New Years Eve 1965

From an old Tonight Show broadcast from December 31,1965.This is just the 15 minute warm up segment with Ed McMahon and Skitch Henderson and the orchestra.Also the ball dropping in Times Square,and most of the ads from the show.

[@KB4QAA]

I grew up hearing regular references to Skitch, including from Johnny and Ed, but never saw him perform. He has a great personality and is a fabulous pianist!! Thanks.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

WILD!! I have never seen the first 15 minute segment of any Tonight Show (they lasted until 1967). This ios a treat. Real live COLOR video tape that was though gone forever. I think there must be more of this Gold! There was a company in NYC and Hollywood that made kinescope's privately for people who wanted to have a record of their performance on whatever progra. There must be more kine and color videotape in old actors collections and musty attics. More of this great stuff, please! Joe

[@johnp4008]

Amazing. I was 3 months and 19 days away from being born. So interesting to see what things were like back then. Seems like a dream...

[@pjriverdale8461]

This is the "old New York opening" which was a requirement as the local news was broadcast 11:00 to 11:15 on WNBC . For years, the Tonight Show was 105 minutes long as seen in the NYC market. Carson was able to eventually shed that 15 minutes which was a contractually required hold over going back at least to 1954. Elsewhere on YT, there is a posting of the Steve Allen era New York opening sponsored by Knickerbocker Beer. The announcer during the Times Square segment is Ben Grauer who was one of the earliest NBC Radio announcers dating back to the 1920's. It is likely one of his final appearances on NBC. Ben looks and sounds a little,uh, lubricated but he was a thorough pro at the mike and did many important announcing jobs during his tenure at NBC including early experimental TV broadcasts in the thirties

[@fromthesidelines]

Very few NBC affiliates were carrying "the first 15 minutes" at 11:15pm(et) at that time. Johnnny joked about that in one of his monologues- he claimed the only people watching that segment were those seeing it "on Armed Forces Television---- and four Indians in Gallup, New Mexico."

[@pjriverdale8461]

Again, having seen the NY oprning, nobody could blame Carson for eventually ditching that 15 minutes later on in the run. It's like a bad infomercial preview for a bad infomercial Good that many affiliates had figured out how to do 30 minutes of news with local spot revenue at 11pm. Meanwhile, the O&O's were stuck with the 1'45" format.........

[@Rob_Kates]

By 1967, the show was trimmed to 90 minutes. It was 90 minutes until 1980, when Johnny's new contract cut it down to 60 minutes.

[@epaddon]

Ben Grauer continued to do the live ball drop on the Tonight Show through its last New Year's Eve in New York (1971). Then he moved over and was on CBS with Guy Lombardo for what turned out to be the last New Year's Eve for both of them in 1976.

[@roryloganwhitley1867]

...New York's WNBC-TV itself did not carry the first 15 minutes that evening, surprisingly.

[@imperialfreek]

I do remember the first 15 segments without Johnny...boy , you are taking me back...love it! THanks for posting this "Rare" tape..

[@williamhenry1934]

I was born 4 months later, and I watched the Johnny Carson show all through the 80 s and 90 s rip our late night friends.

[@johnp4008]

You a April '66 too? Happy New Year!

[@altfactor]

The tone you hear at 12 Midnight was the on the hour tone of the NBC-TV network.

[@fromthesidelines]

At 15:24, Caroline O''Connor, who represented Standard Brands "world of fine foods" in their commercials at the time, appears with Ed to promote Chase & Sanborn coffee {now marketed by Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA} and Planters Peanuts (now marketed by Kraft Foods). Yes, the commercial was photographed with a BLACK AND WHITE camera...

[@bt10ant]

I remember this period. When Carson finally did come out for the monolog, and he didn't think it was going well, he always mock-threatened, "It this gets much worse, we're going to have to replay the first 15 minutes with Ed and Skitch."

[@bbailey7818]

We never saw the opening 15 out on the West Coast. Ben Grauer's most important stint on NBC was as the announcer for the NBC Symphony with Toscanini and Stokowski etc. 1941-54.

[@johnking5174]

You weren't the only ones. By 1966 the first 15 mins was seen by very few stations, which is why Johnny chose not to host the first 15 mins. From Jan 2nd 1967 they finally moved it to a 90 minute slot starting at 11.30.

[@Anglynn74]

this is what I wish new years would be on television, a classy show with decent music, I don't hate rock and roll but the shows they have on lately are pretty bad

[@HogRebel]

Not rock. Rap Crap, that’s what I get tired of!😡

[@cats0182]

What a band!!!! Compare them to the current Tonight Show group of purported musicians.

[@Mugen_YG]

They sound just fine? Stop being a fucking hippie that can't find any fun in the present.

[@DiscoverGuy]

18:19 -- Ball starts to slowly descend, December 31, 1965. 18:49 -- Ball is halfway to the bottom, December 31, 1965. 19:19 -- Happy New Year 1966!

[@altfactor]

The Times Square remote was in black-and-white because the early RCA TK-41 color cameras couldn't deliver decent color pictures at night in Times Square (unlike later color TV cameras).

[@ninemilliondollars]

I remember Skitch being mentioned on TV if we were allowed to stay up late enough. He went on to found the New York Pops orchestra in 1983 which specializes in popular music, a great tribute to his pursuit of excellence. On a separate point at 25:44 into the vid, forgot how absurd the cigarette companies were in the way they advertised those cancer sticks implying smokers want good taste, really, an addiction. Glad we don't have to watch those anymore.

[@RayNDeere]

2:05 - That's Tommy Newsom over on the right side of the screen

[@cats0182]

Do you know if the drummer is Bob Rosengarden?

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Ed did guest host a number of times in the first few years of Carson's tenure. Hugh Downs did the same for Jack Paar. I've never seen Ed do a show, but I sure would like to. Joe

[@jcextranow]

There were so many more standards on television back then

[@fromthesidelines]

Yes, at that time, Johnny refused to appear at 11:15pm(et) to open the first quarter-hour because most affiliates were scheduling half-hour local newscasts. He preferred to start the show when they were all "in place", at 11:30. Ed McMahon and Skitch Henderson handled the 11:15-11:30 segment from February 1965 through December 1966. