150-475: Lyle Russel " Skitch " Henderson (January 27, 1918 – November 1, 2005) was an American pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname "Skitch" came from his ability to "re-sketch" a song in a different key. Bing Crosby suggested that he should use the name professionally. As his career developed, Henderson often claimed to have been born in Birmingham, England , also adding "Cedric" to his name. However, he
300-498: A "Weird Al" Yankovic album cut ; it was even used for the character Johnny Cage in the video game series Mortal Kombat . McMahon, who held the same role in Carson's ABC game show Who Do You Trust? for five years previously, would remain standing to the side as Carson did his monologue, laughing (sometimes obsequiously) at his jokes, then join him at the guest chair when Carson moved to his desk. The two would usually interact in
450-427: A Grammy . In his career at NBC, Henderson was conductor of the orchestras for The Today Show , Tonight Starring Steve Allen and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson . Henderson began his NBC work in 1951 and left in 1957 when Allen was replaced by Jack Paar , then returned when Carson took over and led the orchestra from 1962-1966 during Carson's early years as host and was replaced by Milton Delugg , who
600-553: A disc jockey program on WNBC in New York City. Henderson also recorded transcriptions for the Capitol Transcriptions service. In 1946, Henderson formed his own orchestra and signed a contract with Capitol Records. Among his earliest releases for Capitol was a 3-disc set titled Keyboard Sketches. His recording career spanned the period from 78s to CDs . Two albums as pianist for Arbors Records were released in
750-520: A 1975 interview, "During my days in the Navy in World War II , I remember walking the streets of Calcutta, India, on the coast; it was a lonely night, so far from my home and from my new wife, Gen. I needed something to lift my spirits. As I passed a Hindu sitting on the corner of a street, I heard something surprisingly familiar. I came back to see the man playing one of those old Vitrolas, like those of RCA with
900-691: A Change in Me for the 1948 movie On Our Merry Way . In 1997, Henderson was honored for the vital role he played in the cultural life of New York City by being awarded the Handel Medallion , presented by the City of New York , New York . On January 29, 2005, Henderson was awarded the Smithsonian Institution 's highest honor, the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal. An exhibit highlighting
1050-502: A Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. A copy of the recording from the radio program is owned by the estate of Bing Crosby and was loaned to CBS Sunday Morning for their December 25, 2011, program. The song appeared in his films Holiday Inn (1942), and—a decade later—in White Christmas (1954). Crosby's record hit the charts on October 3, 1942, and rose to number 1 on October 31, where it stayed for 11 weeks. A holiday perennial,
1200-509: A Five and Ten Cent Store) " were among the best-selling songs of 1931. Ten of the top 50 songs of 1931 included Crosby with others or as a solo act. A "Battle of the Baritones" with singer Russ Columbo proved short-lived, replaced with the slogan "Bing Was King". Crosby played the lead in a series of musical comedy short films for Mack Sennett, signed with Paramount, and starred in his first full-length film, 1932's The Big Broadcast (1932),
1350-797: A Hot Time in the Town of Berlin (When the Yanks Go Marching In)", and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby?)" which helped the morale of the American public. In 1962, Crosby was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . He has been inducted into the halls of fame for both radio and popular music. In 2007, Crosby was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame and in 2008 the Western Music Hall of Fame. Crosby's popularity around
1500-463: A bad situation. Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Phil Harris, and also Crosby were masters at this, and the networks weren't about to give it up easily. Crosby's insistence eventually factored into the further development of magnetic tape sound recording and the radio industry's widespread adoption of it. He used his clout, both professionally and financially, for innovations in audio. But NBC and CBS refused to broadcast prerecorded radio programs. Crosby left
1650-583: A bookkeeper, and Catherine Helen "Kate" (née Harrigan; 1873–1964). His mother was a second-generation Irish-American . His father was of Scottish and English descent; an ancestor, Simon Crosby, emigrated from the Kingdom of England to New England in the 1630s during the Puritan migration to New England . Through another line, also on his father's side, Crosby is descended from Mayflower passenger William Brewster ( c. 1567 – 1644). In 1917, Crosby took
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#17328521548801800-428: A card that says, 'Go to commercial.' So Carson goes to a commercial and the whole team rushes up to his desk to discuss what had gone wrong, like a pit stop at Le Mans ." Actor Robert Blake once compared being interviewed by Carson to "facing the death squad" or "Broadway on opening night." The publicity value of appearing on The Tonight Show was so great, however, that most guests were willing to subject themselves to
1950-676: A chance to present an independent act, they were spotted by a member of the Paul Whiteman organization. Whiteman needed something different to break up his musical selections, and Crosby and Rinker filled this requirement. After less than a year in show business, they were attached to one of the biggest names. Hired for $ 150 a week in 1926, they debuted with Whiteman on December 6 at the Tivoli Theatre in Chicago. Their first recording, in October 1926,
2100-526: A clear vocal style. Crosby credited Kapp for choosing hit songs, working with many other musicians, and most important, diversifying his repertoire into several styles and genres. Kapp helped Crosby have number one hits in Christmas music , Hawaiian music , and country music , and top-30 hits in Irish music , French music , rhythm and blues , and ballads . Crosby elaborated on an idea of Al Jolson's: phrasing, or
2250-517: A comic spot for a short while before the first guest was introduced. McMahon stated in a 1978 profile of Carson in The New Yorker that "the 'Tonight Show' is my staple diet, my meat and potatoes—I'm realistic enough to know that everything else stems from that." After a 1965 incident in which he ruined Carson's joke on the air, McMahon was careful to, as he said, "never to go where [Carson]'s going." He wrote in his 1998 autobiography: My role on
2400-479: A contract with Paramount, and he began a pattern of making three films a year. Crosby led his radio show for Woodbury Soap for two seasons while his live appearances dwindled. Crosby's records produced hits during the Depression when sales were down. Audio engineer Steve Hoffman stated, "By the way, Bing actually saved the record business in 1934 when he agreed to support Decca founder Jack Kapp's crazy idea of lowering
2550-433: A degree. As a freshman, Crosby played on the university's baseball team. The university granted him an honorary doctorate in 1937. Gonzaga University houses a large collection of photographs, correspondence, and other material related to Crosby. On November 8, 1937, after Lux Radio Theatre 's adaptation of She Loves Me Not , Joan Blondell asked Crosby how he got his nickname: Crosby: "Well, I'll tell you, back in
2700-524: A demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel tape recorder brought to the United States by John T. Mullin , Crosby invested $ 50,000 in the California electronics company Ampex to build copies. He then persuaded ABC to allow him to tape his shows and became the first performer to prerecord his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape . Crosby has been associated with
2850-778: A fortune from the Minute Maid Orange Juice Corporation, in which he was a principal stockholder. During the Golden Age of Radio , performers had to create their shows live, sometimes even redoing the program a second time for the West Coast time zone. Crosby had to do two live radio shows on the same day, three hours apart, for the East and West Coasts. Crosby's radio career took a significant turn in 1945, when he clashed with NBC over his insistence that he be allowed to pre-record his radio shows. The live production of radio shows
3000-409: A free agent since April of that year because his most recent contract had been signed in 1972. Carson cited a California law barring certain contracts from lasting more than seven years . NBC claimed that it had signed three agreements since then and Carson was bound to the network until April 1981. While the case was settled out of court, the friction between Carson and the network remained and Carson
3150-655: A guest appearance by Tallulah Bankhead (one of her last), was preserved on poor-quality home kinescope and audiotape in separate recordings by Beatles fans. Similarly, the Supremes ' May 22, 1967 appearance survives on poor-quality kinescope and an audio recording of their April 5, 1968 appearance honoring the recently slain Martin Luther King Jr. was preserved. The program archive is virtually complete from 1973 to 1992. Carson Productions has also made clips available on YouTube and Antenna TV . Although no footage
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#17328521548803300-465: A jazz singer, he was not strictly only a jazz singer as he modeled the style and techniques to a broad scope of music that he performed, ranging from Jazz to Country to even such material as operetta arias. During the early portion of his solo career (about 1931–1934), Crosby's emotional, often pleading style of crooning was popular. But Jack Kapp, manager of Brunswick and later Decca, talked Crosby into dropping many of his jazzier mannerisms in favor of
