Carson's constant hammering of President Nixon contributed to his eventual resignation.) And when a line bombed, Carson made an art form out of the recovery. ("You didn't boo me when I smothered a grenade at Guadalcanal.") In a narrow-casted, three-network world where comedy meant sitcoms and variety shows, his monologue provided an ideal cultural barometer for the nation, mixing in politics, scientific discoveries, fads and trends, strange news items, his divorces and even bawdy mentions about Dolly Parton or Linda Lovelace. If you craved a peek at the big bad adult world, there was really nowhere else to turn besides the first 10 minutes of "The Tonight Show."
Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, in 1925, and spent his formative years in Norfolk, Neb., performing magic and comedy under the name "The Great Carsoni." He served in the Navy during World War II, entertained college fraternity parties and worked as a radio announcer and disk jockey. While performing for audiences of farmers each day, he spent nights listening to tapes of radio heroes like Jack Benny and Bob Hope, studying their inflections and timing.
When television began to invade America's living rooms, Carson chased the new medium to Los Angeles, where he hosted a handful of low-budget comedy series, conducting phony interviews and performing skits and characters. The material was quirky and occasionally naughty, yet homespun enough to hit home with the heartland. Although he was popular, the shows weren't, and he ended up writing jokes for Red Skelton. His first big break came in 1957 as replacement host of the ABC daytime quiz show "Who Do You Trust?" When Carson inherited the show, he needed to hire an announcer. A big man from Philadelphia showed up for what would be a very bizarre job interview.
In his 1998 autobiography "For Laughing Out Loud," Ed McMahon recalls walking into Carson's office, to find Johnny standing at the window, looking out in silence. Finally he turned and asked McMahon where he went to school.
"Catholic University," McMahon answered. "In Washington, D.C. I studied speech and drama."
Carson replied that was very interesting, and thanked him for coming by. McMahon left confused, thinking perhaps he'd blown it, and didn't hear anything for three weeks, until the show's producer called and told him he will be wearing suits on the show to emphasize his size. He realized he got the job. He also saw a glimpse into the private shyness of a man who would be his employer and friend for the next 35 years.
mikepinkerton
01-23-05, 02:22 PM
How can "Rebel Billionaire" be on the fence for cancellation if all its episodes have aired?
-Mike
Actually, Mike, it is in the "Waiting For The Axe To Swing" category of Marc Berman update of the TV season dated back on Dec. 14.
I guess I should remove it since it seems to be causing confusion.
Quotes From Carson's Final Show
By The Associated Press
Some quotes from Johnny Carson on his final show, May 22, 1992:
"I am taking the applause sign home, putting it in the bedroom."
(On his sons in the audience and the death of another son, Rick, in a car crash): "It would have been a perfect evening if their brother Rick had been here with us. But I guess life does what it's supposed to do and you accept it and go on."
(On then-Vice President Dan Quayle, whose remarks on single mothers and the TV show "Murphy Brown" were making headlines): "I really want to thank him for making my final week so fruitful."
"And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it."
"You people watching, I can only tell you that it's been an honor and a privilege coming into your homes all these years to entertain you. And I hope when I find something I want to do and think you would like, I can come back and (you will be) as gracious in inviting me into your homes as you have been."
"I bid you a very heartfelt good night."
Johnny Carson Dies at 79
"Tonight Show" TV host served America a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter, droll comedy and heartland charm for 30 years.
By Brian Lowry Special to The Los Angeles Times 1:06 PM PST, January 23, 2005
Johnny Carson, who in three decades as host of "The Tonight Show" became one of America's most influential political satirists and the entertainment industry's most powerful figures, died today. He was 79.
His nephew, Jeff Sotzing, a former producer of "The Tonight Show," said Carson died peacefully, but declined to give a location or other details.
NBC said Carson died at his Malibu home of emphysema. He had suffered a heart attack and undergone quadruple bypass surgery in 1999.
Former NBC chairman Grant Tinker called Carson's run on "The Tonight Show" "the biggest and best television has ever been." When he announced his retirement in 1991, another comedy legend, Bob Hope, said it was "sort of a like a head falling off Mt. Rushmore."
The late-night host had become an extraordinarily private figure in recent years given the national stage he commanded for three decades. He seldom appeared in public-and, other than a few cameos on David Letterman's late-night show and a tribute to Bob Hope-completely eschewed television after leaving "The Tonight Show" on May 22, 1992, with a retrospective that drew an audience rivaling the Super Bowl.
"I bid you a very heartfelt good night," were his parting words.
Ed McMahon, the sidekick who always introduced Carson with "Heeeeere's Johnny!" today said the former talk show host was "like a brother to me."
"Our 34 years of working together, plus the 12 years since then, created a friendship which was professional, family-like and one of respect and great admiration," McMahon said in a statement. "When we ended our run on 'The Tonight Show" and my professional life continued, whenever a big career decision needed to be made, I always got the OK from 'the boss.'"
After years of silence, Carson spoke to Esquire magazine for a 2002 profile, reconfirming his belief that he had done the right thing in essentially disappearing from public view.
"I left at the right time," he said. "You've got to know when to get the hell off the stage, and the timing was right for me. The reason I really don't go back or do interviews is because I just let the work speak for itself."
From a cultural standpoint, Carson's nightly monologue developed a reputation as a bellwether in terms of the national mood. When Carson began making Watergate jokes, The New York Times wrote in 1975, "we knew it was permissible to ridicule the president, that Mr. Nixon was done for."
"The influence he had on the country was unique. He was the conscience of America," said Peter Lassally, Carson's producer for more than two decades, who noted that Carson was also extraordinarily even-handed, so much so that no one ever knew his personal political leanings.
Carson also had a major effect on television standards, lacing his monologue with sexual innuendo that once would have been unthinkable on television.
"Next to Milton Berle and Lucille Ball, he's had the single greatest influence on the content of television," said Jeffrey Cole, director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy. "He really created the monologue and turned it into a cultural barometer of political and social events. Many people got their take on what was acceptable from the monologue."
Carson himself said in a 1986 interview, "I knew from the monologue the very night that Spiro Agnew was suddenly in deep trouble. From a one-line observation I can get a response, a reaction . . . that may be the best indicator of how [someone] is perceived in this country."
If Carson's jokes reverberated in Washington, who appeared on "The Tonight Show" was seen for many years in Hollywood as a career-making platform, especially for stand-up comedians. Jerry Seinfeld called receiving the "OK" sign from Carson after his first appearance "the Holy Grail of comedy."
Being asked to sit down after a performance was a sign of validation and prestige. As comic Garry Shandling said a few years ago, "I didn't get to sit down on the couch the first time. It is sort of a benchmark to sit on the couch. When you go to Johnny's house, you stand the first few times you are there."
Introduced by Groucho Marx on his first show, Oct. 1, 1962, Carson went on to host more than 7,500 hours of television and weathered numerous late-night challenges, including competing shows featuring Joey Bishop, Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Alan Thicke, Joan Rivers and Pat Sajak that all came and went during his tenure.
At the end, feeling NBC was maneuvering behind him to line up a replacement, Carson stunned the television world when he announced his plans to retire at an advertising presentation in 1991, setting off a flurry of debate and backstage jockeying to determine whether Letterman or Jay Leno should become his successor. Leno won the job, prompting Letterman to leave NBC for a competing show on CBS.
After leaving the network, Carson studiously avoided the spotlight, representing one of the industry's few stars who have been able to walk away. Friends said Carson remembered seeing one-time idols like Hope and Jack Benny near the end of their careers and wanted to avoid that scenario.
In 1979, at the age of 53, Carson said he couldn't see himself sitting at the desk in his 60s. Seven years later, he was still grappling with when to leave.
"I remember when [CBS President] Jim Aubrey canned Jack Benny, and that won't happen to me," Carson said. "I'll know when the time has come. The people tell you. . . .
"You don't just walk in and do what I do. You have to put it on the griddle, and it's from night to night. It's about momentum. That's why when I quit I won't come back to the same format. It's not like [golfer] Jack Nicklaus coming back to win the Masters."
Lassally called Carson's ability to shun celebrity at 66, when he could have easily continued to perform, and stay away despite entreaties to return "an elegant end to his career."
Friends frequently tried to coax him out of retirement. Steve Martin, a poker buddy, proposed that Carson make an appearance on the Academy Awards-which he hosted several times-and NBC Chairman Bob Wright pleaded with him to appear on the network's 75th anniversary special in May, 2002. Carson declined.
Nevertheless, he admitted in the Esquire interview that a decade after leaving "The Tonight Show" the program stayed with him, telling Esquire that he still had dreams where he was late for work and suddenly realized he was unprepared to go on.
"I wake up in a sweat," he said. "It's now been 10 years since I've been done with the job, but I will still be back there — it was two-thirds of my adult life, remember — and people will be as real and fresh and current as ever in the dream."
Later in his life, Carson did exhibit some signs of wanting to safeguard his legacy. In 2003, for example, he wrote the Wall St. Journal to correct a reference to the use of canned laughter on the program, stressing that he never did during his 30-year tenure.
"I don't mean to sound peevish," Carson said, "but I wouldn't want peoples' memories of 'The Tonight Show' to be dimmed because they believed the laughter they heard wasn't genuine."
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Carson, the host, was how effortless he made "The Tonight Show" look. His monologue, never rehearsed, seemed to perfectly capture the tone necessary to let people unwind. He also seemed to possess an innate understanding of the rhythms and pacing of television.
"It should be low-key," Carson once told reporter Rick Du Brow, then at the Herald-Examiner. "It's the end of the day. People watching don't want someone who looks like they're going to have a nervous breakdown."
Carson's demonstrated his ability to craft his own material during the Writers Guild of America strike in 1988. After two months of inactivity in which he respected picket lines, Carson returned to work while his staff of eight writers remained on strike, putting together his own monologues. At one point, he referred to the writers carrying "weird picket signs," with nothing written on them.
Some attribute part of Carson's vast appeal to his Midwestern roots and sensibility. Born in Corning, Iowa, Carson was raised in Norfolk, Neb., where he began his career as a teenager, performing a magic act he called "The Great Carsoni."
Unlike the comics he admired, many of whom were brought up in poverty, Carson enjoyed relative prosperity even during the Depression as the son of a district manager for the power company. He was a middle child, with an older sister, Catherine, and younger brother, Dick, who later worked as a director on "The Tonight Show" and other TV programs.
Carson served in the Navy (a ship he was on, the Pennsylvania, was torpedoed in August 1945, slaying nearly 20 of his crew mates) and subsequently attended the University of Nebraska. Honing his act by performing during college, after graduating he landed a job at a local radio station-WOW in Omaha-where he wrote comedy and announced commercials. Not long after the first TV station in the area signed on in 1949, Carson began hosting a 15-minute TV show, "Squirrel's Nest."
The comic moved to Los Angeles, in 1950 becoming a staff announcer at the local CBS station, KNXT, which led to his own program, "Carson's Cellar." He subsequently wrote for Red Skelton's TV show.
