did you watch johnny carson when you were little? >> i was very little, but yes. >> did you watch johnny carson when you were little? of course. i will speak with somebody my own age. >> to stay up for johnny carson was a treat if you were a kid from that era. >> that's what it was like. it was an event. so was most of tv because you didn't have the other outlets. i remember my dad would fire up the tv and then i would come running in. >> how did you turn on a tv back then? you had to fire it up. >> i remember we got our first color tv and here is where mike descends down the rabbit hole but we got our first color tv, a sears color tv and it was the size of a buick. i was waiting for the sears truck to come. they delivered the tv and it was huge. my dad made a big deal of the antenna. and it had these buttons for each channel. and it cachunk. the sears guy switched it on and it was the cereal commercial with the mascot of the blue kangaroo. it woulded for five seconds and it went blank. i was crushed. it took two weeks to get the col

par coming back to save the tonight show, all johnny carson does is skits and bits, and mr. par as he's referred to, used to do proper interviews. and then jimmy fallon's show was influenced by letterman. >> rose: johnny carson was influenced by steve allen. >> yeah, all of those things start to, you know influence you, i think. >> rose: but it feels comfortable, at least. >> i feel a lot more comfortable now, just in the manner that people -- in the manner that -- i'm just overwhelmed by the way people have responded. >> rose: that's the reason you feel comfortable. is it the idea you didn't step on the banana, you didn't do anything people would have said after you have been on, how did this ever happen? why did he -- why did they ever think he could do this? and in fact said isn't it interesting what he's doing? >> yeah, i'm overwhelmed by that, really. i'm incredibly relieved and grateful. >> rose: could this happen in prime time, a show like this, or -- you know, jay leno tried to do it but jay leno is jay leno. >> i'm not sure. >> rose: late night there's a feeling of

carr coming back to save the tonight show all johnny carson does is skits and bits. mr. parr used to do proper interviews. our show is influenced by jimmy fallon. jimmy fallon is introduced by alan. -- ellen. all of those things start to influence you. charlie: but it feels comfortable at least? james: i feel a lot more comfortable now in the manner that people in the manner that i am overwhelmed with the way people have responded. charlie: it is the idea that you didn't step on a banana why did they ever think he could do this? they are saying isn't this interesting what he is doing? james: i'm overwhelmed by that really. i'm incredibly relieved and grateful. charlie: could this happen in prime time, or is it -- jay leno try to do it. james: i don't know. i'm not sure. charlie: late-night has a feeling of freeness. james: and there's a feeling of being the end of someone's day. i feel like the change, not that i know anything about the history of late-night i feel the change in late-night is a more positive outlook, it's just a reflection of what is happening in the wor

rain or shine, the shining, here's johnny. bring it back to johnny carson. carson, leno, leno to conan, conan to fallon. the tonight show starring jimmy fallon. how do you like me now? [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: wow. i got to hand it to you. that was pretty -- that was pretty wild. wild. wild thing, thingamajig. jigglypuff. puff daddy. dadd warbucks. bucks stop. stop or my mom will shoot starring sylvester stallone. yo, adriane. bringing me back to rocky. rocky and bullwinkle. winklevosse twins played by armie hammer. arm & hammer. baking soda. minnesota, doubling ya back to the twins starring arnold schwarzenegger. get to the chopper. get to the whopper. bringing me back to burger king. mcdonalds. donald trump. trump tower. tower of power. power ranger. ranger rick. rick ross. ross from friends. friends in low places, trading places. trading faces. bringing me back to face-off starring nicholas cage. national treasure. treasure island. gilligan's island three-hour tour de france. tour de fourth. force out. pitch out. pitch perfect, bringing back to a

isn't this johnnie carson and ed mcmahon? >> the great carnac. up dated version. it still works. arnold is such a part of our life. he was my entire 1980s. like as he ages so do i. >> you guys are old. johnnie carson and carnac. >> he was part of my lives and my morning. >> you ran into him, didn't you? >> right here. >> oh, here today. >> a big fan of "the five" i hear. >> he loves "the five" will he still love us if we put this on? >> sure he loves you. >> he's cute. loves "the five" he's a smart guy, right? >> i just think it's a joke. how he says california? >> like carly fiorina. >> oh, carlyforna? >> that's why i have an early bedtime. >> julie, do you care to weigh in on this? >> i thought it was funny. >> can i relay a story? the schwarzenegger thing, the fallon thing. i've seen it a couple of times. it's funny but i'm not sure we're going to have a lot to talk about. no this is going to be great. >> do you think it's great? did you get the joke right away? >> adrian did. she thought it was hilarious by the way. >> she's got a good sense of humor. >> kimberly has some exc

