The Tonight Show August 24, 1964

This is a segment of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, recorded off-the-air on Two-Inch Quad Videotape on August 24, 1964 in the low-band monochrome mode.
This recording was unearthed by Retro Video of Glendale, California. www.retrovideo.com.
The exact location of where this tape was made is unknown but it was somewhere in Los Angeles County, California. Presented here is the open and monologue only. A majority of the program exists on this Two-Inch Quad Videotape which was fully recovered and transferred in color on the Ampex AVR-1 at DC Video, Burbank California. The source of the broadcast was KNBC channel 4 in Los Angeles and one can see the head switch on the right side of the screen (which probably means that the program played back on an Ampex VR-1000 at NBC Burbank).
Note that Johnny Carson talks about it being Friday, presumably the Friday before the Monday in which this tape played. This Two-Inch Quad Videotape had no labels, color bars, tone or slate. But it did have a portion of the local newscast before the show which mentions that evening's baseball scores. From that information it was determined to be an air date of 8-24-64.
As of this today, this recording appears to be the oldest color videotape of the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in existence.
Update 1-20-2021: A long-time consensus amongst my colleagues here in LA concludes that this recording may have been made at ABC Prospect. Why? NBC and CBS were making color recordings using the low-band color standard at that time. But this recording was made in the low-band black & white standard. Additionally, there were no bars or tone at the start of the tape, something the NBC or CBS engineers would have done. This Prospect(?) recording may have been just a test to see what a color recording would look like, even if it was made on a black & white record machine. They needed a color signal, thus channel 4 and The Tonight Show provided such an opportunity.

[@ptperry9013]

The music with the peacock introduction, “the following program is brought to you in living color...” gave me goosebumps,!wow, the memories!!!

[@KutWrite]

Yeah. I was a Junior in High School. My dad's laughter would interrupt my sketchy homework and give me an excuse to join him watching the opening monologue. I was in love with Shari Lewis, who's from Pittsburgh, near my home town, so I'm sure I got to watch her, too.

[@ricknoe942]

Yes, and when the announcer said "From New York, the World's Fair city", it was like throwing the switch on a time machine...

[@michaelnivens6267]

me too

[@georgemaster689]

PT Perry MeTV has Bonanza, which has the In Living Color ident.Too bad that the other shows they have don't do the same although Andy Griffith has the CBS shutter eye ident at the end of each episode.

[@VN-lv7jd]

That put a big smile on my face. It brought back great memories.

[@pinheadjohnny5190]

Still better then any other late night show of today.

[@antonfarquar8799]

absolutely true !!!

[@vowelsounds6312]

By far

[@patfromamboy]

I don’t think so, several late shows are superior.

[@WalkingRoscoe]

​@@patfromamboy Pat From Moonachie would disagree.

[@patfromamboy]

@@WalkingRoscoe I’m kidding

[@Johncourt409]

Johnny was the king of late night. He left serious politics out of his monologue and did his best to treat his guests with kindness. He will never be replaced.

[@ronleon62]

After 30 years hosting the show, nobody had a clue as to his own personal politics. None. Compare that with today!

[@Kanoog]

I don't understand this "He will never be replaced" No shit, other hosts can't be replaced either because they ALL offer something different.

[@sdcafunnyguru]

I'm always happy when early Carson stuff is discovered! Thanks for posting this.

[@steveomusicman6645]

me too!

[@thomaskemer8109]

Yea! What a treat!

[@jasonspades5628]

This is actually behind the scenes simpsons creation.

[@DoctorEdgarMcQuack]

@@jasonspades5628 what?

[@greggthunderburg7294]

@@DoctorEdgarMcQuack he's to young to know who johnny Carson is. Lol

[@ChadQuick270W]

It’s a crying shame that NBC wiped all of these videotapes. It would be great to see these again in their entirety in color. Thanks for sharing this historical program with us 👍

[@davidjamessheets]

It's out there, about 55 light years from Earth.

[@dannyhill8797]

television today is 55 light years from earth - and that's not quite far enough!!..........

[@dmiller1000]

It does seem amazing that the tapes were destroyed (reused). TV back then was thought of as not very archival - more transitory in nature. I also think they were not able to conceive that digitized storage space could be so cheap and largely available. We only have some old kinescopes of 50's shows and recordings of classic radio shows because they were single sponsor programs and the sponsors themselves recorded them to monitor and review their commercials.

[@electrictroy2010]

Wiping tapes was standard practice. Even shows like Doctor Who got wiped in the 1960s

[@electrictroy2010]

More recently the Computer Graphics for TV shows & videogames have been erased. Shows like Star Trek DS9 will be stuck at Standard Def forever, because the CGI computer files were thrown in the trash! People are so short-sighted. They knew HD was coming & should have saved the files so they could be re-rendered at 1080p .

