MovieChat Forums > Steve Allen Discussion > This Man CREATED The Tonight Show

This Man CREATED The Tonight Show

posted 5 years ago by R_Kane (15828)
9 replies | jump to latest

No posts? Ridiculous. There were plenty of opportunities to be a pioneer at the dawn of TV, and Steve created the late-night weekday network talk show. Period. Just Steve. It was live. It ran for 90 minutes. It went on to be hosted by legends Jack Paar and Johnny Carson, and lessor lights like Jay Lenno and I can’t be bothered to know who else. The show is now 60 minutes and recorded on the Left Coast, and not in The Apple, where it belongs, and is less than it once was. Nevertheless, STEVE is the guy who made it happen. He was funny and creative as all get-out. One of his schtiks was The Question Man, which probably inspired Jeopardy. His side-kick would read the answer to a question, and Steve would have to divine the question. One night, the answer was “The Stork Club,” a very swank and exclusive New York nightery. The question Steve provided was, “What do you use to beat up a stork with?”

[–] artisan278 (109) a year ago

No posts because you have to be well over 70 to know how big he was on tv. All talk show hosts are complete blandness compared to him. Funny, smart, not snobbish or pretentious, important guests, plus he was a musician, wrote books, and devoted a week to shows about the 1963 march on Washington (the famous "I have a dream" speech). And he had a show called Meeting of Minds where actors portrayed historical persons having a chat. PS of all the newer hosts only Conan comes at all close, but even that was just too scripted.

[–] sadpopcorn (2279) a year ago

And funny till the day he tragically died.

[–] artisan278 (109) a year ago

I watched his live show every night after school. I bought the single of his song Gravy Waltz. He had this serious political side that I didn't even understand as a kid, while still making funny prank phone calls. Yesterday I saw one little film clip of his show on youtube, and the rest was audio. I guess because it was live, they were all erased and taped over. So we can only see what someone taped and uploaded. Since it was way before vcrs, not much hope. The thing is, his style is not in vogue anymore. People want brash, sarcastic, hard hitting. Not intellectual and talented.....too bad.

[–] sadpopcorn (2279) a year ago

"People want brash, sarcastic, hard hitting. Not intellectual and talented.....too bad"

I think that's what network executives THINK people want. You don't. I don't.

While I didn't like Jay Leno (I was a Letterman fan), I think if Leno came back at his age he would be #1 again.

[–] Nanook (2056) a year ago

Any recommendations of documentaries, tributes and/or compilations to better appreciate the man? All I know is seemingly every entertainer I was a fan of from childhood on, some older person would at some point tell me, "You know, Steve Allen did that first."

[–] artisan278 (109) a year ago

If you look up Steve Allen on youtube and on amazon there are a few things but he was on tv for many years and most of it looks like it's not available. The dvds on amazon seem to be someone's vhs recordings they digitized for money. Sad.

[–] Nanook (2056) a year ago

Thanks for the reply. Shame.

[–] sadpopcorn (2279) a year ago

https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/steve-allen#interview-clips

[–] Nanook (2056) a year ago

Six hours, you say? Much obliged!