October 1, 1962-May 22, 1992.
Johnny Carson, host of NBC's network late-night "Tonight Show" reigned for 30 unprecedented years...five times the combined tenure of Steve Allen, and Jack Paar. Carson was impervious to competition, including efforts to dethrone him by Les Crane, Joey Bishop, Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Jack Paar, Pat Sajak, Joan Rivers, and Arsenio Hall. Sadly, very few complete "Tonight Show" broadcasts survive during Johnny Carson's first ten years of broadcasting. Around 1965, through the early 1970's, oldest tapes were first erased systematically by orders from myopic NBC executives, to be recycled for purposes of saving money. Ironically, in many cases, these older master tapes were too brittle, and portended probable drop-outs for re-use after being erased. Subsequently blank after being erased, these older questionable master 2" Quad tapes were either sparingly used or never used again for recording new programming and eventually were discarded. Saving thousands of dollars at the time (wiping master tapes for potential re-use) resulted in losing millions of dollars by NBC in today's marketplace, and more importantly wiping thousands of historic TONIGHT SHOW broadcasts, which contain precious personal anecdotes from political, show business, and sports icons of the past.
Guest Sterling Hayden, who appeared earlier in the day on THE TODAY SHOW, appears with Johnny Carson on THE TONIGHT SHOW in this extant excerpt segment recorded off the air by ATA archivist Phil Gries.
Joined in progress, Carson expresses his admiration for Sterling Hayden during a time in Hollywood when it took "guts" to rebel against the film industry...working at a craft he felt not comfortable with or wanted to really pursue any longer. Sterling states that he just didn't want any more of the "rat race," and sought to find peace living the "normal life."
Hayden confirms that out of mistakes one makes in life come the best experiences. He quotes Theodore Roosevelt who said, "Adventure is simply the result of a miscalculation."
Sterling Hayden mentions a film he just finished, "Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." He feels the film was made with tremendous courage and vision by Stanley Kubrick who also made the picture "The Killing" (starring Hayden in 1955), Sterling states that Kubrick elected to describe his film as a "nightmare comedy," which in Hayden's opinion is the most hilarious script he has ever seen in his life.
Johnny Carson mentions the autobiography Sterling Hayden has just written, "WANDERER," and states to Hayden that there is no question in his mind of Hayden's love for the sea...the last place where one can be really free. Sterling Hayden agrees and says that "The sea is another world."