LATE SHOW NEWS #227 December 1 and 8, 1998 by Aaron Barnhart To join or leave the LATE-SHOW-NEWS mailing list, see instructions at end of message. Yours truly had a pretty rough weekend, so this week's edition will be abbreviated while I try to 1-800-collect myself. And again, no issue for two weeks as I take my annual holiday siesta. Below is some reader mail to tide you over; also before it goes away, I highly recommend Frank Bruni's article on Margaret Ray, "For Letterman Stalker, Mental Illness Was Family Scar," that appeared in the Nov. 22 edition of the New York Times. It is a fine job of reporting. Top o' the mail comes from Gene Siskel, who during his Nov. 20 appearance on "Late Show" made a touching acknowledgment of David Letterman's kindness during Siskel's recent illness. (Letterman takes his cues from old-schooler Johnny Carson and avoids mention of his charitable acts, which by all accounts are considerable.) Gene writes, "Viewers may not have caught the name of the 'get well' gift book Dave sent me: 'How Life Imitates the World Series,' a collection of baseball essays by Washington Post basebll writer Thomas Boswell (Doubleday, 1982). I don't know if it is still in print. The copy he sent me has a clear plastic cover, suggesting a possible special order." Marilyn Sackheim writes, "I bought your book (it's great and more than worth it's price) and I read your missives each week (or when they are published) and, for the first time, I have to say that I disagree with you 100%. I'm speaking of 'The Daily Show.' It's not funny. It's not even wink-wink funny. It's abysmal. Whitney Brown and Brian Unger, the two departing 'reporters,' are both snide purveyors of the worst side of what passes for entertainment -- the side that thinks it's okay to be mean-spirited and to poke fun at real people with real concerns. "Politicians and public figures (actors and the like) set themselves up for ridicule of the Brown/Unger sort. It's the nature of their professions and of their need for publicity -- but when either Brown or Unger have a segment on that poor excuse for a program, I turn the channel. It's not cool to make fun of private citizens. It's not amusing, it's not entertaining. It's plain and simply bullying by pseudo-intellectuals driven to show us how smart they are and how dumb the people they interview must certainly be. "Craig Kilborn's departure is the best thing that could happen to 'The Daily Show.' At least he makes no bones about the fact that he is a repulsive slime bucket. Craig's smarmy mien makes for a great nerf dart game aimed at the TV. Other than that, he's the poster boy for all Uriah Heep wannabes (the Dickens character, not the band). And I find him to be singularly unattractive. Teeny head, pencil neck." Don't hold back, Marilyn! In fairness to the "TDS" reporters, however, the subjects usually agree to be interviewed and Comedy Central's is often not the first television crew to visit them. (You'd be surprised how many of those "private citizens" have their own publicists.) Lani Teshima writes, "Just wanted to let you know we picked up a copy of your 'BUTV' at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books in San Francisco. I thought you might be interested to know that it's quite possible Howard Stern has read 'BUTV.' I say this because I was listening to him this morning, and he was talking about TV shows. He recommended one, and said it was his 'pick to click.' It's such a unique term I've got to think he got it from you." Actually, I ripped off the term from Hawk Harrelson, the announcer for the Chicago White Sox, but my usage is so TV-specific that Lani may be onto something here. A. Fuente writes, "You indicated in LATE SHOW NEWS #226 that you did not know when Tom Snyder was leaving, but on the Nov. 16 show, while talking about the cost of his dental work, he quipped that he would have to do a few more shows past February 15 in order to pay for it." Mike Flynn writes, "Is there a good reason why the Max Weinberg 7 has not recorded a CD? I'd buy one. It's one terrific band." And my favorite Kansas librarian, Brig McCoy, writes, "I was home for the first time in a while Saturday and sat down to see what 'SNL's' up to this year. Imagine my surprise to see a 'Best of Steve Martin.' My first thought was to turn to CNN and find out what happened to Mr. Martin!" *** Tom Heald's THIS NIGHT IN HISTORY We 11/25: In 1993, on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," the Kiss-Ass Turkey makes his first annual appearance, laughing maniacally and sucking up to Conan during the monologue in an attempt to avoid becoming Conan's Thanksgiving dinner. Conan quickly realizes that nothing's *that* funny and eventually lets the sycophantic bird off the hook, feeling sorry for him. As the turkey leaves he shouts back at Conan: "Sucker!!" Th 11/26: In 1993, Penn and Teller perform the world largest (if not stupidest) card trick on "Late Show with David Letterman." "Pick a card any card," on a grand scale: the cards are steel, and so heavy the madmen of magic must use forklifts to shuffle them. Fr 11/27: In 1992, "The Howard Stern Interview" premieres on the E! Network. Sa 11/28: In 1962, Jon Stewart is born, briefly syndicates himself, is offered his own production deal, a guest hosting job, and returns to cable, all before the obstetrician has time to smack his bottom. Mo 11/29: In 1965, Ellen Cleghorne is born. After "Saturday Night Live," she starred in her own WB sitcom titled "Cleghorne!" and is now writing for Roseanne. Tu 11/30: In 1995, NBC airs an "obstructed view seating" shot of "the first-ever late-night lesbian kiss" courtesy of Howard Stern and his amazing lesbians. Jay Leno walks off the set having lost control of his "Tonight Show," while fellow guests Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert are left, in Ebert's words, to "swing slowly in the wind." We 12/1: In 1994, Tom Snyder makes his final colorcast on CNBC with final guest Calvert DeForest, AKA Larry "Bud" Melman, and first caller of the evening "Jerry in Tipton, Indiana" who's really Snyder's new boss, David Letterman his own self. Th 12/2: In 1983, Thousands of letters, telegrams and telephone calls are just not enough to change NBC's mind, and "NBC News Overnight" with Linda Ellerbee and Bill Schechter airs for the 367th and final time with closing credits set to Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things." Fr 12/3: In 1996, Chris Rock releases his HBO concert "Bring The Pain" on home video. Sa 12/4: In 1996, Tiny Tim, a.k.a. Herbert Khaury, is buried in Minneapolis. The AP reports that the falsetto-voiced crooner rested in his open coffin "with a ukulele on his chest and six mauve tulips beside him." Sa 12/5: In 1974, "Here's Johnny; Magic Moments From The Tonight Show" album by the always-popular Various Artists is certified as a Gold album. Mo 12/6: In 1980, "Saturday Night Live's" Joe Piscopo offers viewers the chance to "yuk it up like the king of second bananas at the Ed McMahon School of Laughing." Tu 12/7: In 1958, Edd Hall is born. While some might suggest that his gigs as graphics coordinator on the "Late Night with David Letterman" and current stint as "Tonight Show" announcer are his greatest career achievements, it could be argued his greatest moment was finally convincing NBC's "Friday Night" not to include him in their weak comedy bits. [Thanks to David Tanny and Frank Serpas. Special