The GirlAlive Blog

Tony Randall and Conan

January 29, 2010 on 1:11 pm | In Movies and TV and Stuff | No Comments

I recently, um, acquired, a copy of the first ever episode of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. From way back in 1993. The guests were John Goodman, Drew Barrymore, and Tony Randall. There was a part of the interview with Tony Randall that really stuck out to me after seeing a transcript of the Jay Leno and Oprah interview yesterday. I can’t show you a clip because it will be blocked by YouTube. But I have a still shot from the video and a transcript of about a 2 minute section of the show.

Conan: I feel like I’m being taken to the woodshed. The talk show woodshed. How are you enjoying the show so far? I’m bobbin, I’m weavin, I’m in there, I’m trying, huh?

T. Randall: Well, I, I, I thought the leg wrestling was clever. (applause) I just said to myself, as I’m sure everyone in America did, if I had a talk show that’s what I’d put on alright.

Conan: It amuses me. I, uh…

T. Randall: That’s all you have to do.

Conan: That’s all I have to do?

T. Randall: No, uh. That’s that’s, uh, the highest form of art. When you pander to your audience that’s no good.

Conan: Though a little pandering…

T. Randall: No, no. Not even a little. You must stick by your conscience, artistic conscience, such as it is (audience laughter) and do what amuses you.

Conan: So, the leg wrestling’s good.

T. Randall: I’d keep it in. I’d have it every night. Yeah. And then you could have every sort of variation on it.

Conan. Mmm hmm.

T. Randall: Nude leg wrestling!

Conan: Sure (pulls out a pen)

T. Randall: Write it down, yeah.

Conan: (writing) Nude, there you go. You can’t get anything past me. How do you like the set?

T. Randall: I like it, I like it…

Conan: Could be tidier though right?

T. Randall: Um, no. (audience laughter) I think any set with a picture of Joe Franklin on it (pointing to picture on wall) is really…

Conan: I believe in that. I believe in the things that I believe in.

T. Randall: You see there, you’re sticking by your guns.

Conan: I am.

T. Randall: You’re, you’re doing what you believe in and you’re bound to succeed.

Conan: You think?

T. Randall: Yeah. I know it.

Conan: Let’s all give me a big hand. (Tony and audience applause.) No! No! No! We’ll be right back. Thank you. We’ll be right back. This is not good. Thank you.

Let’s contrast that advice from Tony Randall with something Jay Leno said about his comedy style during his Oprah interview.

WINFREY: When you go back to the “The Tonight Show” do you think about rebuilding that audience and how you’re going to do that?

Mr. LENO: Very much so. Yeah, very much so. It’s on my mind every day.

WINFREY: Yes. And how will you do that?

Mr. LENO: I think you do it by doing the work. You find out what the elements are that worked on the show and you try to bring those elements to it. But it’s really the idea of servicing the audience. You know, the reason I work a lot around the road is you tell a joke, if a joke works in Boston and Oklahoma City and Des Moines, Iowa, and L.A., it will work on TV. I would never call President Bush dumb. I would always say, “You know, I like President Bush. I don’t think he understands the situation.” And then you do the zinger joke. And then I would watch other comedians go out and go, “You know, President Bush is a big jerk.” Well, now you’ve lost half the crowd just by being disrespectful and it’s a matter of that fine balance.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds a lot like pandering to me. He doesn’t care about the art and craft of comedy half as much as he cares about being popular.

On the one hand, I love all that Leno has done for my family, and especially my dad. He has given my dad experiences and gifts that no one else on earth could. But the more he opens his mouth about this whole thing, the less I can defend him.