3450-430: A kind of symbol of America, of the amiable, humorous citizen of a free land. Crosby, however, seldom bothers to contemplate his future. For one thing, he enjoys hearing himself sing, and if ever a day should dawn when the public wearies of him, he will complacently go right on singing—to himself." The biggest hit song of Crosby's career was his recording of Irving Berlin 's " White Christmas ", which Crosby introduced on
3600-568: A member of MGM's music department, he worked with Garland to learn " Over the Rainbow " during rehearsals for The Wizard of Oz and played piano for her first public performance of the song at a local nightclub before the film was finished. However this account is at odds with the memoirs of the tune's composer, Harold Arlen , who said he first performed the song for the 17-year-old Garland. Blue Network Varieties , which began May 20, 1940, on NBC 's Pacific Blue network, featured Henderson in charge of
3750-433: A minimum-security Federal prison on April 9, 1975, and was released after four months, on August 4, 1975. Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American actor, singer, television producer, television and radio personality, and businessman. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. Crosby
3900-525: A note following the accidental death of Carson's son Ricky in June 1991. On February 17, 2014, Rivers returned to the Tonight Show as part of a skit in which numerous celebrities paid new host, Jimmy Fallon , after having lost the bet that he would never become the host of the program. Rivers appeared for a full-length interview segment on March 27, 2014. The program of July 26, 1984, with guest host Joan Rivers,
4050-431: A number of television series, including Crosby's own unsuccessful ABC sitcom The Bing Crosby Show in the 1964–1965 season (with co-stars Beverly Garland and Frank McHugh ). The company produced two ABC medical dramas, Ben Casey (1961–1966) and Breaking Point (1963–1964), the popular Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971) military comedy on CBS, as well as the lesser-known show Slattery's People (1964–1965). Crosby
4200-664: A partnership that produced four million-selling singles: " Pistol Packin' Mama ", " Jingle Bells ", " Don't Fence Me In ", and "South America, Take It Away". They made one film appearance together in Road to Rio singing "You Don't Have to Know the Language", and sang together on radio airwaves throughout the 1940s and 1950s. They appeared as guests on each other's shows and on Armed Forces Radio Service programming during and after World War II. The quartet's additional Top-10 Billboard hits from 1943 to 1945 include "The Vict'ry Polka", "There'll Be
4350-554: A performer and was in demand as a solo singer. Crosby became the star attraction of the Rhythm Boys. In 1928, he had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of " Ol' Man River ". In 1929, the Rhythm Boys appeared in the film King of Jazz with Whiteman, but Crosby's growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman led to the Rhythm Boys leaving his organization. They joined the Gus Arnheim Orchestra, performing nightly in
4500-412: A show. In contrast to the avuncular mien ( Merv Griffin , Mike Douglas ) and loquacious erudition ( Dick Cavett ) evinced by his contemporaries, Carson was a comparatively "cool" host who only laughed when genuinely amused; additionally, it was not uncommon for him to abruptly cut short monotonous or embarrassingly inept interviewees. Mort Sahl recalled, "The producer crouches just off camera and holds up
4650-403: A summer job as property boy at Spokane's Auditorium, where he witnessed some of the acts of the day, including Al Jolson , who held Crosby spellbound with ad-libbing and parodies of Hawaiian songs . Crosby later described Jolson's delivery as "electric". Crosby graduated from Gonzaga High School in 1920 and enrolled at Gonzaga University. He attended Gonzaga for three years but did not earn
Skitch Henderson - Misplaced Pages Continue
4800-461: A threat of divorce in March 1931, he applied himself to his career. On September 2, 1931, 15 Minutes with Bing Crosby , his nationwide solo radio debut, began broadcasting. The weekly broadcast made Crosby a hit. Before the end of the year, he signed with both Brunswick Records and CBS Radio . " Out of Nowhere ", "Just One More Chance", " At Your Command ", and " I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in
4950-439: A week 37 weeks a year (a guest host would appear Monday nights and for most of Carson's 15 weeks of vacation and "Best of Carson" reruns would air Tuesdays) and also give him ownership of the show, as well as its back catalog, and of the time slot following the Tonight Show which became Late Night with David Letterman produced by Carson Productions. In September 1980, Carson's eponymous production company gained ownership of
5100-430: A week, 37 weeks a year. "Best of Carson" reruns aired on Tuesdays in the weeks that Carson was hosting new shows. Monday night shows and shows for most of the 15 weeks that Carson had off were hosted by guest hosts. Due to the frequent need for substitutes, starting in 1983 permanent guest hosts were hired in order to give the program more stability. The permanent guest hosts were Joan Rivers (1983–1986), then, after about
5250-426: A week, if he chose, and then take a month off. But the networks and sponsors were adamantly opposed. The public wouldn't stand for 'canned' radio, the networks argued. There was something magical for listeners in the fact that what they were hearing was being performed and heard live everywhere, at that precise instant. Some of the best moments in comedy came when a line was blown and the star had to rely on wit to rescue
5400-417: A year where a wide range of guest hosts were used, Garry Shandling alternating with Jay Leno (1987–1988). Shandling, who guest-hosted 37 times, left to focus on his Showtime series It's Garry Shandling's Show . This left Leno alone as the sole permanent guest host from August 1988 on. Leno first guest hosted in 1986, and would do so 333 times before becoming the next Tonight Show host in 1992. Though
5550-511: Is "White Christmas" 2,000,000 impressions of which have been sold in the U.S. and 250,000 in Great Britain." "Nine out of ten singers and bandleaders listen to Crosby's broadcasts each Thursday night and follow his lead. The day after he sings a song over the air—any song—some 50,000 copies of it are sold throughout the U.S. Time and again Crosby has taken some new or unknown ballad, has given it what
5700-747: Is a list of those who guest-hosted at least 50 times: Impressionist Rich Little guest hosted 12 times during the 1970s. Sammy Davis Jr. guest hosted on November 23, 1964, becoming the first African-American to host a talk show, and then guest hosted for a week in August 1966. Harry Belafonte guest hosted for a week in February 1968, and among Belafonte's guests were Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. , just months before both men were assassinated ( King in April ; Kennedy in June ). On April 2, 1979, Kermit
5850-408: Is a long time." He paused long enough for me to recognize my cue, so I asked, "How long is it?" "That's why you're here," he said, probably summing up my primary role on the show perfectly... I had to support him, I had to help him get to the punch line , but while doing it I had to make it look as if I wasn't doing anything at all. The better I did it, the less it appeared as if I was doing it....If I
6000-966: Is distributed through various free over-the-top platforms , including Stirr , Xumo and Pluto TV . Recently, The Roku Channel began streaming JohnnyCarsonTV on its multi-channel platform LiveTV. Jack Paar had often asked Carson to guest-host Tonight in its earliest years and repeatedly claimed he had been responsible for NBC's selection of Carson in 1962 as his replacement. Steve Allen also utilized guest hosts, including Carson and Ernie Kovacs , particularly after he began hosting The Steve Allen Show in prime time in 1956 and needed to reduce his workload on Tonight . The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson had guest hosts for entire weeks during Carson's vacations and other nights he had off. Many guest hosts were already large names in their own right, among them Frank Sinatra , Burt Reynolds , Don Rickles , Tony Danza , and Steve Martin . Comedian Woody Allen guest hosted three times between 1966 and 1971. The following
6150-458: Is enough. It's time to get out while you're still working on top of your game, while you're still working well." Carson hosted his penultimate show, featuring guests Robin Williams and Bette Midler , on May 21, 1992. The last of Carson's monologues was delivered on this episode and was written by Jim Mulholland, Steven Kunes and Rift Fournier. Once underway, the atmosphere was electric and Carson
Skitch Henderson - Misplaced Pages Continue
6300-635: Is known in trade circles as the 'big goose' and made it a hit single-handed and overnight... Precisely what the future holds for Crosby neither his family nor his friends can conjecture. He has achieved greater popularity, made more money, attracted vaster audiences than any other entertainer in history. And his star is still in the ascendant. His contract with Decca runs until 1955. His contract with Paramount runs until 1954. Records which he made ten years ago are selling better than ever before. The nation's appetite for Crosby's voice and personality appears insatiable. To soldiers overseas and to foreigners he has become
6450-416: Is known to remain of Carson's first broadcast as host of The Tonight Show on October 1, 1962, photographs taken that night survive, including Carson being introduced by Groucho Marx , as does an audio recording of Marx's introduction and Carson's first monologue . One of his first jokes upon starting the show (after receiving a few words of encouragement from Marx, one of which was, "Don't go to Hollywood!")
