Joan Rivers Cracks Johnny Up | Carson Tonight Show

Original Airdate: 02/27/1979
#johnnycarson #thetonightshow #joanrivers
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[@minutewithmark7564]

She had Johnny laughing so hard and I was laughing at her jokes but also laughing at Johnny’s reactions that made it all that much funnier..

[@adriande1]

Rivers and Rickles were the GOATS

[@tcarbonimusic]

The best female comedian. I don’t think I ever saw Johnny laugh so hard. It’s a shame they had a falling out and never made up before he died.

[@yanadranov2621]

best comedian woman or man (in my opinion)

[@anitapodsudek8041]

It's shame she turned out to be an ungrateful skunk, isn't it? It';s Ok she wanted her own show but her arrogance made her want it in the same time slot to compete with his and all without telling him. Greedy arrogant skunk

[@tinaroberts5858]

Perhaps he should have chosen her over Leno. Imo. I stopped watching when Leno became the host.

[@TOMASjBARTON]

Why did they fall out?

[@tcarbonimusic]

@@TOMASjBARTONI believe it was because she accepted a job hosting a late night talk show on another network. I can’t recall if it was in his same time slot or not.

[@Nic1987]

It’s so sad how things ended with these two. You can’t deny the amazing chemistry they once had. Joan was always a riot and Johnny was always falling over laughing. ❤

[@Roma-SRyan]

"a HANGER in my ear" 😂 wow, ill remember that line forever

[@tonimoraful]

I loved Joan Rivers. She was so hilarious! I was so sad when she passed away.

[@tishtashtishtash]

She was murdered by the OR team who was more I interested in taking selfies.

[@normamcmanus1139]

She was murdered for telling the truth about Michelle Obama.

[@524kirkd]

Hard to believe she worked so hard to appear so “off the cuff.” She had card catalogs full of jokes in her house. Such a comedy icon!

[@shac9131]

I didn't know Joan did or I forgotten, but I saw Phyllis' and I was jaw dropped to see her room filed with like a million jokes

[@pamelanicol3703]

She was brillant😊

[@andrahunsaker4781]

So hilarious is she !! ❤️❤️

[@lisareed5669]

They all did. Phyllis Diller's joke cards are in the Smithsonian.

[@524kirkd]

@@lisareed5669 Phyllis was a mentor to Joan. They were wonderful friends. There’s a video on KZbin called “Joan Remembers Phyllis” (or something close to that). You might enjoy it.

[@steffenritter7497]

After all these years, I had literally forgotten how funny she was! Good memories ...

[@ceilconstante640]

So great to see Joan Rivers cracking up Johnny Carson and hear the audience roar with laughter. She really was the funniest woman ever!

[@TurboGent]

This is the first time I’ve seen this clip. It is hands down one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen, and I’m nearly 60. I cannot believe how on fire Joan was on this night, and how provocative she was for 1979! You can hear the audience gasping and marveling at her chutzpah to speak on so many topics middle America didn’t like to talk about back then. Jeez - she ran the gauntlet from birth control to marijuana roach clips to back alley abortions! The only thing funnier to me than all of her zingers here, is hearing and seeing Johnny repeatedly explode & collapse in laughter again and again. It was a great joy to see comedians who could really slay Johnny, and usually only a joke or two out of the blue. Joan could consistently slay Johnny mercilessly! And you can tell by his compliment at the end here. This was a magical time captured for posterity - thank you so much for posting this!!!!

[@TurboGent]

9:27 I don’t think I have ever heard Johnny laugh at anything as much as this..!

[@richardlacey4923]

What was funny?

[@marilynrowland5197]

Every line out of her mouth! I have tears from laughing so much!

[@DreamsSketcher]

Fearless!

[@flyinghow]

She got so tickled when she made him laugh lol. I miss her!!! RIP❤

[@scottyh8494]

Even nearly 10 years after her death. This is still gold. She was one of the greats no doubt.

[@richardselfridge2926]

The best advice I've ever heard was from Joan when she was asked about how she survived Edgar's suicide. She said, "I'm not going to tell you it gets better, because it doesn't get better. You get better."

[@DaveAlan]

She is hysterical no matter how old she gets!!!!!!! RIP Joan!

[@suzanner3894]

Hands down her best stuff and I’ve seen a lot of these clips and never saw Carson laugh so hard. I find it so sad that they had such a falling out.

[@tishtashtishtash]

There really was no good reason JC crucified her just bc he heard about her new show in a premature press release before JR could call him.