[@SuburbanDon]

God I was 7 years old. I remember hearing my dad laugh at the Tonight show when I should have been sleeping.

[@bradsmack1]

Nowadays, with late night talk shows, viewers sleep when they should have been laughing.

[@ScrewFlanders]

This reminds me of the first time I was _allowed_ to watch the Tonight Show. We were visiting my uncle who was ten years younger than my mom, and a rather dapper young man he was. He was _really_ cool; he had a stack of Playboys! I was about six or seven years old, which would've been in 1964-1965. I didn't understand a _single_ thing, but I knew that I had _made it._

[@headshotsongs9465]

Johnny grew into his character. At some point he perfected it.

[@bradsmack1]

I'd pin it right around the time he moved to Burbank (1972)! Purely a guess, and certainly subjective!

[@bryede]

As someone born in 1970, I feel that this seems rough around the edges compared to the Carson I grew up with. But then again, it's all relative and I don't know much about what expectations were in the mid '60s.

[@friendshipsloop]

Nice flat equalization, no visible dropouts, no edge damage... great work DC Video..!

[@ksteiger]

There are some apparent convergence issues that could have been adjusted manually.

[@musicmatty67]

He was one of the funniest men on television in my opinion. As a young kid, I would stay up with a tape recorder just to tape his monologue and play it for my family and friends.

[@christopherchris8980]

I think they've been able to put together about 35 shows from the 1960s Tonight Show. Unfortunately, NBC didn't keep the early recordings (video tape was quite expensive), so the Carson group has traveled around looking at old recordings that individuals and local stations made (sometimes in Cinemascope). I hope they find many more, what a treat it would be to see some of these old guests, often film stars from the 1930s and 40s, in unguarded Carsoneque interviews.

[@kevinnelson66]

Would be great if either NBC/Universal or Antenna TV could work out something with the Johnny Carson Foundation to put the 1960's footage together for a series of specials titled 'Classic Carson'.

[@dmiller1000]

I hope they find more tapes, but these interviews were anything but unguarded. They had more viewers in those days, with way less national population, than they have today. (Of course back then there was nothing else on at that hour.)

[@hershelorg]

Cinemascope? Doesn't apply to television other than showing movies filmed in CinemaScope using letterbox format. All television was 4:3 b&w or in color or b&w until the introduction of HDTV 16:9 35-40 years later.

[@eaf0422]

@@hershelorg I'm sure they meant Kinescope.

[@mecdutempsjadis]

Precisely. Going by the context, I was thinking the same thing-he must have meant "kinescope".

[@Grisostomo06]

Wow, for a clip this old the quality is pretty amazing. Seeing the NBC peacock takes me back to childhood. NBC was owned by RCA and they tried to have as many of their programs in color as possible to help with sales of color television which was still in its infancy. I remember looking forward to Sunday evening to watch "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color". Disney television started on ABC but then switched over to NBC and their broadcasts changed from black and white to color.

[@jehobden]

Yes, also NBC reran some of the shows, which Disney had filmed in color but ABC broadcast in B&W, in color.

[@timothyernest6429]

Also the borax soap sponsored (twenty mule team ) show death Valley days and Marlin Perkins show on wildlife animals, called Wild Kingdom...while our moms were making delicious Sunday dinners( before or after the shows) featuring ham or meat loaf, baked or mashed potatoes, salad , homemade bread with milk or water and apple or blueberry pie for dessert! Great programming and the aroma eminating from the kitchen throughout the house.

[@markberryhill2715]

Thanks for the memories.

[@spiff8862]

Got our first color TV (Packard Bell) 2 months after this Carson broadcast. First color TV show we watched..... Magilla Gorilla

[@electrictroy2010]

Videotape doesn’t fall-apart like film negatives. Lots of old tapes exist from 1956 onward (including the Twlight Zone which stored ~10 episodes on tape, instead of film) .

[@Janetsfear]

This brings back just how good Johnny was as well as how far the late night shows have sunk.

[@skcyclist]

I went AWOL to spend a weekend in Santa Barbara with my girlfriend, Jonna Gray, almost exactly a year before this episode of Johnny Carson. I felt very grown-up and hip, watching Johnny Carson in our motel room in 1963. Wishing her Happy Birthday tomorrow, 2-1, wherever she may be.

[@boxingandbulldogs6341]

Very cool. Did you ever look her up?

[@electrictroy2010]

Tomorrow is her birthday again. So she’d be in her 80s now .

