Random observation. Squirrel? I'm so old and have been a night owl for so long, possibly birth, that I am an expert on late night shows. I would lay on my side and look down our tiny trailer haul hallway and watch the overhead mirror at the end of the trailer and watch whatever was on. In the good old days there was only one late night show that was headquartered at the Ed Sullivan? Theater. The evening news was only 15 minutes long followed by the Tonight show which was only half an hour. Jack Parr was rather intellectual and dry but still interesting enough to usually keep me awake, but the Tonight show took a whole new direction with the introduction of Steve, the clarinet player who married Dorothy kilgallen and invented the famous question on a quiz show. Is it bigger or smaller than a bread box? Steve, who's the last name still eludes me, went in the direction of wild and crazy humor and became the shining star that guided the thinking of David Letterman. Dumbass management then offended David Letterman who got a boatload of moolah from CBS to come over and host the same format on CBS. Among the skits that David Letterman stole from Steve what's his name was the fake fight with a gorilla on the roof and then throwing him down on the street below, having a ton of tea bags stapled to himself and dipton hot water etc etc etc. Steve's famous call was they cry of a peacock which incidentally was the call sign for NBC. Schmock! Schmock! And now boys and girls, you are now far more informed about this subject then you'll ever need to be. You're welcome, America.
This may end up being a WIP or work in process article. Stay tuned.
Steve Allen...yeah, funny. I met him and his wife Jayne Meadows years later at an L A function and she was lovely and gorgeous. He looked good but was intense or smiled on his terms and I unfortunately pissed him off by asking about his son who had gone to live on a commune, just out of curiosity. I used to see Jayne in Gelson's market and we would speak and chat a bit and she'd speak of Stevie. Remember, they are all people just like the rest of us. Gelson's was a hotbed of movie stars shopping and being regular people.