Robert Caro and Conan O’Brien (1 Viewer)

I'm a big fan of Caro. O'Brien not so much. His career has disappeared more quickly than Amelia Earhart's plane. One of the biggest mistakes in TV history was replacing Leno with O'Brien. I haven't watched a late night TV show regularly since Carson. Letterman was great for while but he went haywire like a grumpy Unabomber. Politics has ruined just about everything. Sports, movies, TV shows, news. It's brutal. There is no escape. The NFL season hasn't started yet and they are back to square one over the NA.
 
I’ve never watched his show but let’s give him credit for his interest in the books. I think it’s great he’s a big fan. I’m a huge fan of Caro’s work.
 
Combat said:
I'm a big fan of Caro. O'Brien not so much. His career has disappeared more quickly than Amelia Earhart's plane. One of the biggest mistakes in TV history was replacing Leno with O'Brien. I haven't watched a late night TV show regularly since Carson. Letterman was great for while but he went haywire like a grumpy Unabomber. Politics has ruined just about everything. Sports, movies, TV shows, news. It's brutal. There is no escape. The NFL season hasn't started yet and they are back to square one over the NA.
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Carson was the best. Nothing on late night worth watching these days. I actually watch Carson reruns every night now as they are running shows from the 70's through the 90's on one of my cable channels. Some I remember, most I don't, but it is almost like watching new shows again, with fabulous stars from the Golden Age. Stars like Sinatra, Dangerfield, Martin, Hope, etc. that you can't see elsewhere. These re-runs are priceless. -- Al
 
lancer said:
Carson was the best. Nothing on late night worth watching these days. I actually watch Carson reruns every night now as they are running shows from the 70's through the 90's on one of my cable channels. Some I remember, most I don't, but it is almost like watching new shows again, with fabulous stars from the Golden Age. Stars like Sinatra, Dangerfield, Martin, Hope, etc. that you can't see elsewhere. These re-runs are priceless. -- Al
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I totally agree...No late night host can hold a candle compared to the great Johnny Carson! I watch and rewatch on YouTube all-time great shows with him and Jonathan Winters, Robin Williams, Don Rickles, Buddy Hackett and lots of other terrific guests...
He was a first class wit in his own right but always brought out the best and funniest comments and jokes from his guests...A comedic legend and simply the best!
Andy.
 
Carson and McMahon had quite a run together...
an almost perfect tv chemistry...
their 30 year span together...
will probably never be paralleled...
it seems like they were always on tv...
Ed McMahon was the consummate straight man...
the Carnac the Magnificent skit...was a favorite of mine...
even as a child I was drawn to Carson's show and endless parade of celebrities...
his facial expressions and quick wit were amazing...
 
mikemiller1955 said:
Carson and McMahon had quite a run together...
an almost perfect tv chemistry...
their 30 year span together...
will probably never be paralleled...
it seems like they were always on tv...
Ed McMahon was the consummate straight man...
the Carnac the Magnificent skit...was a favorite of mine...
even as a child I was drawn to Carson's show and endless parade of celebrities...
his facial expressions and quick wit were amazing...
Click to expand...
He was never better than when a joke would bomb. He would then salvage victory from defeat and have the audience in stitches. He was brilliant. Carson was never afraid to be the butt of the joke and was never afraid to look foolish. Late night TV has never been the same and has never recovered. -- Al
 
I went to a Carson taping back in the late 80s. I wish I could remember more about it, but after all these years the thing I remember most is that even though they taped the show in the afternoon for airing late at night, they still played the commercials during the live taping. They would lower the lights during the break so that the studio was dark and play the commercials on a screen. Carson would sit at his desk in the pitch black and smoke a cigarette. You could see the burning end because it was so dark.

On Caro, I'm hoping against hope that he can produce the final book before the grim reaper comes calling. He must be pushing 90. It would be a real shame if he couldn't finish his series out with arguably the most important years left undone. So much to cover those in the presidential years. Civil rights, Vietnam, the Great Society. A tough nut to cover all that in one book which is the most that I think anyone can hope for at this point. I read somewhere that Caro comes up with the final sentence when he starts out and that he has already decided upon it in the LBJ series.
 
It’s finally good to see that someone finally got the point of why I posted the article: Robert Caro, not late night comedians.

He’s 83 years old and by all accounts is making good progress on the book. As of earlier this year he was between 1965 and 1966. The end must be in sight as he’s starting to think about other projects.
 
jazzeum said:
It’s finally good to see that someone finally got the point of why I posted the article: Robert Caro, not late night comedians.

He’s 83 years old and by all accounts is making good progress on the book. As of earlier this year he was between 1965 and 1966. The end must be in sight as he’s starting to think about other projects.
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Speaking of Jack Paar, he was a great one as well but before my time. Back when baseball was popular. LOL. Just kidding with you Brad. Caro is great but he is one of those authors a lot of folks profess to like but probably haven't actually read. You have to be something of a political junkie to enjoy them. I do like the fact that Caro has not adopted narrative bias for his subject matter. A lot of recent nonfiction books that I've read on Grant, Polk, Jackson etc portray them in glowing terms. They could do no wrong. Caro has taken a more balanced approach to LBJ.
 
I really love him as a writer. To me, the best book so far was the first one. That was just a fascinating look at Texas politics. It’s funny but I read that book on the train going to and from work, when I was just starting out. Some 35 years later I’m retired but he’s still writing. That is truly amazing. The act of research and writing is what keeps him young.
 
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