[@FlipNasty1]

God bless you! May we keep our memories as long as possible and never forget those before us!

[@dw438]

Rest In Peace, Phil Linz (1939-12/9/2020)

[@KutWrite]

...and Johnny.

[@bradsmack1]

Yeah, amazing to have that Linz/Berra bit in the monologue...truly "news" (and local, really, at that!) for only that one day, and neat to hear nearly 6 decades later. I was 9 at the time, and had Linz's baseball card among many others! Good of you to offer timely well wishes!

[@mpmattson]

Wow, 1964 and in color! I love the earlier TShow.

[@JHollowayNetwork]

virtually few people had recorders back then.

[@ApartmentKing66]

@@JHollowayNetwork Which is why so many people are pissed at whoever did that at NBC (who had the budget and technology to broadcast and record in color) for just wiping the older shows to save money on tape and shelf space. Unless copies were made of particular shows like this one, the tape used to record the show was the master, and if it got wiped before dubbing it onto something else (as this show was), the show was gone forever.

[@douglaslowe5]

We didn't have a color set until 1966. Before then most shows were B&W anyway.

[@georgemaster689]

mpmattson Started with Bonanza and the trend continued.

[@electrictroy2010]

More recently the Computer Graphics for TV shows & videogames have been erased. Shows like Star Trek DS9 will be stuck at Standard Def forever, because the CGI computer files were thrown in the trash! People are so short-sighted. They knew HD was coming & should have saved the files so they could be re-rendered at 1080p .

[@dennispearson871]

This is a Real Gem !!! A Million Thanks To Whoever Posted This !!!...

[@afwalker1921]

This may be warmly nostalgic for some people, but I am a novelist, and the story I am writing takes my protagonist onto the Tonight Show during this period. To glimpse the set in color is immediately useful for me, and this wouldn't be possible without the efforts of those involved. One can never know if or when the smallest things we do might prove to have great value to others. Thanks!

[@jody6851]

In those years, it was a big thrill to watch The Tonight Show broadcast in color, which only began in 1960 -- while Jack Paar was still the host. Johnny Carson didn't replace him until 1962. At that time, having a color TV was still an expensive luxury. I remember my parents debating whether or not to splurge for one. And of course, the show was still based in New York City. Johnny Carson didn't move the show to LA until 1972. My father used the same barbershop as Johnny Carson near Rockefeller Center and the NBC studio, and he'd come home some nights mentioning that Johnny Carson was having his hair cut in the seat next to the one my father was in.

[@afwalker1921]

@@jody6851I speak of the efforts of others unintendedly helping me improve my stories. I had needed to know when the show began to broadcast in color, and now I know. An appearance in late '61 would be in color when seen, but probably preserved in B&W, if recorded. My little girl protag is a vampire. To see her in color in 1961 would be shocking... you've helped so much!

[@AFMMarcelD]

@@afwalker1921Vampires are my favorite people.

[@thommysides4616]

Good luck on your project. I wish you well....@@afwalker1921

[@randycunningham7318]

What is your penname?

[@jeffcarpenter4653]

Here's Johnny best late night host ever!!

[@fumingriley]

This was really neat to see, I sure miss Johnny, grew up watching him, Ed and Doc.

[@josemoreno3334]

Me too.

[@SSGTA440]

Jay Leno....just didn't cut it.....I stopped watching when he started.....that was a very sad night when Johnny said good bye. I wonder if there's a way to watch old Tonight show episodes.

[@MicroSoftner]

Doc wasn't even on this particular show...

[@fumingriley]

@@MicroSoftner Doc was in the Tonight Show band in '64 but Skitch Henderson was the band leader. When Skitch left in '67 Doc took over.

[@MicroSoftner]

@@fumingriley oops yes, i meant to say ed McMahon, jack hassett was the announcer on this particular show...

[@jimhilliker2450]

Totally amazing, from the year I was 9 years old. I didn't start watching until 1967 or so. And my family didn't get a color TV until 1973. Love the early color Carson shows and others from NBC back then. Thank you!!

[@vidiot9006]

It is simply amazing that this recording even exists! I would love to get a hold of the complete video. I remember very well as young boy watching the show coming from NY, broadcast here in LA... seeing the show's opening and set, but we didn't get a color TV until 1967! So much of the Tonight Show has been carelessly erased because of shortsighted execs who wanted to save money on the cost of video tape! Such great quality even for an off the air recording and great job of restoration here too! I also remember watching The Tonight Show in the early/mid 70's when they had the annual anniversary show of old clips from the past, Johnny made an annoyed comment about the erased show tapes and the very few old clips that were mostly kinescopes (filmed off a studio monitor) and in b&w (most people not realizing the show was broadcast in color by the NBC network). I remember he asked the public during the show if they had or knew of any off air recordings to get in contact with his production company. Then after so many years this true gem turns up, just amazing!

