Johnny Carson Faxes Joke to David Letterman, May 2, 1990

[@MojaveDan]

That joke is old enough to have kids and it's still funny. Thanks Johnny!

[@TheRealLaughingGravy]

_David, I'm going to fax you this joke, and no matter what happens back there, it left here funny._

[@callenomari1403]

A tip : watch movies at KaldroStream. Been using it for watching loads of movies recently.

[@suttonsantino1607]

@Callen Omari Definitely, I've been watching on Flixzone} for since december myself :D

[@newphonewhodis1035]

No matter what happens there, it left here funny!! Classic!!

[@boblozaintherealworld3577]

Carson was the best when he made snide/sarcastic remarks....without sounding like it. That line was a perfect example.

[@kathyd2595]

Johnny Carson was a class act. He was on everyone's TV across the country, after the late news. Always funny and clever.

[@johnking5174]

Johnny never worked at a desk, he always wrote his monologue and organised the show from a couch and coffee table.

[@Gvozd111]

its not that hard to believe

[@gary1632]

Johnny seems like pure class it's spotless clean clever comedy with perfect timing and dave seemed only to happy to let him have the floor

[@scottcrosby-art5490]

Greatest talk show of all time.. featuring the two greatest hosts of all time

[@ronroberts5624]

When David Letterman retired from late nite television,So did I. These 2 were the only true entertainers of late nite.

[@trueknowledgeispower]

"David, I'm going to fax you this joke, and no matter what happens back there, it left here funny."

[@hughmcaloon6506]

Only Dave could take corny gags and beef them up to "hilarious" by making the setup so elaborate... thanks for posting!

[@NB-ky5ol]

Hugh McAloon that exactly describes Letterman.

[@jasonjackson5696]

Hugh McAloon - I guess you are saying the jokes became corned beef .... 😂😂😂

[@LivingGospel]

Norm too. Why they were close friends.

[@JaredsGaming]

Johnny this is Ed, can I have a ride to work today? lol

[@rickycole6327]

The two GOATS of late night television priceless RIP Johnny 🌺

[@Rob_Kates]

This is ironic since after Johnny retired, he would send jokes to Letterman (not Leno by the way).

[@tyrander1652]

Jimmy Walker has an interview on you tube talking about Letterman, Leno, and Carson and how Leno's manager/agent killed Carson's career.

[@funeralbillii9172]

Jimmy "J.J." Walker?

[@tyrander1652]

Yup. Kid DY-NO-MITE himself

[@funeralbillii9172]

My MAN!!!!

[@sabbathunter]

Carson did not like Leno, because he felt that Leno underhandedly took over the Tonight Show. Johnny wanted Letterman to take over.

[@LoveMusic9973]

Hilarious together 😂😂😂 Johnny Carson and David Letterman such talented comedians. Johnny had many talents he could sing play the drums and dance. A man with true midwestern ethics loyalty and always a gentleman. ❤️😂

[@markwilson3026]

Two of the greatest talk show hosts ever.

[@NeilRossHistoryComedyPoetry]

It's from a classic line posted on the wall of Carson's writers' room. "lt left here funny."

[@2010bigpapi]

Two legends!!! “No matter what happens there, it left here funny” 😂😂😂

[@scottnewbury4045]

Johnny and Dave never failed to deliver. Top notch performers. Love 'em!!!

[@mantisnomo5984]

We love Johnny Carson!

[@covertyankee]

It's amazing how fast time goes by.

[@jomama5186]

I miss Johnny

[@jochananberohart3578]

"This is unbelievable technology [...]"

[@TheMongex]

the card the assistant´s holding already has the joke written on.. funny.

[@barrettus]

Watching that again for some reason made me think about the time Johnny hit a baseball to Dave

[@boblozaintherealworld3577]

they both loved gag jokes....and Dave openly stole a lot of that from Steve Allen.

[@NobleWarrior]

He's a history buff hey. He must know about Germany taking on... THE WORLD!!

[@jimconace3522]

Dave's relationship with Johnny Carson is hilarious!

[@KrazeeClark]

Another gem Donz.

[@ronflatter1235]

11:07 “I’ve seen Al coming out of Hurley’s like that.” Hey, I once or twice came out of Hurley’s like that.

[@untexan]

Love Dave reveling in the chaos after they triggered the smoking Al Maher dummy

[@NxDoyle]

The two things that stick out here: 1) When Johnny appeared, the audience didn't lose their shit like they would today if Jon Stewart appeared on Colbert's show. They must really whip up those late night crowds, they go full Beatles for nothing. And 2) the news anchor at the top looked like an isosceles triangle.

[@dongiller]

That's long-time WNBC news anchor Sue Simmons.