6600-449: Is lower than most opera basses care to venture, and they tend to sound as if they were in the cellar when they get there. Crosby's was among the most popular and successful musical acts of the 20th century. Billboard magazine used different methodologies during his career, but his chart success remains impressive: 396 chart singles, including roughly 41 number 1 hits. Crosby had separate charting singles every year between 1931 and 1954;
6750-521: The Christmas season since he starred in Irving Berlin 's musical film Holiday Inn and also famously sang " White Christmas " in the movie. Through audio recordings, Crosby produced his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting ) used in motion picture production, a practice that became the industry standard. In addition to his work with early audio tape recording, Crosby helped finance
6900-757: The Coconut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel. Singing with the Arnheim Orchestra, Crosby's solos began to steal the show while the Rhythm Boys' act gradually became redundant. Harry Barris wrote several of Crosby's hits, including "At Your Command", " I Surrender Dear ", and " Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams ". When Mack Sennett signed Crosby to a solo film contract in 1931, a break with the Rhythm Boys became almost inevitable. Crosby married Dixie Lee in September 1930. After
7050-630: The Library of Congress in the Armed Forces Radio collection. Many 1970s-era episodes have been licensed to distributors that advertise mail-order offers on late-night TV. The later shows that exist in full were stored by Carson in a bomb-proof underground salt mine outside Hutchinson, Kansas . The non-tape archives pertaining to Carson's show are held by the Elkhorn Valley Museum in Carson's hometown of Norfolk, Nebraska . Beginning in 2020,
7200-531: The NBC Symphony Orchestra . Henderson would later recount learning the ropes by playing in taverns with popular singers of the day. After starting his professional career in the 1930s playing piano in the roadhouses of the American Midwest, Henderson's major break came when he was an accompanist on a 1937 MGM promotional tour featuring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney . Henderson later said that as
7350-441: The Tonight Show by a half-hour—would begin preempting the program entirely and replace it with syndicated reruns to generate extra revenue from local advertising. In an onscreen eulogy to Carson in 2005, David Letterman said that every talk show host owes his livelihood to Johnny Carson during his Tonight Show run. In 1979, when Fred Silverman was the head of NBC, Carson took the network to court, claiming that he had been
7500-471: The Tonight Show specifically to disprove the Israeli performer's claims. Randi later wrote, "that Johnny had been a magician himself", so prior to the date of taping, Randi was asked "to help prevent any trickery." Per Randi's advice, the show prepared their own props without informing Geller, and did not let Geller or his staff "anywhere near them." When Geller joined Carson on stage, he appeared surprised that he
7650-427: The Tonight Show. These spoofs typically ran in the sitcom's usual spot on the broadcast schedule and featured one of the sitcom's main characters as the guest host. In September 1983, Joan Rivers was designated Carson's permanent guest host, a role she had been essentially filling for the previous year. In 1986, after years as a guest and 190 total appearances as guest host, she left the program for her own show on
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#17328521548807800-556: The next 12 months. After May 1973, however, the show remained in Burbank exclusively until Carson's retirement. The show's house band , the NBC Orchestra , was led by Skitch Henderson , until 1966 when Milton Delugg took over, who was succeeded by Doc Severinsen less than a year later. The series has been ranked as one of the greatest TV shows of all time in polls from both 2002 and 2013. Johnny Carson's Tonight Show established
7950-610: The " belting " associated with Al Jolson and Billy Murray , who had been obligated to reach the back seats in New York theaters without the aid of a microphone. As music critic Henry Pleasants noted in The Great American Popular Singers , something new had entered American music, a style that might be called "singing in American" with conversational ease. This new sound led to the popular epithet crooner . Crosby admired Louis Armstrong for his musical ability, and
8100-767: The 1930s, Crosby starred with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in six of the seven Road to musical comedies between 1940 and 1962 (Lamour was replaced with Joan Collins in The Road to Hong Kong and limited to a lengthy cameo), cementing Crosby and Hope as an on-and-off duo, despite never declaring themselves a "team" in the sense that Laurel and Hardy or Martin and Lewis ( Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ) were teams. The series consists of Road to Singapore (1940), Road to Zanzibar (1941), Road to Morocco (1942), Road to Utopia (1946), Road to Rio (1947), Road to Bali (1952), and The Road to Hong Kong (1962). When they appeared solo, Crosby and Hope frequently made note of
8250-686: The BBC Dance Band included in the Skitch Henderson Collection at the Mills Music Library. Henderson was known for his unique laugh on the Carson show. In addition to Ed McMahon 's famously hearty laugh, Henderson could also occasionally be heard laughing his distinctive "Hoo-hoo-hoo!" Henderson married movie actress and television personality Faye Emerson in 1950. They were divorced seven years later. He then married Ruth Einsiedel in 1958 and raised two children, Hans and Heidi. Hans
8400-873: The Clemmer Theatre in Spokane (now known as the Bing Crosby Theater ). Crosby was initially a member of a vocal trio called The Three Harmony Aces with Al Rinker accompanying on piano from the pit, to entertain between the films. Crosby and Al continued at the Clemmer Theatre for several months, often with three other men—Wee Georgie Crittenden, Frank McBride, and Lloyd Grinnell—and they were billed The Clemmer Trio or The Clemmer Entertainers depending who performed. In October 1925, Crosby and Rinker decided to seek fame in California. They traveled to Los Angeles, where Bailey introduced them to her show business contacts. The Fanchon and Marco Time Agency hired them for 13 weeks for
8550-580: The Frog was guest host. In addition, many other Muppets appeared for skits and regular segments: Frank Oz voiced Fozzie Bear and Animal, while Jerry Nelson performed Uncle Deadly, a Vincent Price –inspired Muppet during a segment with the real Price. Richard Dawson guest hosted 14 times during 1979 and 1980, and was being considered as a full-time replacement should Carson have retired during his 1980 contract dispute with NBC. Carson's contract, that took effect in 1981, reduced his work schedule to three nights
8700-510: The Guinness Book, as it is not an organization that counts or audits artists' sales in the United States or worldwide. According to different sources, Bing Crosby's sales number varies between: 300 million, 500 million, or even 1 billion, making him one of the best-selling singers in history. The single "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies according to Guinness World Records . For 15 years (1934, 1937, 1940, 1943–1954), Crosby
8850-679: The Tonight Show writing staff from 1970 to 1975. If the laughter fell short when a line bombed (as it often did), "Carnac" would face the audience with mock seriousness and bestow a comic curse: "May a diseased yak befriend your sister!" or "May a rabid holy man bless your nether regions with a power tool!" Some bits are desk pieces, others are stand-ups , however the multiperson sketches are collectively referred to as by The Mighty Carson Art Players , with sketch series that include Tea Time Movie with Art Fern , and Home Shopping Network(?) with Sheila McShallow . Jack Paar 's last appearance
9000-429: The addition of pianist and aspiring songwriter Harry Barris made the difference, and The Rhythm Boys were born. The additional voice meant they could be heard more easily in large New York theaters. Crosby gained valuable experience on tour for a year with Whiteman and performing and recording with Bix Beiderbecke , Jack Teagarden , Tommy Dorsey , Jimmy Dorsey , Eddie Lang , and Hoagy Carmichael . Crosby matured as