[@jmen4ever257]

When this show aired back in 1964, less then 4% of the American public, owned a color tv. Things changed after 1965, when the big push for color shows came, and batman aired.

[@bxtl57]

Brings back happy memories! When I was little, and got sick, my favourite treat was being allowed to stay up and watch Johnny...

[@RuffRyder_43]

This is pure gold! Carson talking about the Yankees’ infamous "Harmonica Incident." Truly amazing! Thanks for uploading!

[@wmbrown6]

Although the Yanks' performance actually declined for real the next year and all through CBS' ownership, not really recovering until Steinbrenner came in.

[@jkryanspark]

@@wmbrown6 George!

[@danieldougan269]

The way Johnny finessed that line about Yogi Berra telling Phil Linz to shove his harmonica up his ass was brilliant.

[@marcschneider4845]

@@wmbrown6 They ultimately won the pennant but lost the World Series to the Cardinals. After that, it was downhill for years.

[@clintscroggs65]

The story that came out later, right or wrong, as told by Mickey Mantle. He said Berra yelled at Linz to stop playing the harmonica. Linz didn't catch what Yogi said and asked Mantle. Mickey said he told Linz, "He wants you to play louder." So, he did, and that's when things blew up.

[@mjproebstle]

wow! this aired 5 days before i was born. thanks so much for posting this gem back in time. Johnny was and still will ever be The Best!

[@bigjoe8922]

I was 5 days old

[@GertieMusic]

Wow!! Nice love Johnny Carson! I hope they discover more episodes from the 60s!

[@mattwheeler2511]

The announcer here is Jack Haskell, who frequently substituted for Ed McMahon in the 1960s.

[@MicroSoftner]

Thx

[@Better_Call_Raul]

@Executive Decision That game show was on that long? Never heard of it.

[@Better_Call_Raul]

@Executive Decision I have watched clips of 1950s game shows such as What's My Line but had never heard of this show. I knew Carson had hosted a game show but thought it was a brief stint. Did not know it was on that long -- 5 years is a long time.

[@beatlessteve1010]

This was wonderful..seeing him so young and energetic with all his life ahead of him making people laugh..if I was in his shoes I would have lived my life the same exact way..wow the times have changed

[@betsykeller9096]

The set and how simple it was back then just blows me away. The furniture looked really cool, but everything behind it was minimal. They really wanted us to focus on what was going on, which makes sense, but they also ensured the comfort of their guests. I'm enjoying what little of this there is, because many of us most likely didn't know it even existed.

[@bkphoto]

The set was shared with the Today show. Both shows had simple sets that were swapped back and forth every day.

[@rsprockets7846]

Went on a class trip 1965 and sat in audience seats on this set. Way cool and was on color tv....guess who was the page? Her name was late....Kate jackson

[@officertoddmurphy5470]

minimal? ..are you joking?....that sofa was almost $20,000 back in the year 1964 #NBC took care of "the big names" (now in 2021 you can probably find that sofa on the side of the road & take it for free)

[@coffeehigh420]

that suit cut all the way down to the tie is the new style today. unreal even that couch is the new contemporary style now. things go around in circles don't they

[@alissunwolf8249]

That couch caught my attention with its style and color. I'd love to have it.

[@coffeehigh420]

yeh i know me too!@@alissunwolf8249

[@rezadteimouri]

coffeehigh420 It’s Midcentury, also Mad Men made the 60s cuts popular again!

[@thegameshowguy1]

Yeah, it's called "History repeating itself".

[@dmiller1000]

Compare this attractive, though flat, set to the cheesy garbage of the mid to late 70s.

[@cellpat7392]

WOW, to see Johnny Carson at age 38. when I started watching him as a teenager in the early 80s he was already 60. He is no longer with us today, and he would've been 98 now if he had been here.

[@VectraQS]

All I can say is wow. I'm just hoping and praying that there is more stuff out there that still exists.

[@bradstephan7886]

Wow, I couldn't stay up that late in 1964, but surprised to see that his mannerisms, the music, the set, the monologue and even Skitch all looked like every other show in the future.

[@mostamused2797]

Recorded and aired on the East coast Friday, August 21, 1964. One day after I was born. Aired on Tape Delay on the West coast, Monday, August 24, 1964. Watched this vid 59 years later on Friday, October 6, 2023. Thanks for posting this. Carson was truly, the King!