Carson ascended to network television at the age of 29, headlining a daytime show and substituting on CBS' "The Morning Show." In 1957, he became host of what become a popular ABC daytime show, "Who Do You Trust?," which first paired him with his long-time "Tonight Show" announcer, Ed McMahon.
When Jack Paar decided to leave "The Tonight Show," NBC saw Carson as the obvious replacement. Desperate to have him, the network used guest hosts for six months until Carson-who initially turned down the job-was free of his ABC contract.
His starting salary, $100,000 a year, eventually blossomed into millions (his earnings reportedly exceeded $20 million a year by 1990). Carson owned the sketches on his show as well, which were packaged and sold separately to TV stations under the name "Carson's Comedy Classics." His company also produced David Letterman's late-night NBC show and such prime-time programs as "Amen" and the movie "The Big Chill."
Still, Carson always remained detached from business matters, leaving them primarily in the hands of his attorney, Henry Bushkin, who he called "the Bombastic Bushkin" on the show. Bushkin was also Carson's closest friend, until a falling out later in his career severed both their professional and personal ties.
Carson moved "The Tonight Show" from New York to Burbank-which became another regular target for jokes-in 1972. He also pressed to cut the show from 90 minutes (it originally ran 1 hour and 45 minutes) to an hour in 1980 and threatened to quit to get the network to do so.
NBC resisted, resulting in a public and protracted contract negotiation. The network eventually caved in, however, giving Carson ownership of the show itself in the process. This was not surprising, since "The Tonight Show" accounted for nearly a fifth of the network's total profit.
Carson was equally successful as a headliner in Las Vegas, and he negotiated extended vacation time (as well as Mondays off) that allowed him to perform there frequently.
If Carson was a king in the entertainment world, his personal life was thornier. Carson remained an inordinately private person for such a public figure, but the facts that came out often seemed at odds with his genial on-screen image. A chain smoker, he married four times, wrestled with alcoholism and endured the death of one of his three sons, Rick, in a 1991 car accident at the age of 39.
Carson usually allowed his personal life to invade the show only in jest, but after that incident he fought back tears while eulogizing his son. After a much-publicized arrest for drunk driving in 1982, Carson had a policeman escort him onstage.
One of Carson's wives, Joanne, said the comic had focused on his career "because instinctively he knew the career would never let him down. He felt it would never betray him, and it never has betrayed him."
Although his first divorce became final in 1963, that relationship flared up in 1990 when his wife, Jody "Joan" Wolcott, the mother of all three children and his college sweetheart, demanded a nine-fold increase in her alimony payments, to $120,000 per year. Carson's attorneys called the request "a baldfaced holdup."
Carson was married to his fourth wife, Alexis, in 1987. The two met on the beach a few years prior and wed in a private ceremony at his Malibu home. His passions included astronomy and tennis, both as a player and fan, evidenced by his regular trips to the Wimbledon tournament in England.
"If I had given as much to marriage as I gave to 'The Tonight Show,' I'd probably have a hell of a marriage," Carson told the Times in '86. "But the fact is, I haven't given that, and there you have the simple reason for the failure of my marriages: I put the energy into the show."
For all the plaudits heaped on him, Carson's influence within Hollywood was equally legendary. Laurence Leamer claimed no other talk show would book him when he wrote "King of the Night," an unflattering 1989 biography of Carson, who he called "the most powerful person in Los Angeles." In the book, Leamer characterized him as a cold and ruthless individual, a womanizer who was both abusive with his wives and petty in his business dealings.
Carson freely admitted that he "never was a social animal." He didn't like being surrounded by people, drove himself to work and was extremely selective about his friends, spending lots of time in his sprawling hilltop Malibu estate, so large as to prompt comic Bob Newhart to quip, "Where's the gift shop?"
The build-up to Carson's final episode in 1992 became a national event. The Comedy Central network went dark during that hour, and Arsenio Hall aired reruns of his late-night series the last week out of deference to Carson.
Ratings swelled, with millions tuning in the penultimate night to see final guests Robin Williams and Bette Midler, the latter singing a memorable duet with Carson. His family attended the final "Tonight" taping, and Carson addressed his sons, Chris and Cory, in signing off.
"I realize that being an offspring of someone who is constantly in the public eye is not easy," Carson said. "So guys, I want you to know that I love you. I hope that your old man has not caused you too much discomfort."
Despite eschewing the public eye after leaving, Carson continued to maintain offices in Santa Monica, going in a few days a week. Company affairs-including the sale of "Tonight Show" videos that continued to sell briskly, marketed via TV "infomercials"-have been run by his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, who had been a producer on "The Tonight Show."
Carson also indulged his passion for the sea in his later years, sailing extensively on a specially equipped 130-foot yacht, the Serengeti-named, he said, for the region in Africa that captivated him on a trip there in the 1990s.
In fact, the night of NBC's anniversary, Carson was on his boat, on a trip that took him through the Panama Canal and to the Caribbean.
NBC's Wright told Esquire that he offered to send a helicopter to pick Carson up, but the host refused, saying his decision to stay away had "served me well."
Although Carson appeared in the 1964 movie "Looking for Love," which starred Connie Francis, he ultimately decided to focus his career almost exclusively on "The Tonight Show." Carson admitted he had "thought about movies for years" but felt movies didn't offer a terribly viable option because he was so well-known as himself. "[Robert] Redford can play a baseball player, but I'm playing me. Every night," he said.
Among the film offers Carson turned down was the chance to play a character modeled after him, opposite Robert De Niro, in the film "The King of Comedy," a role that ended up going to Jerry Lewis.
While he eschewed acting himself, Carson did host the Academy Awards on five occasions between 1979 and '84 (the exception being in '83). His own list of honors included six Emmys and the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award.
In a sense, Carson was the perfect personality for television-reflecting the generation following the great radio stars like Benny and Hope, one that grew up with the medium.
"I use the camera," Carson said. "I remember seeing a silent film from the '20s with Oliver Hardy sighing directly into the camera. I can't explain how perfect that sigh was. It's like trying to explain comedy."
Carson's nephew said there will be no memorial service.
NOTE
There will be no updates to this first page of the thread from 6 AM PT Monday, January 24th until approximately 8 AM PT Friday February 4th.
(Hopefully daily ratings will be posted by kindly thread readers in the last page.)
Enjoy the beginning of the February sweeps, and I’ll see you February 4th.
Fredfa.
A Sample of Carson's Guests
From Associated Press
More than 22,000 guests appeared on "The Tonight Show" during Johnny Carson's 30-year tenure as host. That's enough to fill a couch 8 miles long. Here’s a sample:
Movies: Woody Allen, Fred Astaire, Lauren Bacall, Warren Beatty, Marlon Brando, Chevy Chase, Cher, Glenn Close, Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, Joan Crawford, Tom Cruise, Billy Crystal, Tony Curtis, Bette Davis, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Faye Dunaway, Clint Eastwood, Henry Fonda, Judy Garland, Lillian Gish, Gene Hackman, Tom Hanks, Rex Harrison, Charlton Heston, Dustin Hoffman, William Holden, Anthony Hopkins, Rock Hudson, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Steve Martin, Walter Matthau, Robert Mitchum, Eddie Murphy, Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, Orson Welles, Robin Williams, Natalie Wood.
Television: Steve Allen, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Bill Cosby, Walter Cronkite, Ted Danson, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Gleason, Arsenio Hall, Pee-wee Herman, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Michael Landon, Angela Lansbury, Dean Martin, Groucho Marx, Mary Tyler Moore, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Jack Parr, Burt Reynolds, Don Rickles, Roy Rogers, Roseanne, Tom Selleck, Phil Silvers, Red Skelton, Ed Sullivan, Danny Thomas.
Music: Paul Anka, Louis Armstrong, the Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, Clint Black, David Bowie, James Brown, the Carpenters, Ray Charles, Bing Crosby, Placido Domingo, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Jimi Hendrix, Lena Horne, Jefferson Airplane, John Lennon, Liberace, Little Richard, Madonna, Johnny Mathis, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, the Supremes, Lawrence Welk, Stevie Wonder, ZZ Top.
Sports: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammed Ali, Arthur Ashe, Wilt Chamberlain, Wayne Gretzky, Magic Johnson, Billie Jean King, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mickey Mantle, Joe Namath, Pete Rose.
Politics: Bill Clinton, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, George Wallace.
"Variety" Remembers Johnny Carson
By BRIAN LOWRY, RICHARD NATALE variety.com
HOLLYWOOD -- Johnny Carson, "The Tonight Show" host who reigned for 30 years as the undisputed king of latenight television, has died. He was 79.
Carson's nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told the Associated Press, "Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning ... surrounded by his family." He offered no further details, though in recent years Carson had suffered from emphysema.
From 1962-92, the genial but wry Carson turned "Tonight" into a national institution that attracted millions of viewers nightly. The variety/talkshow became the standard against which all others were measured, both for its consistency and its revenues, and Carson became one of the most powerful and influential figures in show business.
Although he was faced with challengers at various stages of the show's run, Carson fended off any and all pretenders to the throne. By the end of his third decade as host, Carson was reportedly earning $10 million a year in addition to owning the program itself and operating his own production company.
Almost as notable as his tenure was the manner in which he left, abruptly announcing his departure, then opting not to perform after signing off for the final time. Friends said he realized any subsequent efforts would be measured against "The Tonight Show," with longtime producer Peter Lassally calling Carson's ability to shun the spotlight both a reflection of his sense of security regarding his legacy and "an elegant ending to his career."
Jay Leno, Carson's successor, issued a statement saying, "No single individual has had as great an impact on television as Johnny. He was the gold standard."
Paying tribute
The network was mulling how best to memorialize the TV giant -- who declined to participate in recent latenight and NBC anniversary festivities -- on air.
Paying tribute to the host was David Letterman, who had maintained close ties with Carson; according to book "The Late Shift," Carson counseled him to leave NBC when Leno got the job. "All of us who came after are pretenders," Letterman said in a statement. "He gave me a shot on his show, and in doing so, he gave me a career. A night doesn't go by that I don't ask myself, 'What would Johnny have done?' ... Thank God for videotapes and DVDs. In this regard, he will always be around."
Inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame in 1987, Carson hosted numerous TV specials and was one of the most popular hosts of the Academy Awards, serving that function from 1979-82. He also hosted the Emmys. His popularity was such that his apparel line by Hart, Schaffner & Marx became an immediate and consistent success.
Ed McMahon's cry "Heeere's Johnny," followed by the familiar "Tonight Show" theme, was as familiar as any introduction in TV history. "The Tonight Show," with its regular retinue of second banana McMahon, band leader Doc Severinsen (who joined in 1967) and producer Fred De Cordova (since 1970) attracted the top talents in entertainment and was a launching pad for numerous comics including Woody Allen, David Brenner, Freddie Prinze, Roseanne, Richard Lewis and Drew Carey.
