Favorite Talk Show Host Over the Years?

Beezer said:
Phil Donahue was solid back in the day. Carson of course was the bee's knees.

Who did you like and why?
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Carson was the epitome of genial host/comedian. I'll never forget the night he appeared as "Floyd R. Turbo" and laughingly joked about killing Bambi's mother. That audience went from laughing to furious anger in two seconds.

He later said "That was the scariest moment he'd ever had" as the audience really seemed to be ready to attack.

Phil was interesting to watch, he was a more serious and direct interviewer.

Maury Povich was as crass as Robert Downey. And Geraldo Rivera was a sensationalist. I quit watching after Oprah started.
 
Jay Leno was funny as a comedian but made the worst Talk Show interviewer ever.

Dave Letterman wasn't a bad interviewer on his Late Show.

Dick Cavett was a terrible interviewer because he never knew his guests well enough to not have to be corrected by his guest. Often his guests were old actors people didn't really care about.

Johnny Carson competed with his well known guests. His monologues sucked.
He always acted like he was better than everybody.

Conan O'Brien has to talk about himself in every interview.

Phil Donahue always let his guests speak and he would listen. Good interviewer. Not always a guest I was interested in though.

British talk show host Parkinson was a good listener as is Graham Norton. But their guests were often popular in Britain but not of interest to an American audience.

They all had their moments and their shows weren't political propaganda machines like today's night time talk shows which are unwatchable and never funny because of their agendas.

Stephen Colbert would be funny if he wasn't charged with delivering "the message".

Jimmy Kimmel isn't funny at all.

Jimmy Fallon has no real personality and his show is unwatchable because being obsequious is not entertaining.


These are my strong opinions and you may have your own ideas.

That's why there's plenty of space below to share yours.

So don't get on my case about any of these.
 
I record the late night comics (except for Jimmy Fallon who never interested me) so I can listen to their monologs and watch an occasional guest. I like Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers. I also record the Daily Show on Comedy Central which features Jon Stewart on Mondays and some new young comics the rest of the week. I crave humor and look for it wherever I can.
 
I'd have to go with Johnny Carson. I will admit I've watched a lot of the current late night hosts when they have people on I'd like to see. But, they all seem to be kissing @ss to most of their guests.
 
OldFeller said:
Conan O'Brien has to talk about himself in every interview.
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He still does, on his podcast.

Babs2u said:
I record the late night comics (except for Jimmy Fallon who never interested me) so I can listen to their monologs and watch an occasional guest. I like Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers. I also record the Daily Show on Comedy Central which features Jon Stewart on Mondays and some new young comics the rest of the week. I crave humor and look for it wherever I can.
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I do the same. Record a few and listen to the monologue and the rare guest who I know and like.

It’s interesting when there are guest hosts , especially the big name ones, and they have poor delivery.

Two guest hosts I’ve seen that were naturals were Rob Mcelhenney and Jelly Bean. I didn’t even know who Jelly was before this.
 
Well, Steve Allen, with his "Tonight Starring Steve Allen" invented the genre (1954-1957), what with the opening monologue, celebrity guest interviews, live band, etc. He was a riot, and very innovative.

But when Allen moved on, the great Jack Paar took over in 1957 to 1962, when he quit due to overwork. He was the best talk show host of all IMO. He had in-depth, intuitive, and humorous conversations with each guest, and made famous such entertainers as Jonathan Winters. He interviewed a wide variety of celebrities --not just movie people-- Like John F. Kennedy, William F. Buckley, and Alexander King.

But when Paar left, Johnny Carson took over, and he gradually became an institution over the next 30 years. I slowly grew to really like Carson. After Carson retired, I thought Leno and Letterman were okay, but they really didn't get much out of their guests. As far as the guys who came along after L & L, I wouldn't give you two cents for any of them.
 
I was in my early teens, and the first talk show I can remember watching regularly was The Alan Burke Show that was filmed in New York City. It ran from 1966 to 1970. I found his show intriguing because often his choice of guests was far from mainstream, and the subjects that were discussed were quite controversial. One night he interviewed a transvestite. That was educational!


I also tuned in to The Tomorrow Show hosted by Tom Snyder. It ran from 1973 to 1981 and aired immediately following The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. There was no studio audience; he'd be one-on-one with his guest, and nothing was scripted. He'd ask questions and offer an opinion. It was less like conducting an interview and more like having a real conversation with his guest.


I loved Phil Donahue and, of course, Johnny Carson. Other favorites include Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
 
Carson.
Heard Stephen Colbert finally lost his job? Dang. I was starting to think smugness was a protected class.
Now who’s going to whisper sarcasm into the void while dressed like a late-night funeral director?
Guess it’s back to getting my news from the raccoon behind Arby’s who screams about NATO.
Well, Bye
 
There was a guy Aussies called The Lanky Yank - Don Lane
He had a chat show on Australian Television - 1975 - 1983.
It was one of the most popular shows on Television because he did not hold back.

THE James Randi incident on the Don Lane Show. (@ 2.01)​


He interviewed all the famous people of the time.
David Bowie loved the Don Lane show so much he made an impromptu appearance on the very last Don Lane show in 1983

David Bowie on The Don Lane Show​

 
Phil Donahue was Dayton based back when he started. I saw him out at functions (he said "Hi" to me!) and I happened to audit a class at Wright State University where his producer was a guest speaker and we talked for quite a while. A woman producer was an unusual thing back then.

Phil was the first talk show host to go out into the audience for comments and even take phone calls during the show. It made for some great unexpected moments. He was way ahead of the times with women's issues and gay issues.

I liked Oprah and I liked her regular, once a week guests, Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil, before they spun off to their own shoes and sort of "went Hollywood."

I could never stay up late enough for the nighttime talk shows, but once in a while I could catch the opening monologues.

These days, I like Jon Stewart, and I like Jimmy Fallon for his comedy sketches. His parody of Downton Abbey was hilarious.
 
I would have said Carson was the greatest TV guy. But there's one of those TV rerun networks that shows reruns of Carson. Today, watching him was not what I remembered. His monologues were pretty lame. It's not what you would call "riveting" TV. I guess he was such an institution, we didn't see some weak points.
 
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