[@jayhpaq]

@@tishtashtishtashI agree that JC’s reaction was overblown and he treated her unjustly, but at the same time JR could have and should have consulted him beforehand. That was the whole reason he was upset about it, and I don’t blame him. But, his unwillingness to forgive and forget was really unfortunate and does not reflect well on him at all.

[@mrshelley1]

@@jayhpaq😅looks

[@danam0228]

It was more NBC than Johnny, but yeah

[@andrahunsaker4781]

So sad they had their falling out because they were so very funny and entertaining together. He was my favorite Talk Show Hosts (and Entertainer), and she was my favorite comedian ! ❤️❤️

[@WingsOfDay]

9:30 I've watched most of the Carson clips and I don't think I've seem him laugh that hard.

[@bubufubu]

I was thinking the same thing. I heard him cackle for the first time in a clip with Paul Williams that was posted two weeks ago: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2bNgoyFmNWJodUsi=TfkukzAh6HG3R-80&t=149 Joan has him rolling here, though. He actually has tears from laughing so hard.

[@geraldpatterson3903]

Watch the Xmas robin Willams interview from 1987....this was nothing compared to that

[@markh.]

I just watched the two clips, "Robin Williams Finest Interview (1987) Part 1 of 2" and Carson does laugh consistently pretty non-stop but still not the long drawn out laugh I saw with the hanger joke here. "Sis Boom Baa" and the George Gobel joke about Oklahoma aren't far behind. @@geraldpatterson3903

[@WingsOfDay]

@@geraldpatterson3903 Actually look up the time Carson interviewed Jonathon Winters in "Jonathan Winters Tells Drinking Stories" about the zoo and that laugh was almost as long.

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

@@geraldpatterson3903 I always found Joan funnier. Robin to me always seemed to be trying too hard, and too much.

[@SimplyGobsmacked]

Only Joan Rivers could make me laugh at a back-alley abortion joke. The woman was a national treasure. I don't know if people who didn't grow up in these times can appreciate how much she pushed the envelope in this interview. She's brilliant.

[@cassidywelch2725]

Great joke. She did something similar on Letterman 30 years later

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

Yes, considering the year, I'm surprised the censors left that hanger line in. They didn't joke or barely mention abortion on TV in those days.

[@markbirchette8740]

Joan always killed it!😂

[@marksimmo8626]

God rest her the world misses you joan so funny and smart

[@Brian-pf7qq]

This is the best I've ever heard joan Rivers

[@anthonylicausi3566]

"You're Dynamite Tonight!" Got to be the best line to describe Joan. I hope wherever they are , Joan & Johnny are both laughing and enjoying each other like they did in this clip...

[@mukundsharma2570]

The greatest comedian on planet earth. Ever!

[@johnking5174]

8:37 - the joke which really hit Carson hard, he laughed so much, seeing him lean back in his chair laughing was the dream for every comedian who came on the show and sat at the desk, and here it happens with Joan and Johnny.

[@haroldelrod8515]

I think it was at 9:30 !

[@johnking5174]

@@haroldelrod8515 If I was the host, I would have the same reaction as Johnny here

[@aarondigby5054]

@8:37 that's a little more self-deprecating than Johnny was ready for

[@meijer78]

Loved seeing the two of them together. Just unfortunate of their fallout in 1986.

[@mmckee7]

There has never been a love affair on television as powerful as the connection between Johnny Carson and Joan Rivers.

[@williamkelly8026]

Johnny Carson had such a wonderful laugh it's fun to hear it!

[@missb5982]

She was always on top of her game. Fearless, on the edge, always hilarious. Worked hard to the end and clearly loved what she did. RIP JR

[@sgtzilla58]

Never seen Johnny laugh so much,great stuff.

[@gloriageyer7691]

The effervescently funny Joan!! She was wild this night!! ❤ No one cracked up Carson like her!!

[@flenif2247]

Her comedy was based in truth as all the best comedy is!

[@rcdoodles6214]

This was wonderful. I miss these days so much.

[@8teendiscover]

wow she's so sharp. Gosh I rarely seen someone getting jokes like that in a natural flowing manner, so fast yet so great.

[@dagnylilliendahl5325]

I just love to hear Johnny laugh. Miss both of them.

[@KingpinTBM]

First Don Rickles now Joan Rivers. Did Christmas come early this year? Thank you guys so much!

[@jillkjv3816]

She was utterly hilarious 😂

[@code-52]

I'm so glad I lived the glory days of humanity.