In a statement issued Sunday, McMahon said that Carson was "like a brother to me," and that he had continued to seek Carson's advice and approval on career decisions in the dozen years since the program concluded.
Catalog of characters
In addition to his signature monologue, Carson introduced a catalog of comic characters over the years, including the bigoted Floyd Turbo, the lecherous Art Fern, the wisecracking Aunt Blabby, the consumer advocate David Howitzer and, of course, the diviner Carnac the Magnificent.
Carson was born in Iowa and raised in Nebraska. In his early teens, he developed a fascination with magic tricks and created his first theatrical persona, "the Great Carsoni." Through his teen years, he entertained at private parties, clubs and lodges. At Norfolk High School, he wrote a humor column for the school newspaper.
Inducted into the Navy right after graduation, he attended midshipman's school at Columbia U. and served on the USS Pennsylvania in the Pacific. After the war, he attended the U. of Nebraska, earning a B.A. in 1949 and penning his senior thesis on comedy writing.
His first job, before graduation, was writing a comedy/Western for KFAB radio in Lincoln. Afterwards, he joined WOW radio station in Omaha, where he ad-libbed inappropriate and hilarious rejoinders to pre-recorded celebrity interviews.
He worked at WOW-TV until 1951, when he moved to California and landed a position as an announcer on L.A.'s KNXT-TV. He soon had his own half-hour comedy show, "Carson's Cellar," on Sunday afternoons, and comics like Red Skelton and Groucho Marx began dropping by unannounced.
The show folded after 30 weeks, but Skelton hired Carson as a comedy writer. In 1954, after Skelton was injured, Carson substituted for him, impressing CBS officials, who gave him his own primetime show. But "The Johnny Carson Show" lasted only 39 weeks.
Carson left California and moved to New York, where he made guest TV appearances on Jack Paar's "The Morning Show" as substitute host and "Earn Your Vacation" (both on CBS), slowly rebuilding his reputation. In 1957, ABC hired him to host "Who Do You Trust?"; over the next five years, it became a top-rated daytime TV program.
Although he'd substituted for Paar as host of "The Tonight Show" in 1958, Carson rejected NBC's entreaties that he replace Paar (who was constantly threatening to quit). But when Paar finally walked away in March 1962, Carson accepted NBC's offer for a reported $100,000 a year.
He did not host his first show until Oct. 1, 1962, because ABC refused to release him from his contract (guest hosts substituted for Paar in the intervening months). The first show, aired from New York, boasted a guest roster of Groucho Marx, Mel Brooks, Joan Crawford, Rudy Vallee and Tony Bennett and ran 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Longtime relationship
McMahon was already at Carson's side. He had moved over with Carson from "Who Do You Trust?" in a relationship that would last 34 years. Skitch Henderson was the bandleader; he was replaced by Milton DeLugg in 1966 and by Severinsen a year later.
In his first year, Carson's average audience was 7.5 million viewers. Six months into his 30-year run, NBC saw the show's annual revenues climb to $15 million. By 1980, Carson was pulling in 15.5 million viewers on average and the net's revs were growing past $20 million (accounting for as much as 17% of the network's profits before taxes). By the mid-1980s, they hit $30 million, capturing 66% of all latenight ad bucks.
Even at the end of his tenure, with growing competition from video and cable, Carson was still attracting 12 million viewers on average (16% of the available audience).
Household fixture
Carson's natural interviewing style, his encouragement of young talent and his ability to balance mischievous bad-boy qualities with a self-deprecating wide-eyed innocence made him a mainstream household fixture in latenight TV homes.
For young talent, "The Tonight Show" was the entryway to national acceptance. As Woody Allen told Time magazine in a 1967 profile of Carson, "He appears to be most pleased when a guest scores. He feels no compulsion to top me."
Carson was dryly parodied by Jerry Lewis in "King of Comedy," Martin Scorsese's drama about the obsessed fan (Robert De Niro) of a talkshow host who kidnaps his idol. (Carson himself was the victim of an unsuccessful extortion attempt.)
Carson's relationship with NBC was not always a happy one. In 1967, he quit the show, accusing the network of illegally showing reruns during an AFTRA strike. NBC assuaged him by raising his salary from $7,500 to $20,000 a week and reducing the show to 90 minutes.
Two years later, Carson scored his biggest ratings coup by staging the marriage of gimmick personality Tiny Tim to Miss Vicki on his show, which was viewed by 21.4 million homes.
Competitors were numerous and almost all short-lived. Joey Bishop went up against him on ABC in 1967 but averaged only a 3.7 Nielsen rating -- half Carson's score. Merv Griffin did only slightly better in 1969 on CBS. Dick Cavett tried in 1973 on ABC, doing about as well as Bishop.
Alan Thicke gave it a go in syndication in 1983 to a disastrous 1.0 share vs. Carson's 6.6. Joan Rivers, an exclusive guest host on Carson from 1983, unwisely did dubious battle with her former patron and friend in 1986 on Fox TV. She didn't do much better than Thicke.
Carson moved "Tonight" from New York to Burbank in 1972. By the mid-'70s, he was down to hosting four nights a week. In 1977, he was earning $3 million a year, with 15 weeks paid vacation, 25 three-day weeks and just 12 four-day weeks. Guest hosts -- something the current generation of hosts have fastidiously avoided -- regularly sat in for him, including such future competitors as Rivers and Bishop.
Then in 1979, Carson announced he was quitting. He was said to be quietly feuding with then-network president Fred Silverman.
Renegotiations once again were successful, upping Carson's salary to $5 million and reducing the running time of the show to 60 minutes.
Following his rupture with regular substitute host Rivers, Carson named Jay Leno his regular substitute host in 1987. Garry Shandling and Billy Crystal also were frequent subs for Carson.
In 1991 he officially announced his retirement. The move set off a frenzy of jockeying to replace him, and rival production companies saw the end of Carson's domination as a chance to hit it big with their own latenight talkers. Though Letterman lobbied for "Tonight" hosting duties, Leno succeeded Carson on May 25, 1992.
Carson's 4,351st and final golf swing signoff took place May 22 and attracted 55 million viewers. Carson, with his fourth wife, Alex, and sons Chris and Cory in the audience, signed off with a simple but choked-up farewell: "I bid you a very heart-felt good night."
Reclusive
Despite signing a contract with NBC for a series of specials, Carson became more reclusive in his later years and regularly declined opportunities to work. "You have to know when to walk away," he told Daily Variety in 2003.
Carson authored two books of cartoons, "Happiness Is ... a Dry Martini" and "Misery Is ... a Blind Date."
In 1948, Carson married his college sweetheart, Jody Wolcott, with whom he had three sons, Chris, Cory and Richard. In 1991, then 39-year-old Richard was killed in a car accident.
Carson divorced Wolcott in 1963 and married Joanne Copeland. Their well-publicized divorce came nine years later, the same year he married Joanna Holland. In 1987, he married Alexis Maas, who survives him.
There will be no memorial service.
fredfa, before you go, a couple of premiere dates listed in Entertainment Weekly:
America's Next Top Model 4 (UPN)- March 2
Jake in Progress- March
Grey's Anatomy- March
The Inside- March
Eyes- March
The Bad Girl's Guide- April
In the Game (ABC, new sitcom)- Spring
The Bachelor (ABC)- Spring
American Dad- regular run begins May 1.
I think you listed Family Guy as "in hiatus" by accident.
Also, you might want to remove NUM3RS from the list before you go.
Enjoy your trip.
The Washington Post Johnny Carson Obituary
Former 'Tonight Show' Host Dies at 79
By Adam Bernstein [b}Washington Post [/B]Staff Writer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A30475-2005Jan23?language=printer
Johnny Carson, 79, whose topical monologues and outlandish comedy made him the foremost figure of late-night entertainment for three decades, died today. NBC, which produced "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," said Carson died of emphysema at his home in Malibu, Calif.
Carson was often called the "king" of late-night television, a nickname far from hyperbole. By the 1980s, he reportedly was seen by 15 million viewers. "The Tonight Show" helped launch the careers of hundreds of comics, including Joan Rivers, George Carlin, Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, David Letterman and Jay Leno (his successor on the program). To see Carson laugh at a joke meant the teller had a future.
Tanned, dapper and relaxed, Carson was above all a comfortable presence, which the ultraprivate and aloof host took great pains to achieve. In a celebrated profile of Carson, critic Kenneth Tynan wrote that attempting a man-to-man chat with him was like "addressing an elaborately wired security system."
To audiences, he was a trusted companion, boyish even with graying, receding hair. His resonant baritone had a puckish charm. In a profession where all is timing, the Iowa-born Carson mastered sexual innuendo delivered with self-deprecating pauses and Midwestern modesty. In many ways, he was the heir to radio and television comedian Jack Benny, his idol.
In October 1962, the cerebral Jack Paar handed off "Tonight" to Carson, who immediately custom-fit the program to his own tastes. When Carson jokingly parroted a congressman's warnings of national toilet paper shortage, one actually occurred. His guests ranged from astronauts to authors, from Pele to the Gabor sisters.
He liked to call the mix an unpredictable chess game.
No one offered by the competition -- including Joey Bishop, Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, David Frost and Dick Cavett -- came close to dethroning him in the ratings or diminishing his popularity.
A decade into his run, Carson moved his New York-produced show to Burbank, Calif., to trump the other hosts on celebrity guests. It was a shrewd move, enabling him to avoid the spate of similar visitors who appeared on other programs usually within the same week.
Carson's introduction, by sidekick Ed McMahon, became a national catchphrase: "Heeeeere's Johnny!" The jaunty, brassy and recognizable theme music, written by Paul Anka, was rendered by bandleader Doc Severinsen. It marked the queue for Carson to appear from behind a curtain and warm up the audience with jokes.
Carson and company established absurd comic roles familar to generations of Americans. As the clairvoyant "Carnac the Magnificent," Carson sat behind his desk wearing a turban and holding a sealed envelope to his forehead. He predicted answers to the questions inside.
"A full moon," Carson would say before revealing the contents of the envelope: "What you would see if Orson Welles dropped his pants."
To "Sis boom bah," Carson responded: "What is the sound of a sheep exploding?"
In a memorable skit, from 1965, Ed Ames, who played Mingo on the "Daniel Boone" television series, threw a tomahawk at a board with a human outline. When it smacked into the crotch, Carson ad-libbed a circumcision joke: "I didn't even know you were Jewish."
Carson, always cool and elegant, was a reliable presence during the 1960s and 1970s. Despite a series of turbulent divorces, stories of his heavy drinking and the death of a son in a car accident, none of the personal tragedies intruded into his entertainment, though fans flooded him with condolence cards because of his son.
Sometimes comic material bombed, and the ever-alert Carson might groan or cast a knowing glance, almost to beat the audience to the punch. He and his polished cast found inspired ways to counteract a slow moment.