[@niknikktm]

Fantastic bit of television history lost and found. If only someone had done this the night Lennon and McCartney were on.

[@michaelorenstein9165]

It's available. Joe Garagiola was the guest host that night.

[@GregSr]

When this aired I was almost 11 so I didn't get to stay up late to watch it.

[@QuantumG432]

I was born a month after this aired, but always loved the Tonight Show growing up. 👍

[@jonp3890]

@@QuantumG432 So was I. Well, 37 days after, to be exact.

[@1kkeeenn]

It was my 7th birthday.

[@troubledsole9104]

I was not quite 2 and I am not even sure we had a TV.

[@davesweany8650]

Nothing like a black and white TV in those days before Color i

[@scottstrang1583]

I love watching ancient videotape recording. They still look amazing.

[@miichaelneri4687]

I don't know about ancient, I was 16 at the time. It doesn't seem that long ago.

[@AllThingsFilm1]

Wow. I grew up watching The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. It was the one show my mom would let me stay up late for. Pretty cool, eh?

[@beals6631]

Canadian ?

[@spiff8862]

Cool in '64.... Carson Playboy '64 Thunderbird

[@FranklyTesting]

Thanks! I watched Johnny from when he first took over the Tonight Show, when I was a young teen, all the way till he retired, and loved every minute. Thanks again!

[@user-ep9nf8rd1l]

Johnny was so special! Miss him a lot! No one can replace him! The very best late night show host!🥰

[@christopherthorkon3997]

Thanks so much for this upload. This is GORGEOUS quality. Really really nice. When it comes to standard definition, nothing beats two inch quad.

[@Pants4096]

You can see all 525 lines, including the half lines at the top and bottom. Gorgeous. And from a recorder never designed to handle color, too! The NTSC engineers were sure clever with analog signals.

[@electrictroy2010]

First off ALL videotapes record the full 525 scanlines, otherwise they would not be compatible with NTSC televisions. Second the recorder was designed to capture the full 6 megahertz signal. It didn’t care if that signal was B&W or color. It just recorded what it saw.

[@electrictroy2010]

And also you are not “seeing” the full 525 scanlines. Only 486 have visible image. The rest are used for blanking interval to reset the cathode raygun to top of the screen. Also data transmission (captions)

[@dylangatenby9928]

Thanks for posting! This is a rarity these days.

[@marshallkinjongun5333]

Great early Carson thank you so much for putting this up hope you can find some more.

[@skcyclist]

Yes, thank you so much for posting that and bringing back fond memories.

[@jeffbecker8716]

I was two years old when this aired. We didn't get a color TV until '71. Love Johnny. He reminds me so much of my father - business hair cut/ slim suits and same demeanor. Johnny could tell jokes better, though.

[@josemoreno3334]

I was only 7 years old. How times fly's. My dad bought our first color TV in 1971 also. I miss Johnny and his gang. After he retired, Late night TV was never the same again. Sad.

[@TheRealLaughingGravy]

Six months after The Beatles first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show still featured acts like the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, a band that first hit the big time before World War II. The second half of the 20th Century was about to slap America in the face, although we didn't quite realize it yet. What a time.

[@jamesmack3314]

There’s a great documentary on I believe the American experience or American masters simply titled 1964 that’s when things started to change from innocence to what transpired the rest of the 60s

[@keithbrown8814]

The Kennedy assassination was just 9 months prior.....the political and cultural ROT along with the disintegration of the traditional family was just beginning!

[@ronniecozzi8385]

America's decline would go into the next gear with LBJ starting the Vietnam war and changing the immigration laws in 1965.

[@electrictroy2010]

I’m fairly certain the first half of the 1900s sucked more than the second half. Two world wars that killed half-a-billion. A world depression that brought Hitler & atomic bombs. And the Roaring 20s when Americans visited illegal bars & had rampant sex (called petting parties) .

[@moonlightcocktail]

Tommy Dorsey is very good, for what it's worth

[@tomloft2000]

does anybody miss the NBC peacock?

[@keithbrown8814]

Yes

[@MarshallArtz007]

I miss the announcer’s voice, too. 🦚

[@GeorgeMaster-xg7lg]

​@@keithbrown8814I certainly do.On certain episodes of Bonanza(MeTV airing),the NBC peacock is left in at the beginning,and I love it! I only wish that MeTV would keep the CBS identity when Hogan's Heroes is shown.

[@keithbrown8814]

At the start of "Good Times" ...a voiceover would (with great excitement) announce...."From Television City in Hollywood!!!" .... it was a great way to start that show that my whole family loved ....we were just kids ...but we loved Friday evenings watching this program at 8pm ...we laughed so hard !!!!