9150-447: The annual re-release of "White Christmas" extended that streak to 1957. He had 24 separate popular singles in 1939 alone. Statistician Joel Whitburn at Billboard determined that Crosby was America's most successful recording act of the 1930s and again in the 1940s. The number of Bing Crosby record sales varies. Organizations that audit record sales do not have an official tally, but some claim sales are notable, namely: In 1960, Crosby
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#17328521548809300-455: The art of making a song's lyric ring true. "I used to tell Sinatra over and over," said Tommy Dorsey, "there's only one singer you ought to listen to and his name is Crosby. All that matters to him is the words, and that's the only thing that ought to for you, too." Critic Henry Pleasants wrote in 1985: [While] the octave B flat to B flat in Bing's voice at that time [1930s] is, to my ears, one of
9450-493: The band played a slightly truncated version of the theme that transitioned from the bridge to the closing phrase without reprising the first few notes of the main melody. The NBC Orchestra was the last in-house studio orchestra to perform on American television. Behind the scenes, motion picture director/producer Fred de Cordova joined The Tonight Show in 1970 as producer, graduating to executive producer in 1984. Unlike many people of his position, de Cordova often appeared on
9600-534: The book Million Selling Records . The Recording Industry Association of America did not institute its gold record certification program until 1958 when Crosby's record sales were low. Before 1958, gold records were awarded by record companies. Crosby charted 23 Billboard hits from 47 recorded songs with the Andrews Sisters , whose Decca record sales were second only to Crosby's throughout the 1940s. They were his most frequent collaborators on disc from 1939 to 1952,
9750-518: The close of World War II, Crosby topped the list as the person who had done the most for G.I. morale, ahead of President Franklin D. Roosevelt , General Dwight Eisenhower , and Bob Hope . The June 18, 1945, issue of Life magazine stated, "America's number one star, Bing Crosby, has won more fans, made more money than any entertainer in history. Today he is a kind of national institution." "In all, 60,000,000 Crosby discs have been marketed since he made his first record in 1931. His biggest best seller
9900-406: The concept of using "permanent" guest hosts was fairly strictly adhered to, occasionally illness or some other situation necessitated a substitute guest host, as when David Brenner filled in for Joan Rivers on October 31 and November 1, 1985, when Rivers' husband was briefly hospitalized. During the show's run, its cast and crew collaborated with a number of NBC sitcoms to produce spoof episodes of
10050-464: The creation of a living museum. Henderson died of natural causes on November 1, 2005, at age 87. Henderson was indicted on July 2, 1974, on charges of tax evasion for the years 1969 and 1970, concerning claims about the value (allegedly $ 350,000) of a music library he donated to the University of Wisconsin–Madison . He further claimed he had consulted with Leonard Bernstein and Henry Mancini about
10200-572: The development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, during which time the team won two World Series ( 1960 and 1971 ). Crosby was born on May 3, 1903, in Tacoma , Washington, in a house his father built at 1112 North J Street. Three years later, his family moved to Spokane in Eastern Washington state , where Crosby
10350-566: The early 1970s, but then thrown out to free storage space after the show moved to Burbank, California . When Carson later learned of their destruction, he was furious. Other surviving material from the era has been found on kinescopes held in the archives of the Armed Forces Radio and Television Service , or in the personal collections of guests of the program, while a few moments such as Tiny Tim 's wedding, were preserved. New York meteorologist Dr. Frank Field , an occasional guest during
10500-513: The early 21st century, Swinging With Strings (2001) and Legends, with Bucky Pizzarelli (2003). Henderson also served as conductor of The New York Pops with Maureen McGovern on With a Song in My Heart: The Great Songs of Richard Rodgers for Reader's Digest and Centaur Records. Henderson conducted a 1963 recording for RCA Victor of George Gershwin 's Porgy and Bess with Leontyne Price and William Warfield , which won
10650-565: The film High Society (1956). In Crosby's performances, the presence of jazz phrasing, jazz rhythm and jazz improvisation varied depending on the piece of music, but those were elements that Crosby frequently used. This can be observed particularly in his straight jazz work during the late 1920s/early 1930s, Crosby's recordings with Buddy Cole and His Trio from the mid-1950s, as well as in his numerous collaborations with such jazz musicians as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Venuti, or Eddie Lang. However, while Crosby can be called
10800-471: The first Grammy Global Achievement Award . Crosby is one of 33 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , in the categories of motion pictures, radio, and audio recording. He was also known for his collaborations with his friend Bob Hope , starring in the Road to ... films from 1940 to 1962. Crosby influenced the development of the post–World War II recording industry . After seeing
10950-514: The first fifteen minutes of the show between February 1965 and December 1966 without Carson, who then took over at 11:30. Finally, because he wanted the show to start when he came on, at the beginning of January 1967 Carson insisted the 11:15 segment be eliminated (which, he claimed in a monologue at the time, "no one actually watched except the Armed Forces and four Navajos in Gallup, New Mexico "). By
11100-465: The first line, Carson joined in and turned it into an impromptu duet. Midler finished her appearance from center stage, where she slowly sang the pop standard " One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) ." Carson became unexpectedly tearful, and a shot of the two of them was captured by a camera angle from across the set that had never before been used on the show. The audience became tearful as well and called
11250-490: The first of 55 films in which he received top billing. Crosby would appear in almost 80 pictures. He signed a contract with Jack Kapp 's new record company, Decca , in late 1934. Crosby's first commercial sponsor on radio was Cremo Cigars and his fame spread nationwide. After a long run in New York, Crosby went back to Hollywood to film The Big Broadcast . His appearances, records, and radio work substantially increased his impact. The success of his first film brought Crosby
11400-552: The flight or to meet Armstrong's "crude, mob-linked but devoted manager, Joe Glaser ". Crosby threatened to leave the film and refused to discuss the matter. Cohn gave in; Armstrong's musical scenes and comic dialogue extended his influence to the silver screen, creating more opportunities for him and other African Americans to appear in future films. Crosby also ensured behind the scenes that Armstrong received equal billing with his white co-stars. Armstrong appreciated Crosby's progressive attitudes on race, and often expressed gratitude for
11550-427: The genre to a wider audience. In the framework of the novelty-singing style of the Rhythm Boys , Crosby bent notes and added off-tune phrasing, an approach that was rooted in jazz. He had already been introduced to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith before his first appearance on record. Crosby and Armstrong remained warm acquaintances for decades, occasionally singing together in later years, e.g. "Now You Has Jazz" in
11700-447: The horn speaker. The man was listening to Bing Crosby sing, "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive". I stopped and smiled in grateful acknowledgment. The Hindu nodded and smiled back. The whole world knew and loved Bing Crosby." His popularity in India led many Hindu singers to imitate and emulate him, notably Kishore Kumar, considered the "Bing Crosby of India". Throughout Europe and Russia, Crosby