"He had some material, about five sheets of paper, and it wasn't really going anywhere," McMahon said in an interview with CNN host Larry King last year. "And about the eighth joke, we both knew this whole thing was going in the dumper, right? So I very bravely picked up his cigarette lighter, put it under the material and set fire to his material."
"He's looking at the fire," McMahon said. "He looks up at the audience, and he looks at me, and he looks back at the thing and then he looks over. He says, 'You're absolutely right.' Now, he reaches down and gets a wastepaper basket, lifts it up on the desk, takes the material, still burning, in his hands, takes the material. Just before he drops it in the basket, Doc starts playing 'Taps.' "
John William Carson, the son of a utility company manager, was born Oct. 23, 1925, in Corning, Iowa, and raised in Norfolk, Neb. Stumbling across "Hoffman's Book of Magic" at age 12 led to his lifelong devotion to magic tricks. He sent away for a magic kit and soon was calling himself "The Great Carsoni." By trailing people and saying, "Pick a card, any card," he considered himself a traveling magician.
His mother, who had sewn his magician's cape, invited her son to perform for her bridge club. Soon he was making the rounds of local Rotary groups. His ability to entertain ceaselessly, somehow overcoming what he described as his innate shyness, made him a hit.
After Navy service during World War II, he enrolled at the University of Nebraska. His thesis was "How to Write Comedy Jokes," in which he explained the comic technique of major radio comics of his era.
He put theory into use, as a deejay at an Omaha radio station. Working with minimal resources, he took snippets of prerecorded interviews with such celebrities as singer Patti Page and reworked the questions.
The result was this:
"I understand you're hitting the bottle pretty good, Patti -- when did you start?"
"When I was six, I used to get up at church socials and do it."
Increasingly confident, he moved to Los Angeles and found work as a general announcer, part of his greater effort to break into television. Gradually, station management was worn down by his persistence and gave him a program that aired for 15 minutes on Sunday afternoons. His entry line was "KNXT cautiously presents 'Carson's Cellar.' " During one program, he told viewers about a special appearance by comedian Red Skelton, then a huge film and television star, which consisted of a shadowy figure racing across the stage.
Despite Carson's terrible time slot, the right person was watching -- Skelton.
On the side, Carson contributed jokes for Skelton and eventually substituted as a host on Skelton's eponymous show after the established comedian broke his leg falling through a prop door. Carson's appearances, deemed successful, led the CBS network to gamble on him by giving him a self-titled prime-time variety show. Lousy ratings and constant reworkings led to its cancellation after 39 weeks.
To revive his career, he returned to New York. He made appearances on Broadway and television, including a role in a "Playhouse 90" production, to spur his chances of getting a full-time television job. He scored big in 1957 as the host of the ABC quiz show "Who Do You Trust?" The format suited Carson, keen on ad-libbing his lines with guests. He later would bring McMahon to "Tonight" from the quiz show.
Meanwhile, Paar was fighting with NBC superiors about his show, whose ratings had fallen, and the network urged Carson to take over. Carson did, as soon as his ABC contract allowed.
By the mid-1960s, Carson's "Tonight Show" became one of the network's highest-rated, meaning huge income from advertisers. In 1967, Time featured Carson in a cover story, dubbing him the first "midnight idol" and describing his style as "cozy," never as abrasive and cutting as Paar.
Woody Allen, who appeared on the show, paid Carson the compliment that "he appears to be most pleased when the guest scores. He feels no compulsion to top me."
Carson created stump-the-band routines and did impersonations. His running characters included the mean old biddy "Aunt Blabby" and the Silent Majority prototype "Floyd Turbo."
The show became, at times, strange. In December 1969, it aired the wedding between the falsetto-singing ukulele fanatic Tiny Tim and his teenaged bride, Miss Vicki. The program's ratings skyrocketed because of the nuptials.
Carson won four Emmy Awards and NBC gave him all but carte blanche, including creative control of the show. The network also provided the $12 million to underwrite Carson Productions, which eventually produced "Late Night With David Letterman." Carson was reportedly the highest-paid performer in television history in the 1980s, making $5 million annually from "Tonight" alone.
Intermittently, Carson fought NBC for higher wages, staging a walkout in 1967. He also forced the network to reduce its 90-minute format to an hour in 1980 and relied increasingly on guest hosts.
His acrimony toward his employers crept into his humor.
In the mid-1980s, he let NBC's new owner, General Electric, know where they stood in his estimation. One Christmas, he joked that a holiday card had arrived from the company: "In lieu of a gift, a GE employee has been laid off in your name."
When an audience member asked why the NBC logo is a peacock, Carson said: "I don't know. I guess they couldn't find a multicolored weasel."
He needed the increased income to pay for expensive divorces. His first wife, Jody Wolcott, was a childhood sweetheart and the mother of his three sons. Besides Wolcott, Carson divorced Joanne Copeland Carson and Joanna Holland Carson (a former model who reportedly received in the settlement more than $20 million in cash and property). He married a woman 30 years his junior, Alexis Maas in 1987. They had met on a beach in Malibu.
Carson deflected questions about his personal life and politics. He was a mystery man to interviewers, who found him alternately abrasive and jocular, but seldom revealing.
He might have been most public about his feelings once on his show, telling an audience in 1982: "You know what this is like? It's like the challenge of death every night. It's like I'm standing on the ledge of a 20-story building and the crowd is yelling, 'Jump!' "
Over the years, Carson also hosted Academy Awards ceremonies and performed comedy at nightclubs. He launched into other business ventures, including a successful clothing line -- his turtlenecks became a fashion trend -- and a failed restaurant franchise.
In 1991, his son Ricky, 39, was killed in a car accident. The next May, Carson made his final broadcast, after 4,531 shows. His sign-off was casual and sincere, thanking viewers for their time: "I bid you a very heartfelt good night."
In short order, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, and the Kennedy Center Honor for career achievement.
He stayed away from interviewers, preferring the seclusion he seldom had for three decades. Instead, he focused on philanthropic work and entertained close friends and fellow poker players aboard his giant yacht. His guests included Steve Martin, Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, Chevy Chase and media executive Barry Diller.
After he retired, offers came his way for anniversary specials, but he refused, preferring to "just let the work speak for itself."
He continued comedy writing, however, and some of his work appeared in the New Yorker, with the help of contributer Martin. At the end of 2000, the magazine published his "Recently Discovered Childhood Letters to Santa," a fictional wish list of notable figures, from Robert Frost to Charlton Heston.
Also, the ABC show is called Eyes and not The Eyes.
Family Divide
At Cablevision, Father-Son Split Looms Over Future
By PETER GRANT Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 24, 2005; Page A1
For years, James Dolan, the chief executive of Cablevision Systems Corp., worked in the shadow of his father, Charles Dolan, who built the cable and entertainment empire after wiring New York City with cable lines in 1964.
But in a dramatic boardroom showdown last week, James Dolan turned on his father, joining with other directors to pull the plug on his father's cherished dream -- a satellite-television business named Voom. On Thursday, two days after the vote, the company announced it was selling Voom's satellite and other assets to EchoStar Communications Corp.
The board's actions were a humiliating blow for Charles Dolan, 78 years old, an entrepreneur looking to add a last hurrah to a long string of successes. Making it especially painful was the vote against him by his son, James, 49.
Over the years, the two have had their share of differences about the company but always managed to keep those issues private. The board vote last week was the first time the tension had bubbled to the surface in such a public way. As a result the relationship -- and perhaps even the company -- may never be the same again.
While James Dolan was never enthusiastic about Voom, he was willing to give his father the benefit of the doubt, according to people familiar with the situation. One year ago, he joined the board in giving Voom the green light, partly on the basis of a Morgan Stanley analysis that concluded that the business was viable, according to people familiar with the situation. Then last month, Morgan Stanley reversed its analysis, partly because of Voom's poor performance in its first year of operation, these people said. At that point, James Dolan decided that he had to oppose his father on continuing the venture.
"It was a very difficult decision for Jim," says one person close to the board. "He showed a lot of fortitude."
What Charles Dolan does now could have major repercussions for the future of Cablevision, as well as the rest of the cable industry. Cablevision's jewel of a cable system, which has about three million subscribers in the New York City area, has long been considered a takeover target, particularly by Time Warner Inc., which owns adjoining systems. Charles Dolan, the company's single largest shareholder, has in the past made it clear that he's not a seller. But Mr. Dolan is so angry now that people close to him think he might consider selling the company.
"The dynamics at the board and senior management level and Charles Dolan's seeming divorce from the cable business in favor of [satellite] moves him that much closer to selling the cable assets," said Bear Stearns analyst Ray Katz, in a report issued after the board voted to sell Voom.
Charles and James Dolan declined to comment through a company spokesman.
Cablevision is the nation's sixth-largest cable company, with more than $4 billion in annual sales. The company's high-profile assets include Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and Rangers professional basketball and hockey franchises, and Radio City Music Hall.
Charles Dolan is known in the entertainment industry as one of the early and highly successful pioneers of the cable business. James Dolan is better known in other circles, especially the sports world, for his controversial running of the Knicks. The team has one of the biggest payrolls in basketball but hasn't made it to the NBA finals since 1999. (Lenny Wilkens resigned as coach on Saturday.) An avid yachtsman, James Dolan also plays guitar in a rock and roll band named "JD and the Straight Shot."
Family dramas aren't unusual in the cable industry, which was built in large part by family-owned businesses. Last summer, John Rigas, the founder of Adelphia Communications Corp., and his son Timothy, were convicted of participating in a massive accounting and corporate looting conspiracy. At Comcast Corp., in contrast, Brian Roberts built the company into the country's largest cable operator after being handed the reins by his father, founder Ralph Roberts.
Until now, the family story at Cablevision has been one of James Dolan's struggle to step into his father's shoes since becoming chief executive in 1995 -- a task made more difficult by his father's reluctance to fully step out of them. While Charles Dolan, who is chairman, focused primarily on Voom in recent years, he regularly got involved in other company matters when he saw fit, sometimes to the frustration of his son, according to industry executives and people close to the company.
"Chuck is very involved in the direction of Cablevision, even if he isn't the public face," says Kurt Funderburg, an analyst with Harris Associates LP, an investment-management firm that advises mutual funds that own shares in Cablevision.
Some veteran entertainment executives, such as Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, still maintain contact with the elder Dolan rather than the son. Mr. Redstone notes, though, that whenever he arranges a meeting with Charles Dolan, "I would say you're always welcome to bring Jimmy." (A Viacom spokesman said that other company officials have an ongoing relationship with James Dolan.)
Charles and James Dolan have long had a complicated relationship, stemming in part from their different personalities and management styles, people familiar with the company say. Charles Dolan is known for being diplomatic and soft-spoken. His son, combative and volatile, is more of a street fighter. Former employees say that they have seen James Dolan dressing down even senior Cablevision executives in front of others.
Despite their differences, father and son have remained close. The two live next to each other on the same piece of property overlooking Oyster Bay on Long Island, N.Y., and James calls his father "Dad" at the office. Charles Dolan was very supportive of his son when he went through a program to treat his alcoholism in the early 1990s. (James Dolan regularly describes himself as a recovering alcoholic.)