[@JonathanAllen0379]

Just literally pissed my pants at the news anchor looking like an isosceles triangle. =)) =))

[@JonathanAllen0379]

She was rocking the Rachel Maddow/David Hogg look twenty-eight years earlier...

[@ajn465]

Find the clip Of Dave’s show with Johnny after his retirement.. it was bedlam.

[@TheRealLaughingGravy]

Ooo, she's like a hot robot anchorwoman from _Blade Runner._

[@todwest]

Simply brilliant

[@coldwinter5710]

Those were the days...

[@jameshoran8]

Dave was sitting there two years before the fiasco, fully thinking he was Johnny's heir-apparent for The Tonight Show. So Dave continue to take off on Jack Welsh and all the execs at NBC and that sealed his fate. Hello, Jay Leno.

[@maximilianbecker773]

Always two there are. No more, no less. A Master and an Apprentice.

[@bobchessick4282]

I love how the Hal puppet looked like Joe Paterno.

[@blaisevillaume2225]

Hey, you can still get a tub of Turtle Wax for four bucks

[@WilliamHerlihy-p4g]

Don't tell me, tell the Queen.

[@landgsmith]

This made my day!

[@niceguygesnone1]

It was said Johnny still gave David jokes after he left and he retired,

[@GrayLensman51]

This was back when late night talk shows were actually enjoyably funny and entertaining to watch. Sad times nowadays. Don't even bother to watch the unfunny tripe they broadcast now.

[@JoeyRetroRockets]

Don - I just stumbled upon this great story about you in the New York Times. Thanks for this invaluable contribution to KZbin. What drew me were the "collections". What a terrific job. I stopped being a Letterman fan long before he went off the air but his time at Late Night - THAT David Letterman - was very funny and creative and he had a great staff of writers. You're as much a part of the team as any of them. www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/fashion/mens-style/david-letterman-late-show-don-giller.html

[@dongiller]

Thanks, Joey! "Stumbled" is the right verb here. :) That profile became out of date last December when I acquired those two missing Late Nights. The collection is now, finally, at 100%. Someone who played a pivotal role in the show during its golden years tagged me as a part of Late Night -- with an asterisk. :) But let's not kid ourselves. I wasn't there, and I'm fully conscious of my non-position. I'd rather maintain that stance than claim I was a part of something. I, like you, was just a fan and still am.. All I did was press the record button every night. But thanks again!

[@dongiller]

Also, if you want to get even more sick of me, copy the links on my "About" section on this channel. It includes the Times article, plus a Village Voice piece from 1995 and an online Q&A with fellow collector/fan David Yoder that Jeff Zuk conducted in April 2015, a month before Late Show ended.

[@tomz500]

I remember Dave calling Johnny to get permission to do "Stump The Band."

[@mehjones8008]

💜 Dave!

[@philipcarthy2977]

2xkings of late night the king Mr Carson and the wonderful Letterman

[@FloobyMcT12]

Marvelous!

[@lewcipher358]

It's almost too perfect.

[@KeithCarey33]

... the voice of Howard the Duck. Late Night was the best. So many talented, hilarious folks come from Indiana.

[@raynemichelle2996]

Old fashioned zoom call

[@mrjack8849]

I wasn’t really a Dave fan, but I like watching the old late night shows because I miss the 80s and 90s.

[@magnushyenna1574]

Nice

[@aperson22222]

Sue Simmons! I remember her!

[@paulypooper2]

Oh the world before smart phones

[@finnibertlunchiken7792]

I know this has nothing to do with this video but it occured to me watching this that it was 28 years ago. A long time but not half a century. I noticed that Dave aged very rapidly in the fifteen years from 2000 to 2015. Its almost as if he had a rapid aging disease. Its like he went from 50 yrs old to 80 with his white hair, voice and posture. I believe his heart surgery may have contributed to this but it may have been the shingles episode. However for some reason, now, even with his 'Santa' beard he appears to now be his correct age of almost 70. Its all very strange and inexplicable. I can't be the only one who's noticed this.

[@Munedawg]

Make up.

[@thomaslarcher9955]

finnibert lunchiken completely agree

[@jomama5186]

Beautiful house, how terrifying.

[@singlesideman]

This is gold. Even though I'd already stopped watching the show regularly by this time, he clearly still had that extraordinary, bemused by the ridiculous quality that defined him. He lampooned the absurd, and everyone was in on the joke, but it wasn't mean spirited. It had a quality of, aw, come on now, while always demonstrating that if it weren't for the outrageous, and the absurd, and the ridiculous, and that edge of people and situations, he wouldn't have had a job. Subtle plate tectonics for the world of comedy, and frankly, cultural anthropology, if you ask me. Thanks again, Don. Extraordinary and important stuff, as always. And as a selfish and lazy segue, do you have the definitive suite of the "They pelted us with rocks and garbage" saga? I'm loath to watch anyone else's curation.