michelle your dad wrote for johnny carson. are funny like these on to something? >> he would laugh that hollywood liberals are upset about political correctness. this is the product of liberals. this is the monster they've created. i'm going to stand up for millennials and say this is because of liberals in my parents generation that have coddled children and told them to be offended. look at the colleges that millennials go to and the schools they go to. they are not free speech zones. they can't say anything without being disciplined. so i think that it's -- it's my parents' generation. >> let's go to one of those. the thoughts on the comedy michelle's parents' generation probably wouldn't go over very well in this generation. >> well i don't think that's necessarily true. i think part of it is just what you said the pervasive part of college professors and all that talking about oh we have to have equality. and we have to have versediversity and do all of these things. i was looking at a segment the other night that showed the '70s. they were talking about -- a

johnny carson did the golf swing at the end of his monologue. >> right. >> should i have a gnoff? >> how about something like this. >> i like that. that's a good one. >> all right. did you like the show? good. er weird. but weird is good. weird ask normal. because these days the script have been flipped what was wufshs normal is odd. what is usually edgy is mundane. that's why we had to cut out our health segment. >> this suction device creates a vacuum inside of the cups. these cups are placed on various acupuncture points on the body. they are moved around in a massage like motion. >> that doesn't hurt at all. >> it may look strange. i can tell you cupping really does feel like a deep tissue massage. >> i can promise you from here on in this show will not be edgy. edgy was a term created to pawn stupid stuff. pro by lotic -- probiotic joe gurt. taking jabs at things people fought and died for that's not risk it's a costume. these days risk is doing something the media derives saying cops are awesome. military rules, identity is increases from the upper west side to the backyards

. >> johnny carson is still the king. >> david letterman came in second. >>> we just can't get enough of her so we're going back to new york city to check in with eun yang this morning and you have a guest with you. i think we know who that man is. >> i do have a guest. talk about how chilly and rainy and cold it was. matt lauer is here to hold things up. >> just to hold the umbrella. >> what's going on today. >> a busy news day. a lot of subjects people are talking about, caitlyn jenner, we're going to interview buzz bisinger. we're going to have more of our interview with tracy morgan. we spent more time with him and his fiancee and took them over to studio 8 h. we'll talk about his return to comedy and parenting that's something you are involved in. >> that's right, for sure. we're going to have some summer tips how to survive summer travel with kids. you have three kids. how do you survivor? >> you know, we just relax. we take chill pills all summer long and say what will happen will happen. we don't get too wound up. one of the new stars of the jur rasic movie is coming with us.

johnny carson used to do that weird golf swing at the end of his monologue. do i need a signoff? >> yeah. maybe something -- how about this. >> i like this. that's a really good one. all right. did you like the show? good. you're weird. but weird is good. weird is normal. because these days, the script has been flipped. what was once normal is now odd. what used to be edgy is now mundane. it's why we had to cut out our health segment. >> this suction creates a vacuum in each cup, which are placed on acupuncture points on the body and left still or moved around the skin in a massage like motion. >> that doesn't hurt at all. >> i know, it may look strange, but i can tell you, cupping feels like a deep tissue massage. >> i can promise you from here on end, this show will not be edgy. that was a term created to pawn stupid stuff when it's just plain bad, like pro-biotic yogurt. taking jabs at things people fought and died for, that's not risk. these days, risk is doing something if media derides, sheaing you love this country, cops are awesome, our military rules, all of that creates

if he couldn't get to lennon, he would have attempted to kill walter cronkite, johnny carson, george c. scott, jackie kennedy onassis or marlon brando. any of these people were his potential targets after lennon. lennon was his first choice. >> even though, chapman's agenda included a wild scheme to kill scott while the actor was on stage at a broadway show. >> the defendant said he had front row seats, and his plan was to stand up in the middle of the show and fire into the body of george c. scott. it wasn't a complete plan because he went to the gun store to buy bullets to have ammunition for his gun, he was told, you cannot buy bullets for your gun. >> after two weeks in new york, chapman flies back to hawaii. he reveals to his wife he's obsessed with john lennon and plans to kill him. she convinces chapman to make an appointment with a psychologist but didn't keep it. in early december, chapman flies back to new york, stopping over in atlanta to procure 38 high caliber bullets. (kids laughing) he's flying ok guys, pause the movie we're going to watch the rest in the toyota camry.