[@stantheman9072]

I miss NBC being run by sane people with common sense.

[@stevetrevino5346]

Johnny was great at the art of subtly. Never tried too hard. Also the king of getting mileage out of the jokes that bombed. Facial expressions and pauses. Great !

[@dennisdivine7448]

Forgotten now, but "The Tonight Show" was 90 minutes then, every weeknight! And that was down from the 105 minutes it had been. You can tell from the guest list that the show absolutely gobbled through New York City talent. And it was during this period when Johnny Carson had perfected what Jack Paar had started as a staple: the monolog and the conventional talk show format we know today.

[@mdit21]

Here's another event of the period while Johnny delivered his monologue in August 1964, "Where Did Our Love Go" by the Supremes was in day two on top of the Billboard Hot 100 (lasting till around September 5); first of five number-one hits in-a-row and the rest is music history!

[@quad5186]

Thanks for putting this up, well done!

[@jadentrez]

"Berra came up with a rather novel solution as to the disposal of that harmonica. Linz, not being an acrobat, declined."

[@marshallkinjongun5333]

Very nice clean version Don't you think?👍

[@DoU12Rock]

I was 8 in 1964 and I got to watch it on Fridays, of course it was in black and white on a tv with rabbit ear antenna so the picture had more snow than a clear picture.

[@troubledsole9104]

@@DoU12Rock A lot of people today do not appreciate what it took to get great reception.

[@drakbar5957]

Got our first color tv in ‘64. Big ass RCA console - as deep as it was wide thanks to the monstrous picture tube.

[@abc64pan]

I bet it took a forklift to haul it into the house.

[@joevignolor4u949]

It must have been a "roundie" where the picture tube screen was actually round but the top and bottom of the tube was covered with a mask to make the picture appear kind of square.

[@drakbar5957]

Exactly - those early color tv tubes were round, so RCA masked them to make it appear rectangular. NBC had the most color video shows, but resolution and clarity was much better on CBS. Norelco cameras were better than RCAs.

[@drakbar5957]

Yup - the console was delivered to the home due to its size and weight. In the sixties a tech would come to your house to fix a TV. Today must people junk their flat screens if they’re out of warranty.

[@joevignolor4u949]

@@drakbar5957 Back then a color TV was the third most expensive thing someone would purchase after their house and their car. So if it broke it was usually worth getting it repaired. But now a good flat screen is relatively cheap compared to an early color TV set so it makes more economic sense to just dump it if it breaks. I repaired TV's for a living in the 1970's and 80's and you could make a decent living at it. But once the manufacturers got rid of the vacuum tubes and went all solid state to improve reliability and the prices of color TV's started to come way down I saw the writing on the wall and went into a different line of work.

[@dm95422]

I need a time machine. NOW !

[@TheDylandProductions]

@Mona Budblue I third that time machine. Heck, maybe if we put our heads together we can try and build one ourselves. Only our grandparents will know! :P

[@theoriginaljosiahjocson332]

dm9542 me too!!!

[@sillygoose635]

@Mona Budblue Fuck off, with your actual pathetic sanctimonious irrelevant whiny bullshit garbage from the past

[@MarshallArtz007]

I loved Jack Paar and Johnny Carson. Such classy shows. You would have loved them. 📺

[@chrisking9228]

This is amazing because it was my understanding that all of his New York shows were taped over and none of them survived. This is the first time I have ever seen any clip of a New York Tonight Show with Johnny Carson

[@1aikane]

Oh how I miss this America! 😭

[@markspangler5316]

More of these color broadcasts are showing up from the early days. They are fascinating because Carson tended to show the same clips on his anniversary shows... almost always in b/w. It's also cool to see how the show evolved. But Carson was always Carson. There was a different east-coast vibe with the New York locale. Amazing stuff.

[@steveomusicman6645]

Wonderful job, Dave and staff!

[@troysvisualarts]

Excellent to see more of the early years of The Tonight Show exist in glorious colour on quad tape, thanks for sharing! :)

[@jimamato456]

troysvisualarts I have a feeling that the first show from October 1, 1962 will show up sooner or later. Someone has to have at least a kinescope of it.

[@kevinnelson66]

@@jimamato456 Or a reel to reel audio recording at least. When I get that time machine built...

[@electrictroy2010]

Don’t even need a time machine. A time viewer is sufficient (like a TV looking at the past)

[@GFred1]

Awesome. Something magical with color video tape.

[@emansnas]

Wow! Hella nice quality for '64. Thank you!!