The two have been known to play practical jokes on each other. Several years ago, Charles Dolan tormented his son by secretly putting on his car bumper stickers created by a neighborhood group protesting the noise from Cablevision's helicopter. When James Dolan learned his father was doing it, he went into the office one weekend and with the help of a construction crew erected a wall blocking his father's office.
James Dolan is the youngest of three sons, all of whom work at Cablevision. His brother, Tom, also sits on the company's board, and has been running the unit that includes Voom. Patrick, the oldest son, runs News 12, a local news station owned by Cablevision.
Even after he was tapped to head the company, James Dolan remained in the shadow of his father, a storied entrepreneur who founded, among other things, Home Box Office. James Dolan had some difficult times. In one particularly weak presentation in August 2002, he listed a wide range of steps the company was taking to deal with liquidity problems. His delivery was so poor that instead of reassuring investors, he scared them and Cablevision's stock tumbled, according to analysts and investors.
Despite investor concerns, Charles Dolan gave his son considerable latitude to run the company and make major decisions -- some of them mistakes. James Dolan played a key role in buying the electronics retailer The Wiz out of bankruptcy for $60 million and sinking more than $200 million into the chain before liquidating it in 2003. James Dolan also tried to accelerate Cablevision's move into digital cable in the early 1990s by buying an advanced set-top box from Sony Corp., a costly decision the company had to reverse partly because the Sony boxes were too expensive. The mess was cleaned up by a newly hired chief operating officer.
Still, under James Dolan's leadership, Cablevision's core business has grown revenue and cash flow at double digits in recent years because of the company's success in selling high-speed Internet, digital cable and phone service. The company's stock, which fell below $5 following the August 2002 investor meeting, closed at $28.84 in 4 p.m. trading on the New York Stock Exchange Friday, up $3.36 on the news that Voom was being shut down.
Most recently, James Dolan has gone to war against New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to build a new stadium on Manhattan's west side. Believing that Madison Square Garden's concern about competition from the stadium was unjustified, Mayor Bloomberg arranged a meeting with Charles Dolan to try to convince him to end the attack. At the meeting, Mr. Dolan refused to overrule his son, says someone who was briefed on the matter.
But Charles Dolan also isn't hesitant to get involved in certain matters, like a protracted fight between Cablevision and the Yankees' YES network that kept the baseball team off Cablevision for the entire 2002 season. At one point, as the 2003 season was looming, father and son got into a disagreement about strategy which ended after James Dolan said he was going to assert his rights as chief executive, according to a person who was there.
Charles Dolan's fascination with using satellites, rather than cable systems, as a more efficient way to deliver television signals goes back to 1990 when Cablevision teamed up with NBC, News Corp. and Hughes Communications to launch a service called Sky Cable. That partnership fell apart, but Hughes went on to start DirecTV, which has grown into the country's largest satellite-TV operator, with more than 12 million subscribers.
Missing that opportunity, Charles Dolan led Cablevision to invest in other satellite ventures. His determination intensified as cable subscriptions flattened. The entrepreneur in him concluded that satellite -- not cable -- was the growth business.
Cablevision's satellite plan, however, ran into huge opposition from analysts and investors who believed that with DirecTV and EchoStar leading the market, there was little room for a third competitor. Members of Cablevision's board raised similar concerns, but were unwilling to oppose Charles Dolan, an entrepreneur with a record for proving the skeptics wrong.
James Dolan also was unsure about the satellite project as its costs mounted. The company signed a contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. to build an advanced satellite, with an estimated cost of more than $250 million to get it into orbit. But in board discussions James Dolan backed his father, trying to work as a mediator between Charles Dolan and board members with reservations.
Lockheed Martin officials say Charles Dolan would spend hours at Lockheed's offices asking questions about such details as the rocket's trajectory and technical fixes. One Lockheed official says he was surprised that the chairman of such a large company was "eager to get down in the weeds" of the space business.
Charles Dolan also chose a programming strategy on the cutting edge of television technology so Voom would provide more high-definition programming than other satellite or cable operators.
Investor worries increased. To ease them, Cablevision announced in 2003 that it would spin off Voom together with three of its top cable networks -- AMC, the Independent Film Channel and WE:Women's Entertainment -- worth an estimated $2.5 billion. The plan, largely crafted by James Dolan, was that the networks would throw off enough cash to finance Voom's operating deficits until it became profitable.
Investors applauded the plan because the spinoff would limit Cablevision's exposure to the risky venture. But the spinoff was delayed for months by a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into alleged accounting irregularities in Cablevision's programming unit. While the improprieties turned out to be minor, James Dolan was very frustrated by the delay, which kept the cloud of Voom hanging over his company.
Cablevision had told investors the spinoff would be done by the end of the third quarter of 2004. But the company had to postpone it as company officials and board members began to mull Voom's disappointing results. Not only had the company signed up a mere 26,000 customers at the end of the third quarter, but more than 2 out of 10 customers purchasing the service were deciding to disconnect. Making matters worse, cable and satellite-TV operators were racing to add high-definition content, eroding Voom's advantage.
By December, it became clear to many directors that the spinoff wasn't going to work, especially after Morgan Stanley weighed in with its negative report. Lawyers also warned board members of personal liability if they didn't vote in the best interest of shareholders. In a Dec. 20 meeting, the board voted 9 to 4 to bag the spinoff plan and "pursue strategic alternatives," which was widely interpreted on Wall Street to mean Voom was going to be sold or shut down. James Dolan voted against his father.
But Charles Dolan wasn't ready to give up. If the board wasn't going to approve it, he considered changing the makeup of the board. Charles Dolan controls the majority of a special class of stock that the Dolan family owns that elects 75% of the directors. He began talking to people about possibly replacing three members of the board who voted against him, Sheila Mahony, a former Cablevision executive; William Bell, a former vice chairman of the company, and investment banker Steven Rattner, according to people familiar with the matter.
But Mr. Dolan was talked out of that plan by his advisers, including lawyers at Debevoise & Plimpton, who warned that in this post-Enron age such a maneuver could cause an uproar, and even lead to delisting. Such a scenario could lead to default on bank covenants and even a possible bankruptcy filing, they warned.
By last week's meeting, all Charles Dolan could do was try to persuade the board to keep funding Voom, which had money only until the end of January. He argued that the board was being oversensitive to the post-Enron regulatory climate. But this time, the vote was close to unanimous against him.
Charles Dolan made one last attempt to save Voom by looking into buying it himself. But that didn't last long and the board quickly agreed to sell to EchoStar, which had been having on-and-off conversations with Cablevision for months.
Some believe the Dolan family will be able to patch up their differences and bruised egos and move on.
"This is not going to be a replay of the Pritzkers," says Mario Gabelli, chief executive of Gabelli Asset Management, referring to the Chicago family that has been fighting over its hotel empire. His funds hold about a 10.3% stake in Cablevision. "They're a very loving family and very supportive. At Christmas they all want to get together to exchange presents."
Family Divide
At Cablevision, Father-Son Split Looms Over Future
By PETER GRANT Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 24, 2005; Page A1
For years, James Dolan, the chief executive of Cablevision Systems Corp., worked in the shadow of his father, Charles Dolan, who built the cable and entertainment empire after wiring New York City with cable lines in 1964. But in a dramatic boardroom showdown last week, James Dolan turned on his father, joining with other directors to pull the plug on his father's cherished dream -- a satellite-television business named Voom. On Thursday, two days after the vote, the company announced it was selling Voom's satellite and other assets to EchoStar Communications Corp.
…..While James Dolan was never enthusiastic about Voom, he was willing to give his father the benefit of the doubt, according to people familiar with the situation. One year ago, he joined the board in giving Voom the green light, partly on the basis of a Morgan Stanley analysis that concluded that the business was viable, according to people familiar with the situation. Then last month, Morgan Stanley reversed its analysis, partly because of Voom's poor performance in its first year of operation, these people said. At that point, James Dolan decided that he had to oppose his father on continuing the venture.
"It was a very difficult decision for Jim," says one person close to the board. "He showed a lot of fortitude."
What Charles Dolan does now could have major repercussions for the future of Cablevision, as well as the rest of the cable industry. Cablevision's jewel of a cable system, which has about three million subscribers in the New York City area, has long been considered a takeover target, particularly by Time Warner Inc., which owns adjoining systems. Charles Dolan, the company's single largest shareholder, has in the past made it clear that he's not a seller. But Mr. Dolan is so angry now that people close to him think he might consider selling the company….
Until now, the family story at Cablevision has been one of James Dolan's struggle to step into his father's shoes since becoming chief executive in 1995 -- a task made more difficult by his father's reluctance to fully step out of them. While Charles Dolan, who is chairman, focused primarily on Voom in recent years, he regularly got involved in other company matters when he saw fit, sometimes to the frustration of his son, according to industry executives and people close to the company.
"Chuck is very involved in the direction of Cablevision, even if he isn't the public face," says Kurt Funderburg, an analyst with Harris Associates LP, an investment-management firm that advises mutual funds that own shares in Cablevision.
Some veteran entertainment executives, such as Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, still maintain contact with the elder Dolan rather than the son. Mr. Redstone notes, though, that whenever he arranges a meeting with Charles Dolan, "I would say you're always welcome to bring Jimmy." (A Viacom spokesman said that other company officials have an ongoing relationship with James Dolan.)
Charles and James Dolan have long had a complicated relationship, stemming in part from their different personalities and management styles, people familiar with the company say. Charles Dolan is known for being diplomatic and soft-spoken. His son, combative and volatile, is more of a street fighter. Former employees say that they have seen James Dolan dressing down even senior Cablevision executives in front of others….
Despite investor concerns, Charles Dolan gave his son considerable latitude to run the company and make major decisions -- some of them mistakes. James Dolan played a key role in buying the electronics retailer The Wiz out of bankruptcy for $60 million and sinking more than $200 million into the chain before liquidating it in 2003. James Dolan also tried to accelerate Cablevision's move into digital cable in the early 1990s by buying an advanced set-top box from Sony Corp., a costly decision the company had to reverse partly because the Sony boxes were too expensive. The mess was cleaned up by a newly hired chief operating officer.
Still, under James Dolan's leadership, Cablevision's core business has grown revenue and cash flow at double digits in recent years because of the company's success in selling high-speed Internet, digital cable and phone service. The company's stock, which fell below $5 following the August 2002 investor meeting, closed at $28.84 in 4 p.m. trading on the New York Stock Exchange Friday, up $3.36 on the news that Voom was being shut down….
But Charles Dolan also isn't hesitant to get involved in certain matters, like a protracted fight between Cablevision and the Yankees' YES network that kept the baseball team off Cablevision for the entire 2002 season. At one point, as the 2003 season was looming, father and son got into a disagreement about strategy which ended after James Dolan said he was going to assert his rights as chief executive, according to a person who was there.
