Chevy Chase and Gallagher, May 9 1979
Who saw it? Antenna TV aired this infamous episode last night and boy oh boy was it AWKWARD!
It's been written about before, but in this link - the author is relying on his memory and doesn't remember all the details...
http://themanwhonevermissed.blogspot.com/2008/03/one-more-on-expertise.html
The order of guests on the show was Ricky Schroder, Chevy, Gallagher, and Barbara Bach. Ricky was painfully unfunny and dull. Chevy was nervous and somewhat funny, but most of his quips fell flat. Gallagher roller skates out and does his "Sledge-O-Matic" routine and smashes an apple and a hollowed out watermelon. The watermelon smash wasn't even a very good smash. According to wikipedia -
"He was repeatedly denied appearance on The Tonight Show in the 1970s and 1980s, as Johnny Carson disliked prop comedy. However, he was liked by some of the program's staff, and Gallagher eventually performed several times on the show when guest hosts were filling in for Carson. Gallagher did appear on The Tonight Show on May 9, 1979, a show hosted by Carson."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallagher_(comedian)
For some unknown reason, Johnny invites Gallagher over to the couch. Why?! He shows off the roller skate on one foot and a spring device on the bottom of his other shoe. They go to commercial after some unfunny banter.
Barbara Bach is introduced. Very glamorous. The other guests rise and Chevy positions himself in the first guest chair - so she will sit on him. Ha ha. She playfully reclines on him and then Chevy gets up. There is a brief shuffle and Gallagher graciously lets Chevy sit next to Barbara - altering the ever important guest seating order.
Barbara is asked about the false rumors of joining the "Charlie's Angels" cast, she makes a weird fish face, and so on. At some point Chevy asks her to remove her clothes.
The real fireworks begin when they return from a commercial break. Gallagher has apparently been roller skating around the studio for the audience's enjoyment and says the surface of the floor is difficult to skate on. A sidewalk is better in his opinion. Chevy pipes up by giving some fake admiration for his act and saying he will go very far in the business. Gallagher replies very flatly that he doesn't care what Chevy thinks. Chevy says something like "Well, it doesn't matter" and Gallagher responds somewhat angrily that HE (Chevy) doesn't matter. They attempt to play friendly for a short bit and Johnny is truly caught off guard. He states that he enjoys when the show derails from time to time, but it didn't seem genuine! Gallagher wasn't really suited for inclusion in the sit-down portion of the show and Chevy was being Chevy - somewhat rude and condescending. Barbara was there and all the men were trying their best to remain civilized, but it got a little out of hand. I really wish the new rerun version of the show included the final credit roll when the guests usually stand up and shake hands. I wonder what happened? That bit is probably forever lost in the vaults!
I can't remember all of the details of Chevy and Gallagher's exchange. I'm hoping that some brave soul will post the episode on youtube and we can get an accurate transcription. The whole thing just lasted a minute or two, but it was really entertaining to see two comics sparring on a semi-personal level.