11850-788: The knee-britches day, when I was a wee little tyke, a mere broth of a lad, as we say in Spokane, I used to totter around the streets, with a gun on each hip, my favorite after school pastime was a game known as " Cops and Robbers ", I didn't care which side I was on, when a cop or robber came into view, I would haul out my trusty six-shooters, made of wood, and loudly exclaim bing ! bing !, as my luckless victim fell clutching his side, I would shout bing ! bing !, and I would let him have it again, and then as his friends came to his rescue, shooting as they came, I would shout bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing !" Blondell: "I'm surprised they didn't call you "Killer" Crosby! Now tell me another story, Grandpa! Crosby: "No, so help me, it's
12000-443: The latter, retiring altogether. In order to work fewer days each week, Carson began to petition network executives in 1974 that reruns on the weekends be discontinued, in favor of showing them on one or more nights during the week. In response to his demands, NBC created a new comedy/variety series to feed to affiliates on Saturday nights that debuted in October 1975, Saturday Night Live . In 1980, Carson renewed his contract with
12150-648: The local paper called The Bingville Bugle which the young Harry liked. In time, Bingo got shortened to Bing. In 1923, Crosby was invited to join a new band composed of high-school students a few years younger than himself. Al and Miles Rinker (brothers of singer Mildred Bailey ), James Heaton, Claire Pritchard and Robert Pritchard, along with drummer Crosby, formed the Musicaladers, who performed at dances both for high school students and club-goers. The group performed on Spokane radio station KHQ , but disbanded after two years. Crosby and Al Rinker obtained work at
12300-416: The loveliest I have heard in forty-five years of listening to baritones, both classical and popular, it dropped conspicuously in later years. From the mid-1950s, Bing was more comfortable in a bass range while maintaining a baritone quality, with the best octave being G to G, or even F to F. In a recording he made of ' Dardanella ' with Louis Armstrong in 1960, he attacks lightly and easily on a low E flat. This
12450-403: The mid-1970s Tonight was the most profitable show on television, making NBC $ 50 to $ 60 million ($ 230 to $ 280 million in 2023) each year. Carson influenced the scheduling of reruns (which typically aired under the title The Best of Carson ) in the mid-1970s and, in 1980, the length of each evening's broadcast, by threatening NBC with, in the first case, moving to another network, and in
12600-451: The mid-2000s. In 2014, Turner Classic Movies would begin rerunning select interviews from the program for a new series called "Carson on TCM" presented by Conan O'Brien , who himself hosted The Tonight Show briefly. The digital multicast network Antenna TV acquired rerun rights to whole episodes of the series in August 2015. Unlike the previous clip shows , Antenna TV's airings feature full broadcasts as they were originally seen, with
12750-557: The modern format of the late-night talk show: a monologue sprinkled with a rapid-fire series of 16 to 22 one-liners (Carson had a rule of no more than three on the same subject) was sometimes followed by sketch comedy , then moving on to guest interviews and performances by musicians and stand-up comedians , in no fixed order. Occasionally, Carson interviewed prominent politicians such as Richard Nixon , Ronald Reagan , Bill Clinton , Robert F. Kennedy , and Hubert Humphrey , however Carson refused to discuss his personal political views on
12900-492: The monologue, the other that listed the guests and re-announced the host, starting at 11:30 p.m. The two openings gave affiliates the option of screening either a fifteen-minute or thirty-minute local newscast preceding Carson. Since 1959, the show had been videotaped earlier the same broadcast day. As more affiliates introduced thirty minutes of local news, Carson's monologue was being seen by fewer people. To rectify this situation, Ed McMahon and Skitch Henderson co-hosted
13050-551: The much younger Joan Collins and Peter Sellers . Collins was used in place of their longtime partner Dorothy Lamour, whom Crosby felt was getting too old for the role, though Hope refused to do the film without her, and she instead made a lengthy and elaborate cameo appearance. Shortly before his death in 1977, Crosby had planned another Road film in which he, Hope, and Lamour search for the Fountain of Youth. Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way in 1944 and
13200-548: The museum began working with the National Comedy Center to preserve the archive. A large amount of material from Carson's first two decades of The Tonight Show (1962–1982), much of it not seen since it had first aired, appeared in a half hour "clip/compilation" syndicated program known as Carson's Comedy Classics that aired in 1983. Audio clips from the show were featured nightly on WHO-AM in Des Moines, Iowa , in
13350-560: The music, leading "a novelty instrumental group." After the war, Henderson worked for NBC Radio Network , where he was the musical director for Frank Sinatra 's Light-Up Time . He was also accompanist on Philco Radio Time with Bing Crosby on the new ABC network. Henderson also played on Bob Hope 's Pepsodent Show . In 1946, Henderson and the Golden Gate Quartet headlined a 13-week summer replacement program on NBC, sponsored by Old Gold cigarettes . In 1950, Henderson had
13500-549: The musician's career and showcasing the medal, "Skitch Henderson: A Man and His Music," was on display at the Smithsonian from January 30, 2005, to March 13, 2005. Henderson was the recipient of three honorary degrees – from St. Thomas Aquinas College , the University of South Florida , and Western Connecticut State University . The Retro Swing Band at the University of Wisconsin plays arrangements from The Tonight Show and
13650-663: The name Tomorrow Coast to Coast . This was short-lived as a year and a half later, Snyder had quit and Tomorrow Coast to Coast had been canceled. Carson was given authority to fill the vacant time slot and used it to create Late Night with David Letterman (1982–1993). Today, The Tonight Show remains one hour in length and is still followed by Late Night , currently under the title Late Night with Seth Meyers (2014–). In May 1991, following positive viewer reception during tests in St. Louis ( KSDK ) and Dallas – Fort Worth ( KXAS ), NBC reached an agreement with Carson Productions to delay
13800-494: The narration and song vocals for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow segment. In 1960, he starred in High Time , a collegiate comedy with Fabian Forte and Tuesday Weld that predicted the emerging gap between Crosby and the new younger generation of musicians and actors who had begun their careers after World War II. The following year, Crosby and Hope reunited for one more Road movie, The Road to Hong Kong , which teamed them up with
13950-544: The network and remained off the air for seven months, creating a legal battle with his sponsor Kraft that was settled out of court. Crosby returned to broadcasting for the last 13 weeks of the 1945–1946 season. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC . The show is the third installment of The Tonight Show . Hosted by Johnny Carson , it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing Tonight Starring Jack Paar and
14100-569: The only edits being removal of The Tonight Show name, with the show being renamed simply as Johnny Carson (as of January 2018, the broadcasts air opposite the current edition of The Tonight Show in much of the United States, and NBC still owns the trademark on that name), and with bumpers, walk-on music and the closing theme being replaced by generic music cues from the Warner/Chappell Production Music library. Most musical guest segments are also removed. Antenna TV began airing
14250-472: The original 1942 master had become damaged due to its frequent use in pressing additional singles. In 1977, after Crosby died, the song was re-released and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. Crosby was dismissive of his role in the song's success, saying "a jackdaw with a cleft palate could have sung it successfully". In the wake of a solid decade of headlining mainly smash hit musical comedy films in