Charles Dolan's fascination with using satellites, rather than cable systems, as a more efficient way to deliver television signals goes back to 1990 when Cablevision teamed up with NBC, News Corp. and Hughes Communications to launch a service called Sky Cable. That partnership fell apart, but Hughes went on to start DirecTV, which has grown into the country's largest satellite-TV operator, with more than 12 million subscribers.
Missing that opportunity, Charles Dolan led Cablevision to invest in other satellite ventures. His determination intensified as cable subscriptions flattened. The entrepreneur in him concluded that satellite -- not cable -- was the growth business.
Cablevision's satellite plan, however, ran into huge opposition from analysts and investors who believed that with DirecTV and EchoStar leading the market, there was little room for a third competitor. Members of Cablevision's board raised similar concerns, but were unwilling to oppose Charles Dolan, an entrepreneur with a record for proving the skeptics wrong.
James Dolan also was unsure about the satellite project as its costs mounted. The company signed a contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. to build an advanced satellite, with an estimated cost of more than $250 million to get it into orbit. But in board discussions James Dolan backed his father, trying to work as a mediator between Charles Dolan and board members with reservations….
Charles Dolan also chose a programming strategy on the cutting edge of television technology so Voom would provide more high-definition programming than other satellite or cable operators.
Investor worries increased. To ease them, Cablevision announced in 2003 that it would spin off Voom together with three of its top cable networks -- AMC, the Independent Film Channel and WE:Women's Entertainment -- worth an estimated $2.5 billion. The plan, largely crafted by James Dolan, was that the networks would throw off enough cash to finance Voom's operating deficits until it became profitable.
Investors applauded the plan because the spinoff would limit Cablevision's exposure to the risky venture. But the spinoff was delayed for months by a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into alleged accounting irregularities in Cablevision's programming unit. While the improprieties turned out to be minor, James Dolan was very frustrated by the delay, which kept the cloud of Voom hanging over his company.
Cablevision had told investors the spinoff would be done by the end of the third quarter of 2004. But the company had to postpone it as company officials and board members began to mull Voom's disappointing results. Not only had the company signed up a mere 26,000 customers at the end of the third quarter, but more than 2 out of 10 customers purchasing the service were deciding to disconnect. Making matters worse, cable and satellite-TV operators were racing to add high-definition content, eroding Voom's advantage.
By December, it became clear to many directors that the spinoff wasn't going to work, especially after Morgan Stanley weighed in with its negative report. Lawyers also warned board members of personal liability if they didn't vote in the best interest of shareholders. In a Dec. 20 meeting, the board voted 9 to 4 to bag the spinoff plan and "pursue strategic alternatives," which was widely interpreted on Wall Street to mean Voom was going to be sold or shut down. James Dolan voted against his father.
But Charles Dolan wasn't ready to give up. If the board wasn't going to approve it, he considered changing the makeup of the board. Charles Dolan controls the majority of a special class of stock that the Dolan family owns that elects 75% of the directors. He began talking to people about possibly replacing three members of the board who voted against him, Sheila Mahony, a former Cablevision executive; William Bell, a former vice chairman of the company, and investment banker Steven Rattner, according to people familiar with the matter.
But Mr. Dolan was talked out of that plan by his advisers, including lawyers at Debevoise & Plimpton, who warned that in this post-Enron age such a maneuver could cause an uproar, and even lead to delisting. Such a scenario could lead to default on bank covenants and even a possible bankruptcy filing, they warned.
By last week's meeting, all Charles Dolan could do was try to persuade the board to keep funding Voom, which had money only until the end of January. He argued that the board was being oversensitive to the post-Enron regulatory climate. But this time, the vote was close to unanimous against him.
Charles Dolan made one last attempt to save Voom by looking into buying it himself. But that didn't last long and the board quickly agreed to sell to EchoStar, which had been having on-and-off conversations with Cablevision for months.
Some believe the Dolan family will be able to patch up their differences and bruised egos and move on.
"This is not going to be a replay of the Pritzkers," says Mario Gabelli, chief executive of Gabelli Asset Management, referring to the Chicago family that has been fighting over its hotel empire. His funds hold about a 10.3% stake in Cablevision. "They're a very loving family and very supportive. At Christmas they all want to get together to exchange presents."
Carson's Characters Made for Classic Moments
By Susan King Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
5:18 PM PST, January 23, 2005
Johnny Carson's legacy is not one of catch phrases or famous one-line jokes. It was his physical shtick -- his trademark golf swing at the end of every monologue or the trip on stage when he made his entrance as the bumbling Carnac the Magnificent. It was his perfectly timed deadpans and slow-burn reactions -- who could ever forget the look on his face when a little marmoset relieved himself on Carson's head? It was his gallery of zany characters whom audiences never tired of during his three-decade tenure on NBC.
Here's a look at some key moments in the history of Carson's reign on "The Tonight Show":
1964: Carson introduces two of his most popular characters: the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-silly mind reader Carnac the Magnificent and the crabby, wisecracking Aunt Blabby. But the biggest laugh of the year -- perhaps the biggest one in the history of "The Tonight Show" -- came when singer/actor Ed Ames demonstrated how to throw a tomahawk, only to hit a cardboard dummy in the crotch.
1966: Carson begins "The Mighty Carson Art Players," a sketch format that, over the years, saw him parody personalities such as President Reagan and actor Karl Malden (hawking the American Express Card).
1969: More than 45 million viewers tune in to see the on-stage wedding of falsetto singer Tiny Tim and his teenage bride Miss Vicki. Just as with the premiere episode of Carson's "Tonight Show," copies of this episode have been lost.
1971: Caron debuts as the lascivious Art Fern, host of the "Tea Time Movie." With his pencil-thin mustache, slicked-back hair and tacky suits, Fern would peddle products, seduce his buxom co-hostess and give nonsensical, forever-changing directions to the Slauson freeway cutoff.
1977: Carson introduces the last of his great characters, the super-patriotic but dim-witted Floyd R. Turbo, who would deliver bombastic editorials dressed in a checked buffalo jacket and a hat with earflaps.
1992: On the next-to-last show on May 21-- the final installment that featured guest stars -- Bette Midler brings Carson to tears when she serenades him with the standard "I'll Be Seeing You."
And on the last broadcast, after sharing memories with sidekick Ed McMahon and band leader Doc Severinsen, Carson took the stage alone and delivered one of television's classiest farewells: "You people watching, I can only tell you that it's been an honor and a privilege coming into your homes all these years to entertain you. And I hope when I find something I want to do and think you would like, I can come back and (you will be) as gracious in inviting me into your homes as you have been. I bid you a very heartfelt goodnight."
AN APPRECIATION: So ends an era
Johnny Carson, an intensely private man, was also an institution. He exits having left a lasting imprint on television
By Robert Lloyd Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 24, 2005
Johnny CARSON, who died Sunday at his home in Malibu, didn't invent the late-night talk show — he inherited "The Tonight Show" from Jack Paar, who inherited it from Steve Allen — but he made it an institution, and with three decades at its helm, became one himself in the bargain. So bound up was the host with his show that it was (informally) "The Johnny Carson Show," even when Carson wasn't hosting it, and — apart from an occasional cameo or nightclub appearance or hosting of the Oscars — he did little else after taking it over in 1962, at the age of 36, and virtually nothing else after leaving it, 30 years later.
It's the rare person who merits the word "institution." It isn't enough to have been good at something. One must stand for a web of cultural effects, and have stood for them over a long period of time, and represented a moment in history in such a way that one's individual passing spells the end of an era. (Jay Leno, who occupies Carson's old seat, is not an institution — he merely inhabits one.) Performers like Frank Sinatra and Fred Astaire, each the ne plus ultra of not only an art but of a historical moment, took worlds with them when they left.
Carson's end was sneakier. The most private of public figures — "Johnny packs a tight suitcase," sidekick Ed McMahon told Nora Ephron for a 1968 biography — his absence from view seemed paradoxically to mean that he would go on forever, presiding like a watchful god over the form he more than anyone created and codified. (It was something of a shock to learn that he would have turned 80 this year.)
Unlike with Sinatra or Astaire, there weren't a multitude of old movies, reruns or CDs to keep him alive in the public mind, yet his influence is everywhere, multiplied through a legion of talk show hosts (and sidekicks, bandleaders, couches), each of whom owes him a debt. He is the Platonic ideal of late-night talk-show host, of whom all other late-night talk-show hosts are but imperfect reflections. His influence extends even beyond the borders of the actual, as he is the model as well for Garry Shandling's talk show and Jerry Langford, the character played by Jerry Lewis in Martin Scorsese's "The King of Comedy."
My own memories of "The Tonight Show" are tied to the late '60s and early '70s, when it was a treat to stay up late and see what the adults were doing. The show then was, among other things, a forum for a passing generation of great comics — the likes of Jack Benny and Bob Hope and Groucho Marx, who, like Carson, were usually funnier ad-libbing than reading scripted material. Given the volume of material on the nightly show, and the speed with which it had to be produced, it was a given that much would fail, and making fun of the failures became a routine in itself.
I do not remember a single joke Carson ever told, but I can say with some certainty that he was funny — and more than funny, he was fun. (Though one detected a sort of sternness lurking deeper within.) He was the definition of the perfect host — one who puts his guests at ease, who becomes part of his own party, who makes the mechanics of fun invisible. Like David Letterman, he was a hip Midwesterner, obviously smart but not off-puttingly intellectual, a one-of-a-kind regular guy, who dressed well but not too well.
Carson was serious about his work — his senior thesis was about how to write comedy — but above all he had the capacity to be delighted, which created an atmosphere of delight. Mostly, I remember him laughing. It was this quality of total enjoyment that made Carson's departure from the air, as now from the world, seem outrageously premature.
Carson Helped Young Comics Like No Other
By Paul Brownfield Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Backstage before her first appearance on "The Tonight Show" in 1985, Roseanne Barr read a letter she'd written to herself years before, dreaming of this moment. "This is the beginning of your life for She who is and is not yet," the letter said in part, as recounted in a profile of the comic by The New Yorker's John Lahr.
Much has been and will be said about how Johnny Carson "discovered" Roseanne, Jerry Seinfeld, Garry Shandling, David Letterman, Robin Williams and Ellen Degeneres. But they all had managers and club careers by the time their "The Tonight Show" debut happened. Carson didn't discover them, what he did was take them by the hand and say, "Here, America."
I can't think of the last time a comedian went on a talk show and, in essence, was introduced to the nation -- or even just to the entertainment industry. The platform, if not the performances, no longer exists, not since Carson created it during the three decades he ruled late night as host of the only game in town.
Carson was good for comedians in this way, but he was even better for comedy. He created space in his show for up-and-coming young talent to do their acts before a nationwide audience, but, just as important, he made it an event, a showcase, for which competition was fierce (you first had to gain the hard-won approval of "Tonight Show" talent coordinator Jim McCawley, who scouted Los Angeles clubs like a kind of prophet of either your future or your doom). Once on the show, there were still barometers to gauge whether you had arrived. Did Johnny give you the OK sign or even, perhaps, wave you over to the couch?