[@dongiller]

I mean to put together all of the Catch Phrases in one collection but when I dunno.

[@singlesideman]

Don Giller Whenever you get the chance it would be so appreciated. It's not a race. But if you focused on individual catch phrases it would make your life easier, and connect us all so beautifully with each other, I think... Thank you again for doing what you do, and for getting it all, so deeply, and for getting it so right, every single time. I see what you're doing. You're damned good. Thank you. For all of this. It actually matters...

[@dongiller]

So you're the one... :)

[@singlesideman]

Don Giller yeah, I'm that guy, or whatever that hell it is that I am. You're killing it. Thanks again for all that you do. This is extraordinary stuff...

[@LivingGospel]

Back when they put actual funny people on Late Night

[@kevinnelsonukoll3783]

Don't hurt yourself, Al. Great stuff, Don.

[@jennylee9278]

I love Biff.

[@AfterwardDeified]

Proof that you don't have to curse to be funny

[@albertdavila6808]

Oh my a fax machine

[@sweethands4328]

I wonder if Johnny got a kick out of this

[@watchgoose]

Her Majesty used to be an auto mechanic during the War. Just saying....

[@g-a-i-l-]

Best Buds.

[@showgirlsaroundtheworldada4484]

Johnny was the best...and a super Foxx too

[@WilliamFHenry]

How many stage hands does it take to screw in a light bulb?

[@yasmeenelayyan9292]

*Is this phone working? No one answered there for a lengthy time* _One joke_ when entertainment was good

[@boblozaintherealworld3577]

Just saying....but Leno could have never pulled this off. I saw the Tonight Show with Leno live....just once....which is weird cause I lived in friggin' Burbank at the time and used to see him driving around or even at burger joints....but anyways. He came out to warm up his OWN audience before the show, wearing a denim shirt and just working the crowd. He was engaged and HILARIOUS. Then the show started and he just turned into 'TV Jay'. The NETWORK decided, I suppose, that Letterman was just too....sarcastic? satirical? I don't think Leno was ever considered to be a viable HOST, but the network wanted him and he wound up making 14 million a year in a job he was obviously not comfortable doing. No wonder he spent ALL his off-time proving himself on live stages all over the country. Just saying. And at this point in time, who cares?

[@leelohaskin7941]

Cool story, doesn't anybody have anything better to do than keep up late night rivalries tho?🙄

[@DABA2024]

NBC was right, Jay thoroughly defeated Dave in the end. Dave is the better, more talented host, but I wonder what his show would have been like if he didn’t expend so much effort nailing every female intern and making people generally terrified to work for him. He was more concerned about getting laid, and Jay was more concerned about his show. And it showed.

[@bobchessick4282]

Peter Lasalley (producer for both Carson and Letterman at different times) explained why NBC chose Leno over Letterman and it seemed to have to do a lot with Leno was good at playing the corporate game and did whatever was asked of him whereas Dave was more resistant. Of course that would bite NBC in the back when CBS offered Dave his show and Carson appeared on it instead of Leno's.

[@jomama5186]

Old time Skyline? Lol

[@philswaim392]

Letterman hated show business and his show always exemplified that.

[@nathanccole]

Yet he didn’t get the tonight show

[@100domathon]

Johnny Carson's shirt

[@Tmanaz480]

Stylish even when casual.

[@Dan-nt2yb]

Davie?

[@cyclo1224]

that poor women: (

[@tomtheplummer7322]

Turtle Wax and snake 🐍 oil😎🙏🏻

[@dennis7511]

Davie Letterman?

[@dongiller]

Oops! Fixed. And thanks.

[@myautobiographyafanfic1413]

I love how Biff can't act.

[@NxDoyle]

Margaret Ray was a very ill woman. I remember reading a piece about her, I think in the aftermath of her suicide. She was one of three children, I think, all of whom suffered from schizophrenia. And they all killed themselves.

[@bobchessick4282]

And Dave never ever referred to her by name on his show out of respect.

[@urwholefamilydied]

1:12 I love Letterman... but shit, his whole schtick has pretty much been, "just say something weird, doesn't have to be funny". When you get the first gig in the late late show it works cause you don't have to be incredibly funny... just quirky.. .then you just keep doing it. He worked hard, but I would also say got incredibly lucky in the position he ended up in. He's likeable and weird. And now has 200 million (maybe more??) dollars or whatever from "four books for a can of turtlewax?!". Crazy.

[@OttoByOgraffey]

*bucks?

[@urwholefamilydied]

@@OttoByOgraffey ahhhh ya. Makes more sense now. LOL. My point still stands though. Still an odd "joke".