14400-419: The other in a comically insulting fashion. They performed together countless times on stage, radio, film, and television, and made numerous brief and not so brief appearances together in movies aside from the "Road" pictures, Variety Girl (1947) being an example of lengthy scenes and songs together along with billing. In the 1949 Disney animated film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad , Crosby provided
14550-458: The price of singles from a dollar to 35 cents and getting a royalty for records sold instead of a flat fee. Bing's name and his artistry saved the recording industry. All the other artists signed to Decca after Bing did. Without him, Jack Kapp wouldn't have had a chance in hell of making Decca work and the Great Depression would have wiped out phonograph records for good." His first son Gary
14700-401: The remainder of the staff handled; Brickman remarked in a 2009 interview that this was the main reason why he, at 25, got his position without any major experience, since all of the other writers under Cavett declined the offer. Brickman was succeeded as head writer by Hank Bradford, a writer and stand-up comedian who had performed his routine on the show multiple times in the 1960s, and who lead
14850-685: The revue The Syncopation Idea starting at the Boulevard Theater in Los Angeles and then on the Loew's circuit . They each earned $ 75 a week. As minor parts of The Syncopation Idea , Crosby and Rinker started to develop as entertainers. They had a lively style that was popular with college students. After The Syncopation Idea closed, they worked in the Will Morrissey Music Hall Revue. They honed their skills with Morrissey, and when they got
15000-641: The risk. The series' announcer and Carson's sidekick was Ed McMahon , who from the first show would introduce Carson with a drawn-out "Here's Johnny!" (something McMahon was inspired to do by the overemphasized way he had introduced reporter Robert Pierpoint on the NBC Radio Network program Monitor ). The catchphrase was heard nightly for 30 years, and ranked top of the TV Land poll of U.S. TV catchphrases and quotes in 2006; it has been referenced in lots of media going from The Shining to Johnny Bravo to
15150-471: The role in later years. During World War II , Crosby made live appearances before American troops who had been fighting in the European Theater . He learned how to pronounce German from written scripts and read propaganda broadcasts intended for German forces. The nickname "Der Bingle" was common among Crosby's German listeners and came to be used by his English-speaking fans. In a poll of U.S. troops at
15300-488: The show after owning it from 1969 to the early 1970s. Only 33 complete episodes of Johnny Carson's Tonight Show that had originally aired prior to May 1, 1972, are known to exist. All other shows during this period, including Carson's debut as host, are now considered lost. Carson himself initially encouraged the erasure of his archives thinking that the shows were of no real value and that NBC should "make guitar picks" out of them. Carson's shows were preserved by NBC into
15450-439: The show never was strictly defined. I did what had to be done when it had to be done. I was there when he needed me, and when he didn't I moved down the couch and kept quiet. ... I did the audience warm-up , I did commercials, for a brief period I co-hosted the first fifteen minutes of the show..., and I performed in many sketches . On our thirteenth-anniversary show Johnny and I were talking at his desk and he said, "Thirteen years
15600-409: The show out of concern it might alienate his audience and resisted efforts from his writing staff, particularly head writer and admitted liberal Marshall Brickman , to include more political material in the show. Other regulars were selected for their entertainment or information value, in contrast to those who offered more cerebral conversation. His preference for access to Hollywood stars caused
15750-419: The show seven days a week beginning January 1, 2016. Currently, 60-minute episodes (from September 1980 – May 1992) air Monday through Friday nights, and 90-minute episodes (from 1972 – September 12, 1980) Saturday and Sunday nights. Selected episodes of Carson's show are available on NBC's Peacock streaming service. Shout! Factory launched a 24/7 streaming channel devoted to the series in August 2020, which
15900-546: The show ten times, and psychologist Joyce Brothers was one of Carson's most frequent guests. Carson, in general, did not feature prop comedy acts (Carson was not averse to using prop comedy himself); such acts, with Gallagher being a prominent example, more commonly appeared when guest hosts helmed the program. Carson almost never socialized with guests before or after the show; frequent interviewee Orson Welles recalled that Tonight Show employees were astonished when Carson visited Welles's dressing room to say hello before
16050-695: The show's move to the West Coast on May 1, 1972. The show would however would continue to have episodes filmed in New York until 1973 when production moved to Hollywood permanently. The Tonight Show would not return to New York until 2014 when Jimmy Fallon took the hosting reins. When asked about intellectual conversation on The Tonight Show , Carson and his staff invariably cited " Carl Sagan , Paul Ehrlich , Margaret Mead , Gore Vidal , Shana Alexander , Madalyn Murray O'Hair " as guests; one television critic stated, however, "he always presented them as if they were spinach for your diet when he did [feature such names]." Family therapist Carlfred Broderick appeared on
16200-493: The show's start time by five minutes beginning September 2, allowing its stations to include more commercials during their local newscasts. (The timeshift would also affect Late Night , Later with Bob Costas , and station-programmed overnight syndicated shows.) NBC executives had been proposing the five-minute delay idea to Carson since 1988, only to be repeatedly rebuffed, amid concerns that some of its affiliates—particularly those that had unsuccessfully sought permission to delay
16350-458: The show, Carson regretted that the first 10 years of his tenure as host no longer exist saying that he would have loved to show the audience clips of Jayne Mansfield with Boris Karloff , Peter Lorre talking to Tallulah Bankhead and even the first appearance of Bette Midler (who had appeared on Carson's penultimate episode the night before) on the show. More than fifty million people tuned in for this finale, which ended with Carson sitting on
16500-421: The show, bantering with Carson from his chair off-camera (though occasionally a camera would be pointed in his direction). Dick Cavett was Carson's original head writer. He was succeeded by Marshall Brickman when Cavett left to pursue a stand-up career in 1964. The Tonight Show writing staff was structured so that the head writer was responsible for all of the material except for the nightly monologues, which
16650-450: The song was repeatedly re-released by Decca, charting another 16 times. It topped the charts again in 1945 and a third time in January 1947. The song remains the bestselling single of all time. Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. His recording was so popular that Crosby was obliged to re-record it in 1947 using the same musicians and backup singers;
16800-411: The stipulation that the show lose its last half-hour. On the last 90-minute show (September 12, 1980), Carson explained that by going to an hour, the show would feel more fast-paced, and have a greater selection of guests. For a year, Tom Snyder 's existing talk show, Tomorrow , was expanded to 90 minutes and forced to change its format, adding gossip reporter Rona Barrett as a co-host and taking on
16950-592: The then-new Fox Network . According to Carson, Rivers never personally informed him of the existence of her show. Rivers, on the other hand, disagreed. Nevertheless, Rivers' new show was quickly canceled, and she never again appeared on The Tonight Show with Carson. Nor did she appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno , a ban maintained by Leno out of respect for Carson. She also never appeared during Conan O'Brien's seven-month run. After Carson's death in 2005, Rivers told CNN that Carson never forgave her for leaving, and never spoke to her again, even after she wrote him
