[78-L] RCA Victor humour

Jeff Lichtman jeff at swazoo.com
Tue Oct 29 14:12:23 PDT 2013


Carson's was at his best when ad libbing (e.g. his reaction to Ed Ames' tomahawk throw).

Letterman has been coasting for years. When he first started on NBC, he was doing a kind of parody of a talk show. Some of his humor came from the idea that you could put anyone on TV - like Mujibur and Sirajul, two people with utterly no talent for being in front of a camera. You never knew what you'd see on his show. Now it's become very predictable, and less funny as a result.

Getting back to RCA humor:

I Like Bananas Because They Have No Bones - Willie Bryant and His Orchestra, Bluebird B-6436

I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas - Johnny Johnson and His Orchestra, Victor 22564

Swat the Love Bug - Bob Skyles and His Skyrockets, Bluebird B-7998


> Johnny Carson's humour lost some of it's effect because he seemed to want to make it clear that he was reading cue cards - obviously looking down below the camera during his routines.  David Letterman, on the other hand, often brings his cue card operator into the routine which adds to the humour.

                       -        Jeff Lichtman
                                jeff at swazoo.com
                                Check out Swazoo Koolak Photography
                                    at http://swazoo.com/ 



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