remember when ames fired his tomahawk on the johnny carson show? at least the drummer didn't get drilled below the belt. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> thank you for watching everyone. i'm zain asher. >> rosemary church is up next with news around the world. you are watching cnn newsroom. to create a more advanced vehicle, you use the most innovative technology available. to craft a more luxurious vehicle, you use the most skilled hands on earth. like ones that spend 38 days creating a lexus ls steering wheel. or 2,000 hours calibrating an available mark levinson audio system. the high-tech, handcrafted lexus ls. luxury, uncompromised. this is the pursuit of perfection. get fast-acting, long-lasting relief from heartburn with it neutralizes stomach acid and is the only product that forms a protective barrier that helps keep stomach acid in the stomach where it belongs. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief. try gaviscon®. ♪ [music] ♪ defiance is in our bones. new citracal pearls. delicious berries and cream. soft, chewable, calcium plus vitamin

>> johnny carson inherited "the tonight show," but he made it his own. >> it is going to be wild tonight, i can always tell. >> he hosted a nightly party. >> are you married? >> oh. >> and if his buddies came, and they started playing together, you felt like what it must have felt like to go to las vegas at 3:00 in the morning and have the rat pack come out. >> no, but where is the guy you talk to? >> it was a beautiful thing to watch a guy working at his best. >> okay. bingo. >> get your ax and let's go. ♪ wait to let the laugh die before what he says will be irrelevant to what happened. and he gets it just on the nose. it's beautiful to watch. >> i didn't even know you were jewish. >> johnny was the best audience in the world. and he loved comedy. >> the woman is watching him she's watching him from the corner of her eye. he says to him, what are you looking at? the guy says i'm looking at that ugly baby. that's a bad-looking baby, lady. >> johnny was there listening for you. he wanted you to score. and when you scored, he scored. >> i said now calm down. he said, madam, the pennsylv

johnny carson show and everything. so i needed to go back and finish it. >> and did you. >> i kept that promise yes. >> tell me about your father. he was a guy who lived in the segregated south in south carolina. he picked some cotton, he drove people around, white people. what was his attitude when you were growing up toward his country america? >> well, the whole thing is that he taught me to love everybody. you got to love everybody. you know, and you treat people the way you want to be treated. and my dad, you know, never finished school. and i wanted to go off to school and view every opportunity that i had your mom and dad stayed together. they raised you and your brothers and sisters in the house but you didn't have any money. you were poor. did your mom and dad tell you that african-americans had a very tough history it really wasn't a fair society, particularly when they were children what did they say about your country? >> they said that african-americans is, you know we had a certain place. we couldn't eat

charlie: the thing johnny carson said -- talking about comedy is not funny. judd: that's true. it lies on the operating table. i just want to ask are you feeling crazy now how are you staying vibrant in the life in your work? charlie: standup has always been fascinating. if you talk to luisa k, it takes about 15 years to really develop -- into if you talk to louis ck it takes about 15 years to develop. judd: i didn't think i was going to make it in a year. i thought i was going to make it in 15 years, and that was a good thing to hear is a high school kid. you have to work your ass off. charlie: here's what will ferrell said -- anyone interested in comedy or humanity should own this book. it contains insightful interviews with the greatest comedians of our time. my representatives assure me i will appear in a future edition. judd: i thought i would do 10 or so interviews that were brand-new. as i was finishing it up, i realized i didn't get to anybody. i didn't get to will ferrell or jimmy kimmel. maybe we will do another one. charlie: going up in long island, you knew you want

. >> rose: the things johnny carson used to say and others talking about comedy is not funny. >> that's true. the guy's on the operating table. i just want to ask people like do you feel crazy now, are you happy with this journey. how had you stieg john f. kennedy -- stayingvibrant in your work. >> rose: it takes 15 years to really develop. >> that's true. >> rose: into a first-rate stand up comedian. >> people told me when i was interviewing people when i was 15 and set my clock differently because i didn't think i'm going to make it in a year i'll make it in 15 years. that's a good thing to hear as a high school kid. you have to work your as off before. >> yourbefore -- your ass off. >> rose: everyone should own this book. it's hilarious and informative and great interviews with comics and comedians of her time. not sure he will appear in a future edition. >> i also, i thought the interviews that were brand new. as i was finishing it up i realized oh i didn't get to anybody. i didn't get to sasha and jimmy kimmel. there were so many. >> rose: growing up in lang island you knew you wan