17100-461: The three performers out for a second bow after the taping was completed. This show was immediately recognized as a television classic that Midler considered one of the most emotional moments of her life and eventually won an Emmy for her role in it. Carson had no guests on his final episode of The Tonight Show on May 22, 1992, which was instead a retrospective show taped before an invitation-only studio audience of family, friends, and crew. During
17250-473: The trumpet maestro was a formative influence on Crosby's singing style. When the two met, they became friends. In 1936, Crosby exercised an option in his Paramount contract to regularly star in an out-of-house film. Signing an agreement with Columbia for a single motion picture, Crosby wanted Armstrong to appear in a screen adaptation of The Peacock Feather that eventually became Pennies from Heaven . Crosby asked Harry Cohn , but Cohn had no desire to pay for
17400-468: The truth, ask Mister De Mille." De Mille: "I'll vouch for it, Bing." As it happens, that story was pure whimsy for dramatic effect; the Associated Press had reported as early as February 1932—as would later be confirmed by both Bing himself and his biographer Charles Thompson—that it was in fact a neighbor—Valentine Hobart, circa 1910—who had named him "Bingo from Bingville" after a comic feature in
17550-479: The value of his collection, both of whom denied this in testimony at trial. A signature on an acceptance letter from the library director was also deemed a forgery . Henderson was convicted on two counts of filing false tax returns. He was acquitted on the tax evasion charges and obstructing a tax audit. Henderson was sentenced on January 17, 1975, to six months in prison , and was fined US$ 10,000 (equivalent to $ 56,600 in 2023). He began serving his sentence at
17700-459: The world was such that Dorothy Masuka , the best-selling African recording artist, stated that, "Only Bing Crosby the famous American crooner sold more records than me in Africa." His great popularity throughout the continent led other African singers to emulate him, including Masuka, Dolly Rathebe , and Míriam Makeba, known locally as "The Bing Crosby of Africa". Presenter Mike Douglas commented in
17850-450: The years he was weather forecaster for WNBC-TV , showed several clips of his appearances with Carson in a 2002 career retrospective on WWOR-TV ; Field had maintained the clips in his own personal archives. There are also two appearances by Judy Garland in 1968 that still survive. John Lennon and Paul McCartney 's joint appearance on the May 14, 1968 episode guest-hosted by Joe Garagiola , with
18000-541: Was "I've Got the Girl" with Don Clark's Orchestra, but the Columbia-issued record was inadvertently recorded at a slow speed, which increased the singers' pitch when played at 78 rpm. Throughout his career, Crosby often credited Bailey for getting him his first important job in the entertainment business. Success with Whiteman was followed by disaster when they reached New York. Whiteman considered letting them go. However,
18150-628: Was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII . In 1948, Music Digest estimated that Crosby's recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music in America. Crosby won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Going My Way (1944) and
18300-626: Was a frequent guest on the musical variety shows of the 1950s and 1960s, appearing on various variety shows as well as numerous late-night talk shows and his own highly rated specials. Bob Hope memorably devoted one of his monthly NBC specials to his long intermittent partnership with Crosby titled "On the Road With Bing". Crosby was associated with ABC's The Hollywood Palace as the show's first and most frequent guest host and appeared annually on its Christmas edition with his wife Kathryn and his younger children, and continued after The Hollywood Palace
18450-528: Was a leader in record sales , network radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He was one of the first global cultural icons . Crosby made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. Crosby's early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra , Perry Como , Dean Martin , Dick Haymes , Elvis Presley , and John Lennon . Yank magazine said that Crosby
18600-931: Was about to pack up the next day and go back to Tel Aviv . I thought, That's it — I'm destroyed." However, this appearance on The Tonight Show , which Carson and Randi had orchestrated to debunk Geller's claimed abilities, backfired. According to Higginbotham, To Geller's astonishment, he was immediately booked on The Merv Griffin Show . He was on his way to becoming a paranormal superstar. "That Johnny Carson show made Uri Geller," Geller said. To an enthusiastically trusting public, his failure only made his gifts seem more real: If he were performing magic tricks, they would surely work every time. As his retirement approached, Carson tried to avoid sentimentality but would periodically show clips of some of his favorite moments and again invited some of his favorite guests. He told his crew, "Everything comes to an end; nothing lasts forever. Thirty years
18750-497: Was absent or filling in for McMahon as the announcer (this usually happened when a guest host substituted for Carson, which generally gave McMahon the night off as well). The series' instrumental theme music , " Johnny's Theme ", was a re-arrangement of the Paul Anka composition "Toot Sweet", which Anka and Annette Funicello had separately recorded, with lyrics, as "It's Really Love". During shows when Newsom filled in for Severinsen,
18900-436: Was actively courted by rival network ABC , which was willing to double Carson's salary and offer him a lighter work schedule and ownership of the show. NBC, in turn, was ready to offer The Tonight Show to Carson's most frequent guest host at the time, Richard Dawson . Eventually, Carson reached an agreement that paid $ 25 million a year while reducing his workload from 90 to 60 minutes, with new shows airing only three nights
19050-516: Was also known as "Der Bingle", a pseudonym coined in 1944 by Bob Musel, an American journalist based in London, after Crosby had recorded three 15-minute programs with Jack Russin for broadcast to Germany from ABSIE. According to Shoshana Klebanoff, Crosby became one of the richest men in the history of show business. He had investments in real estate, mines, oil wells, cattle ranches, race horses, music publishing, baseball teams, and television. Crosby made
19200-595: Was among the top 10 acts in box-office sales, and for five of those years (1944–1948) he topped the world. Crosby sang four Academy Award -winning songs—"Sweet Leilani" (1937), "White Christmas" (1942), " Swinging on a Star " (1944), "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (1951)—and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Going My Way (1944). A survey in 2000 found that with 1,077,900,000 movie tickets sold, Crosby
19350-457: Was being "pressed" to perform by Carson. According to Adam Higginbotham's Nov. 7, 2014 article in the New York Times : The result was a legendary immolation, in which Geller offered up flustered excuses to his host as his abilities failed him again and again. "I sat there for 22 minutes, humiliated," Geller told me, when I spoke to him in September. "I went back to my hotel, devastated. I
19500-587: Was born in 1933 with twin boys following in 1934. By 1936, Crosby replaced his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as host of the weekly NBC radio program Kraft Music Hall , where he remained for the next decade. " Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day) ", with his trademark whistling, became his theme song and signature tune. Crosby's vocal style helped take popular singing beyond
19650-599: Was born in the town of Halstad in northwest Minnesota in 1918 to Joseph and Josephine (Scheie) Henderson, both of Norwegian descent. After his mother died when he was two in 1920, he was raised in Halstad by his aunt Hattie Henderson Gift and uncle Frank Gift. His aunt taught him piano, starting at the age of four. Although he did not receive formal conservatory education in music, Henderson received classical training under Fritz Reiner , Albert Coates , Arnold Schoenberg , Ernst Toch and Arturo Toscanini , who invited him to conduct
19800-488: Was eventually canceled. In the early 1970s, Crosby made two late appearances on the Flip Wilson Show , singing duets with the comedian. His last TV appearance was a Christmas special, Merrie Olde Christmas , taped in London in September 1977 and aired weeks after his death. It was on this special that Crosby recorded a duet of " The Little Drummer Boy " and " Peace on Earth " with rock musician David Bowie . Their duet