Shandling, noting in a 1991 interview with the Los Angeles Times that he didn't get to the couch after his first "Tonight Show" appearance, joked that "when you go to Johnny's house, you stand the first few times you are there."
It sounds somewhat officious, the lordly position he created over the stand-up world, and there were odd undertones of betrayal to the attempts by Joan Rivers and Arsenio Hall to have competing late-night shows, to say nothing of the Shakespearean drama that unfolded before "The Tonight Show" went to Jay Leno instead of Carson's favored son, Letterman.
Whatever was happening backstage, the rewards for the viewer were tangible. If Carson functioned as a paterfamilias for new comics, he got cheerfully and shrewdly out of the way of the established ones, who did their sets and then came over to sit down on the couch -- usually because Carson thought they were a riot and wanted to continue to interact with them. In this way he taught us how to appreciate a comic, to intuit his appreciation, whether the act was Steven Wright or Don Rickles or Rodney Dangerfield or Rivers -- among the comedians, as I recall it, who had the ability to reduce Carson to tears.
If Leno has struggled in the role of Carson's successor -- not in the ratings, where "The Tonight Show" has long remained No. 1, although with increased competition from Letterman's "Late Show" recently -- it is partly in the perception that he has failed to honor this kingmaker part of Carson's legacy. It should be said that many of the people who have criticized Leno are comics who don't get on his show, but the argument is moot, anyway. There is no one show anymore, there are many, all confronting ratings pressures that pull their producers and bookers away from introducing new talent.
Today, a comic on a talk show is, if not an anomaly, then just a comic on a talk show. A talk show that is more than likely hosted by someone who used to be a comic and who now spends the first 15 or 20 minutes of his or her show establishing who in the room is funniest, behaving like, well, a comic, so that by the time the other comic comes on -- deep into the show, by which time you're asleep -- it feels strictly like filler.
Carson was not this kind of host, in part because he hadn't come from any brutally competitive club scene (further proof that he wasn't really a comic was how skilled he was at interpersonal communication). On "The Tonight Show" he came out with a monologue and a desk bit, but when he introduced a comedian he made it clear that he was bringing out a kind of -- dare we say it -- artist. Someone apart from whatever talents Carson brought to the occasion of a late-night talk show.
We could feel his interest in them -- a young Albert Brooks, an older Henny Youngman. Leno himself debuted on Carson in 1977, appeared a few more times in the ensuing months, then endured a seven-year drought.
But the point then was to build a new set of material that would get past "The Tonight Show" gatekeepers. Since then, the ground has shifted. Indeed, while Leno, Letterman and Conan O'Brien have used their success to form production companies that develop sitcoms on which they serve as executive producers, none have created the kind of training ground that Carson -- who never branded his name beyond "The Tonight Show" -- did.
A few weeks ago a comedian friend left a message on my voice mail saying he was going to be on "The Late Show with David Letterman." I set my Tivo to record the spot and watched the following morning, as I was putting on my shoes to go out. My comic friend did well enough -- the laughs he got didn't seem juiced, and after his brief set, Letterman, who always looks stricken these days, came over and shook his hand. My friend wore a suit. The only thing missing was the sense that his career would now change.
FCC Announces Denial of 36 Indecency Complaints
(Written and posted by dline)
(Jan. 24, 2005) -- The FCC announced on its website that it has issued two orders denying a total of 36 indecency complaints against various broadcast stations and programs.
According to the site, the Parents Television Council filed the 36 complaints between July 2003 and February 2004. The programs, which aired between October 2001 and December 2003, include episodes of Everwood, girls club, Fastlane, Dawson's Creek, NYPD Blue, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, Scrubs, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Steve Harvey's Big Time, Will & Grace, Charmed, Angel, Friends, Boston Public and The Next Joe Millionaire.
"The Commission concluded that, in context, none of the segments were patently offensive under contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, and thus not indecent," the FCC said in a press release.
More information, links and a discussion thread at: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=500357
From Zap2It.com:
NBC Gives Some 'Order' to Saturday
Fast National ratings for Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005.
There was nothing new about NBC's Saturday, but it was full of enough strong repeats for the network to win household viewers with a 6.7 rating/11 share for the night. CBS was the closest competition with a 4.7/8, followed by FOX, 4.6/8, and ABC, 3.9/7.
Among 18 to 49-year-olds, FOX was king with a 3.1 to NBC's 2.9. ABC pulled third with a 2.2 and CBS came in last with a 2.0.
The classic "Law & Order" started things off for NBC at 8 p.m. with a 6.4/11. CBS went with "48 Hours Mystery," 4.7/8, and FOX gave up the usual double dose of "Cops" to the tune of 4.4/7. ABC gave over the first two hours of its night to the animated movie "Aladdin," averaging a 3.9/7 from 8 to 10 p.m.
At 9 p.m., "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" took a small dip for a 6.3/11. CBS stayed in second with "Without a Trace," 5.5/9, and FOX got a boost from "America's Most Wanted," 4.9/8.
NBC saw the strongest numbers of any network at 10 p.m., courtesy of "Law & Order: SVU," 7.5/13. An encore "Desperate Housewives" lifted ABC to second place with a 4.1/7, while CBS finished in third with a second episode of "48 Hours Mystery," 3.9/7.
From Zap2it.com:
Football Gives CBS Winning Sunday 'Numb3rs'
Fast National ratings for Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005.
The New England Patriots trounced the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday evening, earning the chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The AFC playoff battle helped boost the premiere of CBS' drama "Numb3rs" and carried the network to an easy Sunday win, despite another record performance by ABC's "Desperate Housewives."
Overall, CBS averaged a 21 rating/31 share in primetime, though as always in the case of live events, those numbers are subject to change. ABC was a strong, but distant second with a 10.5/15, far better than third place NBC's 5.4/8 or the 3.6/5 for FOX. The WB trailed with a 1.5/2.
Among adults 18-49, CBS had a 14.0 rating, doubling up the competition in the key demographic. ABC had a 6.9 rating in the important demo, as FOX moved up to third with a 2.6 rating. NBC was fourth with a 2.3 rating, still beating the 1.0 for The WB.
CBS swept the night, beginning at 7 p.m. with the 25.5/38 for the Patriots-Steelers game. NBC got a 7.5/11 from "Dateline" for second. ABC began in third with a 5.0/7 for "America's Funniest Home Videos." FOX was fourth with "King of the Hill" and "Malcolm in the Middle," at least beating the 0.8/1 for a repeat of "Summerland" on The WB.
Football gave CBS a 23.7/33 in its second hour, as ABC moved up with a 10.7/15 for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." NBC was third with "American Dreams." FOX was fourth again with "The Simpsons" (4.8/7) and "Arrested Development" (3.4/5). The WB was fifth with the 2.2/3 for "Charmed."
With a 21.6/30, the football kept CBS on top for the 9 p.m. hour, but ABC was lurking. "Desperate Housewives" did a stunning 16.1/22 against the powerful competition, still doing an 11.1 rating among adults 18-49. NBC's screening of "Bridget Jones' Diary" was good for third, better than the 3.5/5 for a "Family Guy" repeat and an episode of "The Simpsons" on FOX. The WB was last again with "Steve Harvey's Big Time Challenge."
The special premiere of CBS' "Numb3rs" lost much of its football audience, but still won the 10 p.m. hour with a 13.4/21. "Boston Legal" was lurking on ABC with a 10.1/16. NBC's movie was in last.
George Thompson
01-25-05, 08:03 AM
SCI FI OWNS FRIDAY NIGHT
( January 24, 2005 )
New York, NY (January 24, 2005) – The debut of 'SCI FI Friday' – the biggest night of sci-fi on television – led SCI FI Channel to its second consecutive week as the #1 network on cable among P18-49, P25-54, M25-54 and M18-49 in Prime (8-11pm). It also marked the highest-rated and most-watched Friday SCI FI has ever delivered in first quarter.
The Winter Premieres of SCI FI's perennial viewer favorites 'Stargate SG-1' (8pm) and 'Stargate Atlantis' (9pm), combined with the critically-acclaimed 'Battlestar Galactica' (10pm), have made the Channel a viewer hotspot on Friday nights. For Friday Prime (8-11pm), SCI FI:
--Ranked in the Top 5 cable nets among P2+ (#3), P18-34s (#2), M18-34 (#2), F25-54 (#5) and F18-49 (#5), in addition to the #1 finishes reported above in P18-49s, P25-54s, M18-49s and M25-54s.
--Ranked in the Top 10 among F18-34 (#9)
--Claimed two of the Top 3 telecasts in cable among P25-54s and placed all three 8-11pm telecasts in the Top 5
--Claimed two of the Top 3 telecasts in cable among P18-49s, and placed all three 8-11pm telecasts in the Top 10
--Claimed three of the Top 4 telecasts in cable among M25-54 – including the #1 telecast of the day ('Battlestar Galactica,' 1,378,000 M25-54)
--Claimed the Top 2 telecasts in cable among M18-49 ('Battlestar Galactica', 1,254,000 M18-49; 'Stargate Atlantis' 983,000 M18-49)
--'Battlestar Galactica' at 10pm was the #2 program in cable among P18-34
SCI FI, along with sister network USA, led NBC Universal cable networks in dominating the night. With the combined strength of 'Monk' (USA), 'Battlestar Galactica' (SCI FI), 'Stargate Atlantis' (SCI FI) and 'Stargate SG-1' (SCI FI), the networks claimed four of the Top 5 shows among P25-54 for the night.
'Battlestar Galactica'
With a 2.3 HH rating/2.9 million P2+, 2 million P25-54 and 1.8 million P18-49, 'Battlestar' faced and defeated its competition. Among M25-54, the series delivered 1.4 million viewers – more than 13 of the 20 programs that aired on the broadcast networks that night, including 'Star Trek Enterprise' on UPN and 'Jonny Zero' on Fox.
When compared against SCI FI's 1Q04 time period average (10-11pm), 'Battlestar' was up:
+109% in HH ratings
+137% in P2+
+222% in P25-54
+256% in P18-49
'Stargate SG-1'
With a 2.0 HH rating/2.5 million viewers P2+, Stargate SG-1's Winter Premiere showed exceptional growth vs. the 1Q04 time period average (8-9pm):
+82% in HH ratings
+87% in total viewers P2+
+125% in P25-54
+127% in P18-49
'Stargate Atlantis'
With its 2.1 HH rating/2.6 million viewers P2+, also blew away all SCI FI's 1Q04 ratings for the time period average (9-10pm):
+24% in HH ratings
+18% in total viewers P2+
+44% in P25-54
+38% in P18-49
SCI FI Channel is a television network where "what if" is what's on. SCI FI fuels the imagination of viewers with original series and events, blockbuster movies and classic science fiction and fantasy programming, as well as a dynamic Web site (www.scifi.com) and magazine. Launched in 1992, and currently in 84 million homes, SCI FI Channel is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.