[@jasonwarren22]

I'm totally addicted to watching his show since I found him on you tube.i probably watch 3or 4 ephisodes a day and at work I listen to him with earphones when I can and even when I'm riding my bike to work

[@jamesweir221]

Wow!! Johnny in New York!! You don’t see a lot of this!! Great stuff!! Thanks for posting!!

[@Wisdom122]

Wow! Such class and style! I wish we had one... just one chat show host like this today!!

[@fullervisiondotnet]

This is really a transitional monologue: the Yankees harmonica bit is part of the longer, conversational style like Jack Paar used, but you can see Carson shaping it into the rapid-fire style that would make him famous.

[@HeadoftheSeniorClass-en6qp]

This is super. So glad it's here, and in "LIVING COLOR"!

[@drj602]

Thank you for posting this !

[@mattdon2164]

This was my four month Birthday! Great stuff relating the Yankees Phil Linz harmonica story. The World’s Fair footage in the beginning is priceless. Thanks for uploading!

[@jasonwarren22]

It's the first show ive seen from that 60's.he didn't change really at all throughout all the years

[@KChiefs12]

Thanks for posting this!

[@Ghastly_Grinner]

Its funny to think how drastically the nation changed in the years Johnny was on the air

[@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont]

Well, that's one word for it.

[@steveb7310]

Sad, really

[@tokenjoy]

And not for the better.

[@Ghastly_Grinner]

@@tokenjoy True

[@biggobot3253]

Erosion of a common morality, and replaced by marxism.

[@Asiablue]

That is amazing! Somebody recored an episode from early December, 1963, about a week after JFK’s assassination. A very somber mood throughout.

[@elvisjordan5137]

It is absolutely amazing to c such an early episode as 1964 uncovered after all these many decades in color!! Videotape has a much shorter lifespan than film unfortunately given its composition...so this is a miracle it looks so good! All these decades I never knew there had been ANY color versions of the Tonight Show from this early! I assume we're ALL surprised! Every once in awhile rare hidden treasures like this r discovered & recovered before they disintegrate into dust permanently. No late night host since Johnny has attained the mastery Carson had making him the Gold standard ALL talk show comedians would aspire to. ANY1 who is an aspiring comedian or broadcaster should be required to watch the ORIGINAL Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to learn TRUE mastery that has since been long forgotten as evidenced by today's poor excuse for late night talk shows! Johnny Carson was a legend who decades later STILL teaches how it should be done! Unfortunately I never realized my dream of appearing on or meeting Johnny Carson....but I did thankfully have the honor of finally meeting Ed McMahon at the Jerry Lewis Telethon before he died. Thanks for the memories Johnny!

[@electrictroy2010]

FALSE. Videotape doesn’t fall-apart like film negatives. Lots of old tapes exist from 1956 onward (including the Twlight Zone which stored ~10 episodes on tape, instead of film) .

[@ericcriteser4001]

Wanted to watch it all. Sounds like it would have been an amazing show!

[@leftyspade]

Amazing find, thanks.

[@peterfriend8084]

What a great archival clip - early RCA color broadcast, Skitch instead of Doc, topical ‘64 references from when the show originated from NYC, Johnny in “ring-a-ding-ding” mode, with golf swing to end the monologue and a big, honking ashtray awaiting him on the desk.....just fantastic.

[@janicemurphy7878]

There's various kinds of genius and Johnny is the kind that's humorous. Awm

[@honestone490]

5:19 Doc Severinsen is only 37 years old here and looks so young. No suit with loud colors either. Actually very conservative looking. I wonder if the RCA color tv connection to NBC and the series had anything to do with the color of his outfits later getting brighter and bolder as the series went on ? Doc will be turning 95 years old on the Fourth of July. The last one still alive from this classic late night series. Here's wishing him many more birthdays to come.

[@blakespower]

I am old enough to remember them touting when a program was in color thats why NBC made the Peacock their mascot

[@mkl62]

Thanks for posting.

[@Davis-lq8re]

Now if they could get the episode with Ed Ames and the famous tomahawk throw.

[@abc64pan]

The laugh with no end.

[@ksteiger]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zn2YgnZvj6-eg5o

[@AlanSledge]

A fascinating way to watch analog video and audio work during the '60's. Also the way the network used video signals to alert their affiliates to a local commercial toss coming their way

[@johndoe-ln4oi]

This is great, thank you!

[@codym8897]

On August 24, 1964, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson switched from black and white to color. From 1962 to 1964, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson was filmed in black and white. The Tonight Show became one of the first NBC shows broadcasting in color.🙂

[@jackeppington6488]

I don't have the source handy, but another version is that The Tonight Show was produced in color all the way back to Jack Paar.