[@genepope7498]

Hoboy are you right there. It's hard to believe there is so much more puritanism today than back then. That was a magic time when nighttime TV had some balls. And note, the humor had zero politics in it.

[@code-52]

@@genepope7498 I'm actually a 62 year old mamaw. 🤣 Johnny Carson made political jokes, but both parties were fair game. This polarization is insanity.

[@MrCoreyCoreyCorey]

Respect: "You're Dynamite tonight"....this was for me, Rodney Dangerfield pacing, she was on fire, landing shots, what a clip! I will add this to the Thanksgiving Doc clip, and now I have a pair of instant cheer-me-ups!

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

She didn't get the credit or acclaim she deserved as a comedian, for how fast and sharp and smart she was, which I'm sure was because she was a woman in a male field, and in those days men didn't like a woman being loud and crude like that, even if all the guys did the same thing. And because she was known for her celebrity jokes, people used to call her "mean" but she was popular because she made the kind of jokes everyone else was thinking.

[@JackiePhillipsTheSocialPet]

Joan was always hysterical!!!

[@tonystone1016]

I love how Carson got the segment started then stepped back and let the comedians work. He was front row center for the pserformance. Still in control of show but he held the reigns loosely. Ed for his part added the laugh track for the whole segment. RIP all.

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

Yes. He didn't feel the need to keep interrupting and trying to top the guests, the way Fallon does and Leno and Letterman did.

[@lukec.9819]

Loved how Joan cracked up Johnny...and his reactions cracked Joan up!!!😂😂😂😂

[@gund2281]

The hanger line is one of the greatest moments in comedy. Joan is easily, far and away the best female comic ever. She had the guts to just deliver the punchline no matter how offensive or off color it was.

[@stevelee5724]

Heya gund. I near pissed myself 😂. She's fvcken Awsome ay mate ! Cheers from New Zealand

[@rogerbrinker7417]

Coat Hanger in her ear! Seeing Johnny leaning back so far it is a wonder he didn't end up on his back on the floor. I wonder if they had to replace the chair! Lol

[@flyerbob124]

They don’t make comedians like this anymore. Truly funny folks.

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

Thanks for the great post. Fun to see. Another time I remember him almost falling out of his chair was her classic line about how women shouldn't bother going to college, because men don't care how smart a woman is: "No man is ever going to put his hand up your dress looking for a library card." Carson roared and Joan used that line for many years! Thanks for the great post. Fun to see from before their relationship went bad. Another time I remember him almost falling out of his chair was her classic line about how women shouldn't bother going to college, because men don't care how smart a woman is: "No man is ever going to put his hand up your dress looking for a library card." Carson roared and Joan went on to use that line for many years!

[@NEPatriot]

Wow...Joan was straight 🔥🔥🔥🔥 this evening!

[@user-zd1jh5zz9n]

R.I.P Joan I loved you as a kid watching Hollywood Squares.

[@patfortescue5931]

Wish the Carson show was being shown in re-runs. Still the best’talk’ show ever❤

[@dididinah826]

She was so quick witted! Ruthless & hilarious! She would put it out there with such a comedic twist...I truly believe they killed her for it! Rest in Power Ms. Rivers! You are truly missed!💜🖤🤍

[@zivaray]

She’s such a legend

[@markciale5246]

Joan was always a hoot but she’s on fire here!!😂

[@tgosselin2528]

8:37 Just FYI for others who were unsure what she meant when she said she started using her "COIL" as a roach clip... I had to look it up because I never knew that an 'IUD' was also called a "coil"

[@ICONICMUSIC]

Thank you

[@sergiodiazfernandez1452]

Thank you, but I still don't understand the joke, English is not my first language. She is speaking about drugs, and then says she uses an IUD as a clip for roaches??

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

@@sergiodiazfernandez1452 She said drugs had replaced sex in Hollywood...so then the next line follows.

[@joho9815]

What a gift to be able to make people laugh that hard.

[@mistersurrealist]

Hahahaha, absolutely brilliant - as usual. Thank you for this massive dose of dopamine, Ms. Rivers.

[@pramudya_jkt]

She was a true GENIUS in interviews 😂

[@garymcaleer6112]

'79 were my college days. No time for Johnny then. But I have time for Johnny today. Glad for these posts.

[@jgaulorr]

Brilliant! Just hilarious!!

[@davidbrienlantry8760]

Say what ever you want about how Joan and Johnny's relationship ended; they made each other laugh!

[@barbaralavoie2642]

Classic! ❤😂

[@bar10ml44]

How can anyone not love this

[@true1evanique]

For me, the most funniest woman that can make me laugh to tears, were Joan Rivers and Carol Burnett.

