I remember one night Tommy was wearing a new suit. Johnny complimented him then asked him where he got his suit. In his dry, deadpan manner Tommy replied, _”From my closet”_ The audience roared!
Aaaaaarrrrrrrrrgggggggg, such a scary thought ..... but I'm so afraid you are completely correct !!! Now go and have the best day you can have ..... until tomorrow ;o)
It's the Southern wit. My mother was the same, she was also from Virginia. A classic example: her friends teased her about my father always being out at night. He taught graduate students who were teachers working on their masters degrees. Since they taught during the day, they had to go to classes at night. My dad was always getting lost and my mother used to kid him about it. When her friends laughed about his having a girlfriend, my mother, without missing a beat, said " my husband could never have a mistress because he could never find her house!" ROFL
And it's even funnier in the context of how for several days Johnny and Doc had been arguing over the pronunciation and then just when Johnny thinks he's won the argument Doc isn't there and Tommy knocks him down with the deadpan, "Oh the hell with that."
The banter back & forth between Johnny, Ed, Fred, Doc and Tommy was always classic...Makes you wonder what they were like together in the younger days.
Without these videos I don’t know how I would survive. This was THE greatest ensemble of people to ever grace TV. No one will EVER replace Carson and friends. NO ONE! Miss all of them everyday....
Think about the level of generation talent they brought together for this show EVERY NIGHT: Johnny Carson, Ed McMahan, Doc Severinsen, Tommy Newsom, Fred DeCordiva, Ed Shaughnessy. Legends, all of them.
You may find this tribute to Johnny by Doc, Tommy & Ed (the TS drummer) on David Letterman. It appears this was taped shortly after Carson passed away. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DFac_omWrBg.html
Awesome. In my opinion no late night host to this date can even compare to Johnny Carson. And no late night band can compare to the Tonight Show with doc Severinsen. Just total class on both ends.
Johnny Carson was a great comedian and host. He was quick-thinking and could make the most out of any situation. Even if his monologue bombed, he'd roll with it.
Newsom and Carson used audiences' low expectations for Newsom to good advantage: One night Carson turned to Newsom during his monologue and asked why he always had his hands clasped together behind his back. Newsom replied, "vapor lock!" bringing down the house with laughter. Carson quipped, "I'm out here busting my buns to get a laugh, with one joke after another, and you just say 'vapor lock' and crack us all up!"[4] (Carson made similar "complaints" on multiple episodes) During one episode Newsom appeared in a sport coat similar to Carson's own. Noticing the similarity, Carson asked Newsom where he got his; he responded simply, "It was in my closet at home, John". Another time, Carson, who had just returned from vacation, said, "I really missed you guys." Newsom: "Why didn't you write?" One night, Newsom wore a very bold (for him) yellow suit. Carson commented, "Look at that big, dumb canary." Newsom's response: "You’ll know what kind of bird I am when I fly over you."[3] During a March 1991 episode, Johnny asked Newsom where bandleader Doc Severinsen was. Newsom replied that Severinsen went with his wife to Florida. Then Tommy followed up seconds later saying "He was going to Tampa (tamper) with her." Later in the show, Johnny asked drummer Ed Shaughnessy, who was going to perform in Illinois, if he was going to do a clinic in addition to performing a concert; Shaughnessy replied he was doing just a concert. When Johnny asked Tommy if he ever did clinics, Tommy replied "I go to clinics", which yet again brought down the house. Johnny temporarily walked offstage in mock offense. One night Johnny asked Tommy if he wore designer underwear. Tommy: "I put my own designs in them." - Wikipedia,
In his last season Carson kept a small adding machine on his desk that he used to account for the props in a comedy bit that died: "Let's see, that's $500 for the traffic cone..." He owned the show with his Carson Productions Company. That was funny stuff.
Growing up I considered Tommy Newsom to be sorta square in a very good way. I realize now that he had the same hip deadpan drollery as prime Rodney Dangerfield or Bob & Ray. Talented Jokester and Musician!😂🎤🎼🎵🎶🎸🎹🥁🎷🎺📺B.W.
A tribute to our Great Entertainment..the Newsom stuff was , of course, prearranged, but the set up and delivery was so well done, and the Carson reaction was the best..he really enjoyed those opportunities to be the fall guy for those zingers 😂
Still does .... even in death. ;o( The Tonight Show with JC was the classic and always will be .... none of the s#it that is airing today is anywhere close. Best wishes to ya ;o)
Wish I could find a clip of my favorite Tommy Newsome line. While he was sitting in the band, he was asked if he wore designer underwear. "I put my own designs in them."
Seriously, when Jay Leno took over, he ought to have kept Tommy Newsom as bandleader for at least half a season-before replacing him with Branford Marsalis. Having both a new host and a new bandleader was too much of a shock to the viewers.
Mr Perkins, we really need more Johnny/Tommy/Ed/Doc interaction videos, especially Tommy. I feel I have watched all those available on RU-vid, but according to some comments here about Tommy saying funny stuff, there should be lots more😃 f.e the 'vapor lock' clip, can't seem to find it out here!
First of all, one of the many reasons Johnny was so great is that he allowed others to get the laughs as well even at his expense. I know Procol Harum the rock band; but what was Tommy's lead in for him to say it and get a laugh?
It was suggesting that since Doc was not there and Tommy was the leader, he created a new band. Of course a rock band is the complete opposite to the style of Tommy, so of course it was absurd and a massive joke.
It might be the latin meaning which from which the band name is derived. It’s certainly not obvious to me, or probably half the studio audience but since Tommy said it it was automatically hilarious
The banter between Tommy and Johnny was great but could only be used sparingly like times when Doc was away. Doc's personality worked much better on a consistent basis and Doc could more easily slip into the #2 spot at times when Ed was away. I say this as a great fan of Tommy.
If the airdate in the description is correct, the previous show would have been on Friday 12/13/91 (Monday’s were guest hosted by Jay Leno). On that night Procol Harum was the musical guest along with Kevin Kline and Dennis Miller. I know this because I attended the taping.
Tommy actually said Procol Harum, which was an English rock band, founded in the late 60s, who came back for a reunion in 1991, the year of this clip. Maybe Tommy was suggesting he and the Tonight Show band were like Procol Harum without Doc being there.
Its the support roles, that save the show. Not only the big mouth on front! Management forgets the basics building blocks of a real show and that is why some many fail.
Tommy actually said Procol Harum, which was an English rock band, founded in the late 60s, who came back for a reunion in 1991, the year of this clip. Maybe Tommy was suggesting he and the Tonight Show band were like Procol Harum without Doc being there
In reality, when Carson retired the "Tonight" franchise should have been retired with him. It could never really continue with another host, another announcer, another band because the previous "occupants" of those titles were so overwhelming and remarkable after 30 years that continuation was futile.
