A fabulous 1996 HBO film about the behind-the scenes movements getting a successor for Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show." No one comes off well. Kathy Bates best perf ever as Leno's former manager Helen Kushnick (now deceased)-pushy, foul mouthed and a real headache. Jay Leno (Daniel Roebuck) comes across as a wimp, totally dependent on Kushnick, until his job is on the line (although he does a squeeze play on NBC toward the end.) David Letterman (I think the actor's name is John Wesley Higgins) is single-mindedly obsessed with the "Tonight" show job, which he never got. A great cable flick. See the HBO original if possible, not the watered down version that Comedy Central used to run.
Letterman is played by John Michael Higgins. I must have been thinking about Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding when I wrote that.
The scene where Letterman and Leno are watching Johnny Carson's final Tonight Show at their respective homes is edited to appear that they're both watching the show simultaneously. One nitpick, though - Letterman lives in Connecticut, and Leno lives in California, with a three-hour time difference between them.
Leno is played by Daniel Roebuck, who played the Romulan dissident in Spock's cave in Unification part II(TNG) who accused the Federation of not wanting reunification to occur because they feel threatened by it.
NBC announced on 9/27/04 that Conan O'Brien would succeed Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show in 2009. A little bit early, IMHO. Ironically enough, the announcement came on the 50th anniversary of the premiere of The Tonight Show.
No doubt, NBC did this to keep O'Brien, and to avoid repeating the events depicted in The Late Shift.
I was shocked to hear that, because it's hard to envision Leno no longer being on the show, but by then, he'll have been the host for a good 17 years, and I can't wait to see what Conan does on Tonight.
Higgins is a great character actor; he's become part of Christopher Guest's rep company and is one of the gay dog owners in "Best in Show" and the kitschy, color-worshiping folk singer in "A Mighty Wind." Seinfeld fans might remember him as Elaine's balding boyfriend in one episode.
This pic was on HBO Comedy early this morning. I never tire of it.
With all the tributes to Johnny Carson after his recent death, there is a nit about the clothing Rich Little (who played Carson here) was wearing in the re-creation of Carson's Tonight Show signoff. Little is wearing a single breasted black sportcoat and tan slacks. Carson, for his final Tonight Show, wore a black double breasted sportcoat and gray slacks.
My lady friend informed me that Letterman lives in New York now, not Connecticut. Letterman did live in Connecticut at the time the events in this pic unfold; he was famous for getting speeding tickets on his way to work.
Bob Balaban, who plays NBC exec Warren Littlefield here, also played a Littlefield-type NBC executive in the Seinfeld story arc where Jerry and George are trying to sell their concept for a "show about nothing" to NBC.
This pic gets a DVD release on May 31, 2005. Finally. Hooray.
No, no hooray. Not just yet, anyway. Amazon now has no information about a DVD release for this pic; apparently HBO has pulled back. I found one site that stated there may be a DVD release on August 30, 2005. I'll keep my eyes peeled.
With all the twaddle being released on DVD, why is HBO jerking around on a DVD release for this fine film?
Finally, it's out on DVD. And, it has been since August 30, '05.
Seinfeld fans might remember him as Elaine's balding boyfriend in one episode.
Ya know, I didn't recognize him at first in that episode. It's a classic TV moment when he starts to grow his hair in and realizes that he's going bald, after years of shaving his head. George also has a classic moment there, when he tells Jerry that "fugitive sex" is better than "conjugal visit sex" with his girlfriend, who's escaped from jail.