[@neilarsenty]

That abortion joke is amazing. You can tell Johnny loved Joan. So sad these two had their falling out with Joan's talk show in 1986.

[@joha3714]

Joan was on fire. I miss her!

[@lindamaxin]

OMG This is 1 of the funniest episodes I ever watched! I really laughed! Thank you for posting this.

[@traceycamille]

She is so missed! Joan was legendary

[@JonBlondell]

One of the very best!

[@loriethomas169]

The mick jagger joke was so true😂😂

[@Les445]

This is the first time I have ever watched you. That was excellent and I loved it!!!!!

[@ghw7192]

Josn was also great on the Graham Norton show. She had everyone rolling, as she was totally uncensored.

[@albertpeterson5585]

...you can see it in Joan's face when she's about to let fly with another monster joke; this is the best set yet, even better then her library card joke. (With age comes wisdom set.) She had a card catalog of jokes, just like Milton Berle; the most brilliant comic ever; I miss the guilty pleasure of her and her team on "Fashion Police."

[@joe-zj8js]

I saw an interview or read that george carlin did the same. He catalogued his jokes until a time came where he could fit it in. I knew who joan was as a kid because my dad would be up late laughing. He watching carson regularly. It wasn't until i became an adult that i watched her act. That's very hard to do is have rapid fire jokes like that, that aren't just random 1 liners.

[@albertpeterson5585]

​@@joe-zj8js...I believe the idea of a card catalogue of jokes might go back as far as George Jessel, Jack Benny, or even AL Jolson.

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

Yes loved her on Fashion Police. "Who kicked that hooker out of her hotel room?"

[@SkySim]

Joan and Rodney Dangerfield should have made a movie together.

[@leilanirocks]

They should have had children.

[@lightbulb134]

He was too high on cocaine

[@lornedey4040]

Joan Rivers was the funniest woman I've ever heard.

[@leroyepps1146]

She was my favorite Female Comedian ❤

[@TurboGent]

This performance is a master class of comedy. Just gets better each time I watch it

[@lioness7582]

I'm using my coill as a roach clip.. Johnny's face!!

[@user-fb4sb1zi8g]

I miss Joan so much!

[@philippapay4352]

So many times now, I just want George Carlin or Robin Williams or Joan Rivers to go after the haters, miscreants comedically.

[@junglemoose2164]

But Robin Williams wasn’t funny.

[@virginiatrailcameravideos]

Loved hearing Ed's guffaw in there as well.

[@KingpinTBM]

4:54 She's right about Jagger 😂😂😂

[@roger1296]

She was hysterical!!!!

[@robertdiotalevi285]

Joanie totally slayed that night.

[@user-vq9kn2ix4n]

Three of the absolute (FUNNIEST) comedians in the business (EVER!!!!) JOAN RIVERS RICHARD PRYOR, & RODNEY DANGERFIELD HANDS DOWN!!!!😆

[@jamesphelps1440]

Joan so crazy (funny) lol !

[@sheismymom]

Joan Rivers will always be the greatest.

[@krismammas2320]

She was hilarious ! I loved her!

[@frankj.artino2203]

Excellent!

[@user-eg1qq5pv8k]

Johnny Carson stopped talking to Joan when she got her own TV show talk show instead of being proud of her and supporting her. They were probably not really the best of friends but I can tell just from this clip that he respected her as a comedienne and truth be told she was way funnier than he was. Just listen to how he genuinely laughs hysterically at her jokes. He realizes that she is the superior comic. And Joan made fun of herself more than she did others! She didn't need some script or to rehearse she was hilarious at the drop of a hat it was spontaneous and very much like a child or teen being funny with their classmates not trying to impress just trying to get everyone to laugh along with her. I miss her very much she was a wonderful human being and it's unfortunate we don't have her anymore to keep our minds off the division and hate and crises we face every day in this country. She would make me forget all the troubles and just laugh. I get the feeling that she is laughing at us down here on earth as we lose ourselves and prove how dumb we are for not getting along. We love you Joan.

[@TNT-km2eg]

Why is some people watching comedy show is m istery to me

[@TrinityMozart]

The two were certainly funny and interesting haha. 😂🙏🎹

[@ctheflower7818]

Love them all

[@michaelj.r457]

Within the laughter, there's always a bit of sadness watching these clips, knowing what would happen with Joan and Johnny.

[@frannyleyden7988]

Yes, so sad they had a falling out

[@johnking5174]

Seven years later after this aired would the feud start.

