LATE SHOW NEWS #201 *** TOM SNYDER WON'T RENEW *** April 28, 1998 by Aaron Barnhart To join or leave the LATE-SHOW-NEWS mailing list, instructions are at end of message. "It's not like I want to get emotional about this, but I sometimes think to myself that any moment now the alarm clock's going to go off and this is going to be a very, very pleasant dream. I mean, when you think about the odds on this and the serendipity of this ... it's quite something. And it makes me happy." -- Tom Snyder, at a press conference to announce the creation of "Late Late Show with Tom Snyder," 8/9/94 The first time I sat down to write something called LATE SHOW NEWS, Tom Snyder was being courted by CBS about bringing his CNBC talk show, then the subject of much favorable buzz, to broadcast television. "We sure hope former NBC late-show host Tom Snyder is enjoying his week in the sun," I wrote in the first-person plural in February of '94. "He deserves it." David Letterman had said much the same thing a few weeks before that in an interview with Tom Shales. "I'm glad he's back on television," Letterman said. "He deserves to be a bigger player. He's a huge guy with a huge ego and he's hugely entertaining. There's no reason he shouldn't be on network TV." Sure enough, at Letterman's urging, CBS signed Snyder to a deal six months later to do a five-nights-a-week show produced by Worldwide Pants. Some critics questioned whether Snyder was a good match for Letterman, but the mood was mostly optimistic. "The Tomorrow Show" had returned, 13 years after being displaced on another network by another Letterman show. It was good counter-programming to "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," a show that had survived a brutal launch and even had been given Dave's blessing six months into its run. A radio syndicate was set up to simulcast "Late Late Show" to markets where CBS stations weren't airing the show live, so as to encourage phone calls. Letterman's renowned set designer Kathleen Ankers constructed a gorgeous studio at Television City in Los Angeles. T.S. went to work. He cranked out the shows, made it easy to look at, easy to listen to and, of course, made it look easy to do. In hindsight, however, the show was missing something -- a defining feature (other than Snyder), a gimmick or a tradition or something. When Bonnie Hunt, Gene Siskel and David Steinberg did an uproarious Oscars-night panel during the show's first season, I looked forward to this becoming an annual custom. But after year two, the custom quietly went away. Good names were booked on the show but not great names; live news was sometimes covered, but not always. Snyder answered his mail, and of course he chatted with the callers, better than anyone else on TV in the minor art of phone chat. But ratings stalled; the radio simulcast closed down; reports of unhappiness, on the set and at the network, surfaced. Snyder was in an awkward position; ushered in on the wave of Letterman's popularity -- at a time when Dave could demand anything of CBS -- he then watched helplessly as the tide washed out to sea, never to return. "Late Show" was eclipsed in the ratings by the "Tonight Show" six months into Snyder's run. As Letterman's rating sank lower and lower, below a 5 Nielsen rating (percentage of U.S. homes), then a 4 and lately, at times, below a 3 rating, "Late Late Show" deflated in tandem. It rarely pierced the 2 level and currently averages 1.4 percent of American homes. That's double what the network had been averaging with "Crime Time After Prime Time," the low-budget thriller series CBS had been offering affiliates prior to Snyder. But it was surely disheartening to T.S. to be beating his brains in five nights a week for a 1.4. And after 40 years in broadcasting, financially and reputationally secure, Snyder had earned the right to get out when he felt the getting was good. With an expiration of September 1999 on his current "Late Late Show" deal and with Letterman, Leno and O'Brien all signed a year or two into the 21st century, Snyder was due to re-up. He had always said his was an enchanted story and that he was getting a break late in his career that few