19950-565: Was going to play second fiddle , I wanted to be the Heifetz of second fiddlers....The most difficult thing for me to learn how to do was just sit there with my mouth closed. Many nights I'd be listening to Johnny and in my mind I'd reach the same ad lib just as he said it. I'd have to bite my tongue not to say it out loud. I had to make sure I wasn't too funny—although critics who saw some of my other performances will claim I needn't have worried. If I got too many laughs, I wasn't doing my job; my job
20100-407: Was greeted with a sustained, two-minute intense standing ovation. Williams was especially uninhibited with his trademark manic energy and stream-of-consciousness lunacy. Midler was more emotional. When the conversation turned to Johnny's favorite songs, " I'll Be Seeing You " and " Here's That Rainy Day ," Midler mentioned that she knew a chorus of the latter. She began singing the song, and after
20250-412: Was honored as "First Citizen of Record Industry" based on having sold 200 million discs. The Guinness Book reported some of the singer's worldwide sales on a few occasions: In 1973, Crosby had sold more than 400 million records worldwide, and by 1977 he had sold 500 million discs, being ranked as the most successful and best-selling musical artist in 1978. Some sources contradict these alleged sales to
20400-614: Was married to Sandra Watson for 18 years, before divorcing in 2000. Heidi was married to actor William Hurt from 1989 to 1992, and they have two sons. Skitch and Ruth Henderson owned and operated The Silo, a store, art gallery, and cooking school in New Milford, Connecticut from 1972 until his death. In 2003, Ruth and Skitch Henderson co-founded the Hunt Hill Farm Trust, an effort to preserve their farm's land and buildings and to celebrate Americana in music, art and literature through
20550-458: Was nominated for its sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), opposite Ingrid Bergman , becoming the first of six actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. Crosby was the number one box office attraction for five consecutive years from 1944 to 1948. At his screen apex in 1946, Crosby starred in three of the year's five highest-grossing films: The Bells of St. Mary's , Blue Skies , and Road to Utopia . In 1963, he received
20700-508: Was nominated for the 1945 sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's . He received critical acclaim and his third Academy Award nomination for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in The Country Girl . The Fireside Theater (1950) was his first television production. The series of 26-minute shows was filmed at Hal Roach Studios rather than performed live on the air. The "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations. Crosby
20850-409: Was not going to be interviewed, but instead was expected to display his abilities using the provided articles. Geller said "This scares me." and "I'm surprised because before this program your producer came and he read me at least 40 questions you were going to ask me." Geller was unable to display any paranormal abilities, saying "I don't feel strong" and he expressed his displeasure at feeling like he
21000-463: Was on March 29, 1962, and due to Carson's commitment to the ABC game show Who Do You Trust? , he could not take over until October 1 (the day his ABC contract expired). His first guests were Rudy Vallée , Tony Bennett , Mel Brooks , and Joan Crawford . Carson inherited from Paar a show that was 1 3/4 hours (105 minutes) long. The show broadcast two openings, one starting at 11:15 p.m. and including
21150-409: Was one of the first singers to exploit the intimacy of the microphone rather than use the loud, penetrating vaudeville style associated with Al Jolson . Crosby was, by his own definition, a "phraser", a singer who placed equal emphasis on both the lyrics and the music. Paul Whiteman's hiring of Crosby, with phrasing that echoed jazz, particularly his bandmate Bix Beiderbecke 's trumpet, helped bring
21300-552: Was raised. In 1913, his father built a house at 508 E. Sharp Avenue. The house stands on the campus of Crosby's alma mater, Gonzaga University , as a museum housing over 200 artifacts from his life and career, including his Oscar. Crosby was the fourth of seven children: brothers Laurence Earl "Larry" (1895–1975), Everett Nathaniel (1896–1966), Edward John "Ted" (1900–1973), and George Robert "Bob" (1913–1993); and two sisters, Catherine Cordelia (1904–1974) and Mary Rose (1906–1990). His parents were Harry Lillis Crosby (1870–1950),
21450-506: Was reinforced by the musicians' union and ASCAP , which wanted to ensure continued work for their members. In On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio , John Dunning wrote about German engineers having developed a tape recorder with a near-professional broadcast quality standard: [Crosby saw] an enormous advantage in prerecording his radio shows. The scheduling could now be done at the star's convenience. He could do four shows
21600-533: Was released in 1982 as a single 45 rpm record and reached No. 3 in the UK singles charts. It has since become a staple of holiday radio and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. At the end of the 20th century, TV Guide listed the Crosby-Bowie duet one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th-century television. Bing Crosby Productions, affiliated with Desilu Studios and later CBS Television Studios , produced
21750-546: Was replaced by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . Ed McMahon served as Carson's sidekick and the show's announcer . For its first decade, Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show was based at the RCA Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza , New York City, with some episodes recorded at NBC Studios in Burbank, California ; on May 1, 1972, the show moved to Burbank as its main venue with extended returns to New York for several weeks over
21900-500: Was succeeded by trumpeter Doc Severinsen who led the NBC Orchestra until Carson's retirement in 1992. In 1983, Henderson founded The New York Pops orchestra, which makes its home at Carnegie Hall in New York City . He served as the music director and conductor of the orchestra until his death in 2005. Henderson also conducted numerous symphonic orchestras throughout the world. His radio work included: He also wrote Baby Made
22050-477: Was the first MTS stereo broadcast in U.S. television history, though not the first television broadcast with stereophonic sound . Only NBC's flagship local station in New York City, WNBC , had stereo broadcast capability at that time. NBC transmitted The Tonight Show in stereo sporadically through 1984 and on a regular basis beginning in 1985. According to Skepticism activist James Randi , Carson invited Uri Geller , who claimed paranormal powers, onto
22200-554: Was the third-most-popular actor of all time, behind Clark Gable (1,168,300,000) and John Wayne (1,114,000,000). The International Motion Picture Almanac lists Crosby in a tie for second-most years at number one on the All Time Number One Stars List with Clint Eastwood , Tom Hanks , and Burt Reynolds . His most popular film, White Christmas , grossed $ 30 million in 1954 ($ 340 million in current value). Crosby received 23 gold and platinum records, according to
22350-467: Was to be part of a team that generated the laughs. The Tonight Show had a live big band for nearly all of its existence. The NBC Orchestra during Carson's reign was originally led by Skitch Henderson (who had previously led the band during Tonight Starring Steve Allen ), followed briefly by Milton DeLugg . Starting in 1967 and continuing until Jay Leno took over, the band was led by Doc Severinsen , with Tommy Newsom filling in for him when he
22500-416: Was to pretend to panic and say, "I want my nana!" (This recording was played at the start of Carson's final broadcast on May 22, 1992.) The oldest surviving video recording of the show is dated November 1962, while the oldest surviving color recording is from April 1964, when Carson interviewed Jake Ehrlich Sr. as his guest. The 30-minute audio recordings of many of the "missing" episodes are contained in
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