[@TNT-km2eg]

Watching comedy show to get sad ?!?

[@adriancolon8435]

The funniest woman to ever live ❤

[@oh033]

We miss you Joan

[@felixthelmocevallosmorales41]

John William Carson (Corning, Iowa; 23 de octubre de 1925 - West Hollywood, California; 23 de enero de 2005) fue un presentador, comediante, escritor y productor de televisión estadounidense.

[@iain3411]

Joan & Rodney at the same time , Wow that would be crazy.

[@Broadwaybuff-pi1qg]

Watch the clip with Joan hosting and Don RIckles as her guest sometime. Hilarious meeting of two similar comedians.

[@felixthelmocevallosmorales41]

Joan Alexandra Molinsky (Nueva York, 8 de junio de 1933-ibídem, 4 de septiembre de 2014), conocida profesionalmente como Joan Rivers, fue una comediante, actriz, presentadora de televisión, guionista y autora estadounidense.

[@geekbaritone]

She was talking about Sophia Loren, who was the previous guest on the same episode, it's somewhere on youtube too.

[@cojaysea]

Killed me ! 😂

[@KingOfTheSeas_]

I never realized how similar her and Rickles were. He came up with his stuff on the fly but she has this routine planned out with Carson. She moves the conversation from one joke to the next while making it look natural

[@johnking5174]

I found Joan better at this style of comedy than Don. Don seemed to go too far at times and his flow could sometimes be off, even Johnny had to step in to get Don back on track. Joan had a far better flow to her comedy.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

It's so sweet to see them getting along so famously. She starts out each joke like its totally serious, then the punch line catches him off guard and he loves it. This shows how deep the rift between them was. She really brought it on herself to take a show competing with him, on a network competing with his. For all her complaining about it, she asked for it.

[@philippapay4352]

@nonenoneonenonenone - Sadly, if you read the biography of him by Henry Buskin, who had been his attorney, friend, and business partner, it was discovered that her husband had had some odd dealings with the network about that show that she had not been aware of and no one ever told her that Edgar had probably sealed her fate with Johnny. That would explain her level of upset and why people did not bring it out in the tabloids that she hadn't engineered it.

[@melcrose]

Less "another network" more "didn't tell Johnny in advance" from what I read.

[@TurboGent]

I can’t defend Johnny’s refusal to even speak to her for the remainder of his life, nor can I defend the way Joan took the Fox offer without even speaking to NBC and Johnny about it. But this video does provide a little puzzle piece as to how deeply Johnny felt betrayed. You can tell that he legitimately thought she was one of the funniest people on the planet (just watch her slay him again and again here! And me too, I was dying!); it doesn’t take a genius to see why he later thought she would be the one to take the Tonight Show reins one day. It’s no wonder after the very long history they had been through, that he would feel like he’d been made a fool of when she went to Fox. He really thought she was committed to being the protégé. Still, I find it too sad that he just wrote her off completely after that. I wish it had been different. Very sad. But still, this clip is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in my life.

[@AFMMarcelD]

@@philippapay4352A very compelling bio on the real Johnny, props to Mr Buskin for sticking with Carson those 18 years, although I love and appreciate the talented showman and orator Johnny was, after reading the book I don’t see him in the same light anymore.

[@philippapay4352]

@@AFMMarcelD I believe Buskin's bio because he clearly loved Johnny as a talent, as a business partner, and as a friend. However, he includes what a damaged person Johnny really was from his sicko mother with stories that are horrifying that a parent would do to a child and Johnny was good to his parents, financially, and to his sister and brother. In fact, his sister's son is in charge of the Carson Archives. Johnny could be a generous man, but was really messed-up by his mother about women and the stories of his mother bear that out. One can see how getting no sense of one's own value to a parent from that parent could really make one a freak about loyalty. He drank too much and married too often. So, we all had to know that he didn't have the happiest of Nebraska childhoods amidst the cornstalks. The book gave me more compassion for the pain he carried.

[@jacobm7165]

Such a shame they had that bad of a falling out especially when she would crack Johnny up like that. I love and adore Joan so much

[@billysullivan6788]

This is priceless ,before their falling out

[@lynngregory393]

God, I miss her! What she could be saying about our life today.

[@BetterNBetter]

“If it’s white, and it’s on the table they’re gonna sniff it!… I mean my friend at the salon OD’d on dandruff!” 😂😂😂 we know what she was REALLY talking about but I like how quick and clever she was to make a safer reference for the tv audience LOL. Joan is hands down one of the sharpest comedians to ever do it!