in the way that i grew up with johnny carson ed mcmahon. ed mcmahon made carson seem like a regular guy. joe biden is regular guy. i wouldn't call president obama a regular guy. biden was sort of his connection to regular people mpt biden would be the one that would make the calls to the senators who were having a problem. a lot of times he is the one that solved the problem by making the call. he's one of the boys if you will. the president is definitely not. i think he's played that public private and political role that was very much a compliment to this president and has been and will be. >> so much tragedy in joe biden's life losing his first wife back in 1972 his daughter back in 1972. the closeness between joe biden and beau biden. losing his son who had a promising political career in front of him at the age of 46. you look at joe biden in almost gregarious public personality. you match that up with the tragedy he's been through. it's amazing how he's endured. >> yeah, and there's a couple of things there. one is it's very much like

he appeared on johnny carson's "the tonight show" and claimed the cia was behind the investigation. his best-selling book claims that shop's connection to the cia -- shaw's connection to the cia was the key to understanding that. the key to understanding shaw was his homosexuality. he said this was a gay cabal and that shaw, ruby, and oswald were homosexuals. shaw was. oswald probably was not. when he was told he had two kids, he said he was probably a switch hitter. [laughter] clay show was arrested and charged with the assassination of kennedy. was the only person ever charged. they searched his house and found evidence. they found his net hat and blackfoot and kate. they were part of his mardi gras costumes come which proves this was a homosexual plot to kill kennedy. the trial went on. there were 35 days of testimony. in less than an hour shaw was declared innocent and the case was thrown out. garrison never mentioned the word cia and it was never brought up. even conspiracy theorists think that garrison was awful. in his book "six seconds in dallas," garrison's claims were comp

if people say how come you are not on with johnny, i say unto funny. as i walked back, the segment producer said, you will never get this show again. i knew i did the right thing. carson saw me be great. i go to the palm, where i used to go after tonight shows. there is carson with his ex lawyer. what a billion to one shot. we still had our make-up on from the show. i dart over like jack ruby. i got on my knees and let my case. i told him what i told you. i didn't want him to think i didn't know what a monologue was. the next day i get a call from a rather nasty tempered producer and he went, you are a lucky man. you are back to business with johnny. but letterman said, i've seen your tonight show's. some are great, some aren't. he said this to me before he got his late-night show in 1981. he might forget this. he said you can write for me and still do standup. he says you come on my show as often as you want but never do standup on television ever. you are too physical. charlie: the book with the foreword, larry david basically says -- know that you a

johnny liked me. we had funny stories together carson and i. once i was on a plane going to paris, we had to go to london with my ex-girlfriend. he always went to wimbledon. i had a lot of nervous ticks. he's there. i i'm on the aisle in first class going like this. my girlfriend says -- it's a five and a half hour flight -- she said, if you continue to stare at carson you're dead. i said, you know, i have ticks and tremors whatnot. >> rose: he's sitting ahead of you? >> no, he's right here next to one of his wives and i keep staring at him for five hours. so we get to the first class lounge waiting for our flights. i went over to him and i said, johnny i'm humiliated. i mean, i have a lot of ticks and, you know, i wish it wasn't you sitting there. i wish it was martha stewart or somebody, you know. but he said it was cool. but the two things about carson and letterman that are very crucial to me, i once -- you know i like doing new material. so id had this monologue that lasted -- you do five and a half minutes when you do a standup. letterman

anchor: we delay the start of "the tonight show starring johnny carson" to bring you the following nbc news special report. reporter: at 12:00 noon on april 30, a north vietnamese tank broke the gate of the presidential palace in saigon. a communist soldier ran the revolution's flag across the empty lawn. the shooting on this day the communists won was not in a battle but a celebration. saigon had already surrendered. [gunfire] tonight, nbc news presents the first full report on saigon's first month as a communist city. announcer: nbc news presents a special report. communist saigon. here is nbc news correspondent john hart. john: good evening. it's been almost a month now since the communists won the war in vietnam, and during that time, they have allowed us only bits and pieces of information on what has been going on there since saigon surrendered. but now, we are beginning to know a little more. since last saturday, 82 newsmen, foreigners in vietnam, flew out with the stories and films that had been piling up there during the communist takeover. nbc's jim laurie was one of them, an