thanks to Donz5.] Tom Heald is slowly building the ultimate source for late night books at *** THE LINEUPS with Sue Trowbridge (http://www.interbridge.com/) LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS Mo 11/30 John Cusack, Natalie Portman, the cast of "Stomp," Bill Irwin (R 11/24/97) Tu 12/1 Kevin Costner, Tyra Banks, Nina & Nikolai's Transformation Act (R 12/15/97) We 12/2 Michael Keaton, Brian Williams, Blues Traveler (R 1/28/98) Th 12/3 Bill Murray, Alison Eastwood, Matchbox 20 (R 11/13/97) Fr 12/4 Pierce Brosnan, Lou Holtz (R 12/19/97) Mo 12/7 Patrick Stewart, Jon Stewart, Faith Hill Tu 12/8 Greg Kinnear, Jane Horrocks, Reggie McFadden We 12/9 Tom Hanks, the Brooklyn Philharmonic performing the William Tell Overture Th 12/10 Meg Ryan, Whitney Houston THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, NBC Mo 11/30 Dennis Franz, Dame Edna, performance by the cast of "Fosse" Tu 12/1 Anne Heche, San Diego Zoo's performing birds, George Foreman We 12/2 Melissa Joan Hart Th 12/3 Charlie Sheen, Judge Judy, Seal Fr 12/4 Prince Naseem Hamed, Hanson Mo 12/7 Lisa Kudrow, Oliver Platt, Kirk Franklin Tu 12/8 Cindy Crawford, Freddie Prinze Jr. LATE LATE SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER, CBS Mo 11/30 TBA Tu 12/1 TBA We 12/2 TBA Th 12/3 Tony Danza, Roger Ebert Fr 12/4 Garth Brooks LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC Mo 11/30 Yasmine Bleeth, Kevin Sorbo, Duncan Sheik (R 10/06/98) Tu 12/1 Will Ferrell, Ken Olin, Bonnie Raitt (R 9/22/98) We 12/2 Fran Drescher, D.L. Hughley, Matt Graham (R 9/29/98) Th 12/3 Gina Gershon, Dylan McDermott, Squirrel Nut Zippers (R 10/2/98) Fr 12/4 Rob Schneider, Maria Bello, Nick DiPaolo (R 9/15/98) Mo 12/7 Jeff Goldblum, Star Jones, Barenaked Ladies (R 10/8/98) Tu 12/8 Bob Dole, Annie Potts, Guster We 12/9 Jon Voight, beer specialist Michael Jackson Th 12/10 Tom Hanks, Roger Daltrey, Brian Kiley Fr 12/11 Michael Caine, Trans-Siberian Orchestra LATER, NBC Mo 11/30 Greg Kinnear interviews David Justice (R 9/22/94) Tu 12/1 Cory Miller interviews Carl Lewis (R 10/6/97) We 12/2 Peri Gilpin interviews Malcolm Gets (R 2/10/98) Th 12/3 Greg Kinnear interviews Dennis Rodman (R 2/2/95) CHARLIE ROSE, PBS Please note that Charlie Rose listings are very tentative Mo 11/30 Former Prime Minister of Russia Sergi Kiriyenko; Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Paxton Tu 12/1 Holly Hunter, author Juan Williams We 12/2 Author David Puttnam Th 12/3 TBA Fr 12/4 Dave Matthews Mo 12/7 TBA Tu 12/8 TBA We 12/9 TBA Th 12/10 Helena Bonham Carter, choreographer Judith Jamieson POLITICALLY INCORRECT WITH BILL MAHER, ABC Mo 11/30 LeVar Burton, Corbin Bernsen, Rep. Florida Joe Scarborough, Stephanie Miller Tu 12/1 Faith Ford, David Paymer, Shannon Reeves, Anne Meara We 12/2 Merrill Markoe, John Ratzenberger, Brenda Blethyn, Cal Thomas Th 12/3 Peter Boyle, Billy Bragg Fr 12/4 Art Alexakis, Mark Dornan SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, Cartoon Network Fr 12/4 Jeff Foxworthy Garrett Morris, Mark McEwen (R) Also on late nights: NIGHTLINE and WORLD NEWS NOW, ABC BET TONIGHT WITH TAVIS SMILEY, BET THE DAILY SHOW, Comedy Central HOWARD STERN, E! LOVELINE, MTV THE HOWARD STERN RADIO SHOW, CBS and syndicated UP TO THE MINUTE, CBS SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, Comedy Central (repeats) DIE HARALD SCHMIDT SHOW, SAT.1 THE CHRIS ROCK SHOW, HBO Entire contents Copyright 1998 by Aaron Barnhart. All rights reserved. If you'd like to receive LATE SHOW NEWS in handy Palm DOC format, write me (barnhart@echonyc.com) and say so. I try to post each issue by 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, Central time, to latest.html 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