[@markbuckley8675]

Color began in September 1960

[@jeffcharlton9660]

5 yrs. to the day before I was born. Best late night host ever.

[@jamesarmstrong5424]

Pure gold. Can we get the current lineup of late nite hosts to study this and learn how to actually entertain without alienating their audiences?!

[@writereducator]

How cool it was NYC.

[@raulmacias1311]

How on earth could NBC wipe these precious episodes of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson"? Johnny hosted so many iconic celebrities in the 60s and early 70s! Incredibly, Carson encouraged the wiping of his shows. Unbelievably, Johnny believed there was no value in this archival footage! "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" broadcasted in colour from October 1,1962 ~ May 22,1992.

[@Sussy-hotdog]

Early years weren’t in color.

[@raulmacias1311]

@@Sussy-hotdog I got my information from Wikipedia. There is another fascinating archive listing on Google - "List of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" which lists all the episodes, dates and guests who appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson".

[@eLEMENTARYimage]

When Johnny's work week was 5 days.

[@johnking5174]

In 1964 Johnny worked 5 days a week for 42 weeks of the year. By 1984 he was working 3 days a week for 37 weeks of the year.

[@troubledsole9104]

@@johnking5174 Great work if you can get it.

[@dogbarbill]

And the show back then was an hour and 45 minutes long.

[@johnking5174]

@@dogbarbill He literally had NBC over a barrel in 1980 when he was in the contract battle with NBC, who caved in and gave him everything he wanted.

[@KC______]

@@dogbarbill 👋 Wasn't the length of The Tonight Show actually 90 minutes long until after it moved to the West Coast permanently? I don't remember exactly when it became an hour long program but IIRC it was several years after the move. 👁️ They Are The EggMen 👁️

[@jeffgilbert3892]

Would love to see the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with Frank Jr. and Helen Forest & Sam Donahue! Thanks for the clip

[@saaketh83]

johnny was a unique kind of cool. you could tell he still didnt have his famous confidence yet, but you could see that budding star right here in this clip. rest in power carson 🤙🏾🤙🏾

[@jeffboice1943]

From searches of the Portland Oregonian and Seattle Times: From 9/20/1960 to 4/24/1967 there was a one day delay for all Tonight Show broadcasts on the Pacific Coast. The change in 1960 coincides with the new fall season and Tonight going to color broadcasts. The change in 1967 coincides with Carson returning after the AFTRA strike/contract dispute (and the debut one week earlier of Joey Bishop's show on ABC). As noted elsewhere, back then everybody saw L.A. filmed episodes on a one-day delay. And there were rare examples where people on the West Coast saw a New York based Tonight on the same day it was taped- the New Years Eve shows for example. But the normal rule back then held that a Tonight recorded in New York on Friday would air that Friday throughout most of the U.S., but wouldn't air in the Pacific Time zone until Monday.

[@mmaranta785]

Great recording

[@jimjunot3052]

I love the look of this set!

[@user-yc2oz8kc5k]

When I started watching Johnny he was in his 50s and with white hair. So it is rare to watch a young Johnny at the age of 38 with no white hair yet. He speaks the same way as he did later and he looks very young in that 3 piece suit. He looks very 1960s. RIP Johnny.

[@bunnystuff2005]

Loved him and so miss him.

[@16723193]

Johnny Carson looks great. So young back then.

[@rty1955]

I think the AVR-1 was the best machine Ampex ever built. I work on every quad that Ampex ever made. I was 19 and nominated for an Emmy for a show that was physically spliced. Ahh those were the days

[@electrictroy2010]

Congratulations! I imagine splicing the tape was difficult.

[@rty1955]

@@electrictroy2010 it separated the men from the boys. Once you got the hang of it, you could be very fast. I worked at a large post facility as well and was the only one that could splice a camera master that had gotten damaged. You could never splice with helical scan. A show called "Rowan & Martins laugh_in" was physically spliced. You also needed an audio tape machine at times because like film, audio is separated by a few inches from the video

[@jasonbeard4713]

Most excellent!

[@peterwilson2080]

Kudos to the gang at DC Video for a fantastic restoration job! There are not many tapes of Johnny's New York Tonight Shows (especially this early), which I found edgier and more raw than the later, highly polished Burbank shows. I believe the studio was smaller, that may have had something to do with it.

[@markschildberg1667]

Yes, this is studio 6A at 30 Rock, which seats maybe 250 people.

[@electrictroy2010]

The early 70s shows in Burbank were pretty raw (and uncensored). Also being in California had more movie stars visiting

[@okboomer1340]

I stumbled upon this and had to watch as I was born in 1964.