*8-11pm Prime among P18-49, P25-54, M25-54 and M18-49.
Originally posted by George Thompson
SCI FI OWNS FRIDAY NIGHT
( January 24, 2005 )
Any plans to go HD with SciFi channel? As it is now, I'm waiting until shows like Battlestar Galactica show up on Uni-HD before I watch them. Plus, the pilot episode was shown in HD, what's the story with all that?
OTOH, if the channel is doing well as indicated by that post, I guess there is no incentive to go HD...
George Thompson
01-25-05, 12:41 PM
I can't say when exactly, but all cable channels are being evaluated for HD upgrades and a new NOC is being built at the CNBC campus with HD capability for all NBCU Cable. Check back end of this year.
GT
Great, at least it's being looked at. :)
George, while I have your attention, was there an issue with the volume on Medium last night? Many viewers along with myself have indicated they had to turn the volume waaaaay up to be able to hear it. Then the commercial breaks blew them out of the room.
Medium thread here,
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5055370#post5055370
NBC's "Medium": CSI Competition? - AVS Forum
George Thompson
01-25-05, 01:30 PM
I noticed the same thing on both feeds at home. I will pass on our displeasure to the folks in the PVT/Transmission area and see if there is anything they can do. (LOL)
FCC Seeks Comment On Sat, Cable Rules For SHVERA Report
(Written and posted by dline)
(Jan. 25, 2005) The FCC Media Bureau announced today it is seeking comment on "rules affecting competition" in the cable and satellite marketplace.
It's for a review that's required by the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) of 2004. The law requires the FCC to submit a report to Congress this September.
Several of the areas this review will cover are no doubt of interest to AVS members:
- Retransmission consent
- Network program nonduplication rules
- Syndicated program exclusivity rules
- Sports blackout rules
"The Bureau seeks comments, information and analysis on how these rules, individually or collectively, affect competition in the MVPD [multichannel video programming distributor] market," according to today's public notice. "The Bureau also seeks studies that measure the impact of these rules ... on competition generally ... In addition, the Bureau requests recommendations for statutory changes regarding these four rules affecting competition in the MVPD market."
The deadline is March 1 for comments and March 16 for reply comments.
For more information on how to reply and what is involved, check out the full text of the public notice:
- Word: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-169A1.doc
- Acrobat: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-169A1.pdf
- Text: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-05-169A1.txt
In case some of you are not aware, the above post about the FCC "seeking comments" means YOU as well as industry groups. Make your voice heard.
dturturro
01-25-05, 03:25 PM
Originally posted by keenan
In case some of you are not aware, the above post about the FCC "seeking comments" means YOU as well as industry groups. Make your voice heard.
Would anyone like to make up a form letter (to snail mail, NOT e-mail) we could all send in supporting the CONSUMER'S rights? Not that I'm implying that we're all too much of a coach potato to do it ourselves or anything:rolleyes:
From Zap2It.com:
CBS Cuts 'Perfect' Losses
CBS isn't waiting until the premiere of the next "Survivor" to get "Wickedly Perfect" off its Thursday-night schedule.
The Joan Lunden-hosted show, a contest among aspiring lifestyle gurus, is being booted to the netherworld of Saturday nights beginning this week (Jan. 29), the network says. A "Without a Trace" rerun will fill the 8 p.m. ET Thursday spot this week, with "CSI" set for the two weeks after that, leading up to the "Survivor: Palau" premiere Feb. 17.
The move of "Wickedly Perfect" is coming a little earlier than CBS had originally planned. After "The Will" crashed and burned in its only airing on Saturday, Jan. 8, the network announced that it would move "Perfect" to the 8 p.m. Saturday spot in mid-February, after "Survivor: Palau" debuted.
Three weeks of declining ratings -- which weren't all that great to begin with -- forced the change. "Wickedly Perfect" has drawn 8.7 million viewers per week in its Thursday airings, less than half of what "Survivor: Vanuatu" averaged earlier in the season. It hit a low of 7.8 million viewers last week.
With CBS down so much in the time period, ratings for NBC's "Joey" and FOX's "The O.C." have risen in the past three weeks.
The 8 p.m. Saturday spot has been a dead zone for original programming on CBS this season. Neither "Clubhouse," which lasted only one week after being moved from Tuesday nights, nor "The Will" cracked 5 million viewers in the timeslot.
From Zap2it.com:
CBS, NBC Split Monday Title
Fast National ratings for Monday, Jan. 24, 2005
A night of reruns Monday was strong enough to give CBS a household ratings win, but NBC actually had more people watching.
For the night, CBS averaged an 8.6 rating/13 share to beat NBC's 8.3/13. NBC, however, had the lead in total viewers, 13 million to 12.8 million. FOX and ABC tied for third in households at 6.1/9, although FOX brought in a larger total audience. The WB was fifth at 4.3/6, and UPN trailed at 2.2/3.
NBC was a clear winner among adults 18-49, scoring a 5.2 rating in advertisers' favorite demographic. FOX took second at 4.3, edging CBS's 4.2. ABC averaged 3.6, The WB 2.3 and UPN 1.3.
"Fear Factor," 6.7/10, won the 8 p.m. hour for NBC over repeats of "Still Standing" and "Listen Up" on CBS. ABC finished third with "EM: Home Edition: How'd They Do That?," 5.9/9. The WB came in fourth with an unusually strong number for "7th Heaven," 5.4/8, which beat FOX's "Trading Spouses," 5.0/8. UPN went with reruns of "One on One" and "Half and Half."
CBS moved in front at 9 p.m. with reruns of "Everybody Loves Raymond," 9.9/14, and "Two and a Half Men," 9.2/13. NBC's "Las Vegas," 8.0/12, took second over FOX's "24," 7.2/10. "The Bachelorette" was fourth for ABC. "Everwood," 3.2/5, was fifth for The WB, ahead of "Girlfriends" and "Second Time Around" on UPN.
At 10 p.m., NBC's "Medium" and a repeat of "CSI: Miami" on CBS tied for the top spot at 10.2/16 ("Medium" had more total viewers). "Supernanny" posted a 6.5/10 for ABC.
'Idol' Again Crushes Tuesday Competition
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Fast National ratings for Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2005.
Although it didn't come close to reaching the ratings heights of last Tuesday's (Jan. 18) premiere, "American Idol" had another robust showing last night and also gave a big boost to the critically admired medical drama "House."
Overall, FOX averaged an 11.8 rating/18 share. Second place CBS was well back with a 7.6/12, followed by the 6.4/10 for NBC and ABC's 5.8/9. The WB rode new dramas to a 3.2/5 and fifth place. UPN lagged in sixth with a 1.6/2.
Among adults 18-49, FOX did an 8.5 rating, trouncing the competition in the key demographic. CBS and NBC put up matching 3.6 ratings for a second place tie, keeping ABC in fourth with a 3.2 rating. The WB had a 2.0 rating for the night, nearly tripling the 0.7 rating for UPN.
At 8 p.m., FOX started things off right with the 15.7/24 for the "American Idol" New Orleans audition episode. CBS was in second with a 7.7/12 repeat of "NCIS." NBC's "Most Outrageous Moments on Live TV" special was third, edging the 4.5/7 averaged by "My Wife and Kids" and "George Lopez." On The WB, "Gilmore Girls" returned with a 3.5/5, much better than UPN's "All of Us" and "Eve" reruns.
Although it dumped nearly half of its "Idol" lead-in, "House" reached series highs for FOX with a 7.9/12, holding up far better than "Point Pleasant" last week in the same slot. CBS stayed second with the 7.5/11 for "Amazing Race," up from last week. ABC's "According to Jim" and "Rodney" were a close third. On NBC, "Scrubs" had a 4.8/7 and "Committed" dipped to a 4.4/7. The WB's "One Tree Hill" had a 2.8/4, leaving UPN and a "Veronica Mars" repeat in sixth.
NBC snagged first at 10 p.m. with the 9.7/16 for "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." CBS' "Judging Amy" lingered in second, beating the 6.2/10 for ABC's "NYPD Blue."
Fox Again the Network Idol
By Christopher Lisotta, TvWeek.com
The return of "American Idol" may mean Fox's lackluster rating performance is over.
After a fall and early winter in which most of Fox's debuts and season premieres could charitably be defined as disappointing, the network enjoyed a huge surprise with the better-than-expected audience for the return of the music performance reality series.
"Idol" opened its fourth season on a very high note. Its two-hour debut last Tuesday beat its 2004 premiere numbers, growing 9 percent in the adults 18 to 49 demographic to a 14.0 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was the highest-rated program of the season in every key adult demo.
In nearly every major demo, from male teens to women 25 to 54, "Idol" beat its five major network competitors combined in the ratings.
Fox Entertainment President Gail Berman, who had taken the stage to lead the Fox Network's executive session at the Television Critics Association's Winter Press Tour only the day before the "Idol" premiere, was managing expectations for the show's imminent fourth-season debut.
"One can anticipate seeing some audience dispersion, "Ms. Berman said last Monday of "Idol," before touting real-time action drama "24's" premiere the previous week. "We do expect January to be a good time for us, even anticipating some declines for `Idol."'
Fortunately for Fox, reporters asked relatively few questions about the network's rapidly yanked reality misstep, "Who's Your Daddy?"-a restraint Ms. Berman may have taken as an early sign things are looking up for the network.
"We never anticipated growth, let alone this kind of growth," she said in an interview with TelevisionWeek after "Idol's" premiere numbers came out.
On Thursday, Ms. Berman was greeted with further good news-the Wednesday "Idol" pulled an 11.2 in the demo, down 12 percent from last season's Wednesday premiere but still Fox's best performance in the time slot in nearly a year. At 9 p.m. the premiere of drama "Point Pleasant" scored a 5.3, coming in second in the time period in the demo and doubling last week's performance in the time period. It was Fox's first win in adults 18 to 49 on Wednesday in 12 weeks.
Ms. Berman said the network understands the risk it takes by only doing one cycle of "Idol" per season.
"We pay a dear price when it's not on our schedule, but we do that to have an event when it returns," she said.
Röhm Lays Down the Law
That was quite a surprise ending on NBC's "Law & Order" for Assistant D.A. Serena Southerlyn, played by actress Elizabeth Röhm. We knew she was leaving, but not that she would go out with such a bang. At the end of the Jan. 12 episode, written by Richard Sweren and Lois Johnson, she departed in a final scene that was personally written by executive producer Dick Wolf. Ms. Southerlyn was called to her boss's office, where D.A. Arthur Branch (former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson) told her that prosecutors need to be cold and dispassionate, and that she was too warmblooded-and fired her. She then dropped her own bombshell by asking, "Is it because I'm a lesbian?"
With surprise on his face, he replied, "No." She said, "Good," and it was over. Blink asked Ms. Röhm how it came about. She said Mr. Wolf asked her whether she wanted her exit to be "something splashy