broadcasters got at any point in their careers. More importantly, he had the luxury of being able to orchestrate his own goodbye. As he told LATE SHOW NEWS a little more than a year ago: "I asked (Jerry) Seinfeld when he was here, and he said it's like when you're out with a bunch of people at dinner at a restaurant. You know it's coming to an end, but you don't know exactly when. And then all of the sudden, dinner's over and everybody realizes it's time to go home. And I like that analogy." Perhaps before anyone else, Snyder realized it was time to go home. According to a story that appeared probably before CBS would have liked -- our pal Joe Adalian scooped it in Monday's New York Post -- Snyder told the network he would stop doing the show when his contract expired or at an earlier mutually agreed-upon date. Since Monday night's show was on tape, Snyder had to wait until Tuesday night to break the news to his own viewers. Snyder and CBS will settle on a date of departure soon, either December of this year (with a new host arriving in January) or May of next year (with a new host in the fall, presumably after a summer of reruns). The program will probably continue as "Late Late Show." "My great love since before I can remember is of talking to people, especially late at night," Snyder said in a statement released Monday. "Looking down the road, I see a time when I will want to focus on other things." Successors' names are already being bandied about but you can for sure eliminate Jon Stewart's. In the first place, his deal with Worldwide Pants to guest-host "Late Late Show" expired months ago and was not renewed -- recall CBS signed him as a pre-emptive strike against NBC, which was about to hire him -- and second, Stewart has yet to demonstrate his hosting capabilities begin to approach his writing and guesting capabilities. My guess would be for CBS to recruit a talk-TV or radio host. L.A.'s Dennis Prager comes to mind, but he may be seen as a liability because his 1994 late-night TV show flopped. I'd watch every night if Merrill Markoe were chosen, but I'm not sure the rest of America would. Your suggestions are welcome. Now back to our regularly scheduled hiatus! *** Tom Heald's THIS NIGHT IN HISTORY Exclusive to LATE SHOW NEWS tomalhe@aol.com We 5/6: In 1979, "The Mary Tyler Moore Hour" last airs on CBS. Among the cast members of this comedy/variety show flop? Michael Keaton and our good buddy David Letterman. Th 5/7: In 1984, It's "Lawsuit Day" on "Late Night with David Letterman," as legal eagle F. Lee Bailey judges which slights or on-air accidents are cause for lawsuits against either the show or its scheduled guests. Fr 5/8: In 1952, "MAD TV" mascot Alfred E. Neuman is hatched. Sa 5/9: In 1991, Michael Landon makes his final public appearance on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" for a candid interview to correct tabloid reports about his "final days" with pancreatic cancer. It ranks as one the highest rated episodes ever. Su 5/10: In 1986, "Saturday Night Live" musical guest Paul Simon performs "You Can Call Me Al," "Homeless" and "Graceland." Within the next year and a half, Simon will have performed over half of his "Graceland" album on the program. Mo 5/11: In 1995, Weeks before being arrested for solicitation, Hugh Grant appears on "Late Show With David Letterman" to promote his new movie "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain." As Letterman's bookers learn, "to err is human, to forgive Divine." Tu 5/12: In 1990, Nora Dunn & Sinead O'Connor boycott "Saturday Night Live" to protest Andrew "Dice" Clay's hosting. Although the "Diceman's" monologue consists of "clean jokes" from his repertoire, "Saturday Night Live" uses a seven second tape delay, nonetheless. [Thanks to David Tanny, Frank Serpas III Special thanks to Donz5, the man who knows more Jack about Dave than humanly possible.] Join Tom Heald for "The Top Ten Lightning Round" every Wednesday night at 10 PM (ET) in "Late Show Online's El Chatroom" at America Online Keyword: Late Show. And we won't make you cry, unlike those Hecklers bozos. THE LINEUPS with Sue Trowbridge (http://www.interbridge.com/) LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS Tu 4/28 Jack Hanna, Ray Allen, Dave Matthews Band We 4/29 Patrick Swayze, Hugh Hefner Th 4/30 Sam Donaldson, Gena Lee Nolin, Brian Regan Fr 5/1 Salma Hayek, Pearl Jam Mo 5/4 Elle MacPherson, Usher Tu 5/5 Donald Trump, Jayson Williams, Trisha Yearwood We 5/6 Sally Field, Lyle Lovett THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, NBC Tu 4/28 Richard Simmons, Spike Lee, Goo Goo Dolls We 4/29 Alberta Dunbar (makes Spam cheesecake) Th 4/30 Denzel Washington, Laura Dern, Stevie Nicks Fr 5/1 Julie Scardina and Sea World animals, Marcy Playground From Chicago: Mo 5/4 Heather Locklear, Dennis Rodman, cast of "Chicago" Tu 5/5 Chicago's best singing dogs, Aretha Franklin We 5/6 Arsenio Hall, Blue Man Group, Leno lookalikes Th 5/7 Jerry Springer, Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang, animal expert Sid Yost Fr 5/8 Cindy Crawford, Aerosmith LATE LATE SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER, CBS Tu 4/28 Meredith Viera We 4/29 George Segal, Rick Bragg Th 4/30 Joy Behar LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC Mo 4/27 Bob Costas, Salt-N-Pepa, Louis CK (R 2/11/98) Tu 4/28 John Lithgow, Pete Seeger and Dar Williams We 4/29 Jason and the Scorchers Th 4/30 TBA Fr 5/1 Patrick Swayze, Michael Wood Mo 5/4 Tom Selleck, Ana Gasteyer, Alana Davis (R 2/17/98) Tu 5/5 Michael J. Fox, Morcheeba We 5/6 TBA Th 5/7 TBA Fr 5/8 Nicholas Turturro LATER, NBC Line-ups not available CHARLIE ROSE, PBS Please note that Charlie Rose listings are very tentative Tu 4/28 Mike Nichols We 4/29 Kurt Masur, Leonard Slatkin Th 4/30 Dore Gold, Tom Friedman Fr 5/1 William Kennard, David Halberstam Mo 5/4 TBA Tu 5/5 Peter Duchin We 5/6 Norman Mailer, Jane Alexander Th 5/7 Michael Stipe POLITICALLY INCORRECT WITH BILL MAHER, ABC Tu 4/28 William H. Macy, Robin Cook, Arianna Huffington, Ruby Wax We 4/29 Suzanne Somers, Ray Davies, Meredith Vieira, Star Parker Th 4/30 Martin Short, Robert Loggia, Michael Medved, Debbie Matenopoulis Fr 5/1 Kathy Ireland, Joy Behar, Christine O'Donnell Mo 5/4 TBA Tu 5/5 Cal Thomas, Ben Jones We 5/6 Shelley Long, Patricia Schroeder, Bill T. Jones VIBE TV, syndicated Tu 4/28 Lou Diamond Phillips, Tahj Mowry We 4/29 TBA Th 4/30 Alex Trebek, Sylk-E Fyne Fr 5/1 The Lox, Lil' Kim THE DAILY SHOW, Comedy Central Tu 4/28 Sheryl Lee Ralph We 4/29 Jason Gedrick Th 4/30 Patrick Swayze DENNIS MILLER LIVE, HBO Fr 5/1 Burt Reynolds on "Country Music" Fr 5/8 David Spade and Norm McDonald-- 100th Episode Special SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, Cartoon Network Fr 5/1 David Cross and Bob Odenkirk (R); Susan Powter, Kevin Meaney and the Bee Gees (R) Fr 5/8 Jon Stewart (R); Bob Denver, Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson from "Gilligan's Island" (R) HOWARD STERN, E! Here are lineups for all three "Howard Stern" airings at 11 and 11:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. Eastern time. Saturday the show only airs during the 11 o'clock hour. Tu 4/28 Belly Button Breast Implants, Hank The Drunk Dwarf Part 1 (R), The Singing Playmate Part 2 (R) We 4/29 Implant Pageant Part 1, Hank The Drunk Dwarf Part 2 (R), The Singing Playmate Part 3 (R) Th 4/30 Implant Pageant Part 2, Corey Feldman Part 1 (R), Elephant Boy And The Girls (R) Fr 5/1 Implant Pageant Part 3, Corey Feldman Part 2 (R), Nicole Bass, Bodybuilder (R) Sa 5/2 Fiona Apple MTV Awards Parts 1 and 2 (R) DIE HARALD SCHMIDT SHOW, SAT.1 Di 28/4 Norbert Bluem, Natalie Imbruglia (premiering her new video) Mi 29/4 DJ Bobo, Tanja Szewczenko Do 30/4 Christiane Paul, Gerd Dudenhoeffer Also on late nights: NIGHTLINE and WORLD NEWS NOW, ABC CHARLES GRODIN, CNBC MAD TV, Fox SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, NBC (this season) and Comedy Central (classics) THE RUPAUL SHOW, VH1 LOVELINE, MTV UP TO THE MINUTE, CBS NIGHTSIDE, NBC (going away soon) DIE HARALD SCHMIDT SHOW, SAT.1 Entire contents Copyright 1998 by Aaron Barnhart. All rights reserved. LATE SHOW NEWS is made possible with the generous assistance of ECHO, New York City's premiere online service. http://www.echonyc.com Send news for and comments about this newsletter to aaron@tvbarn.com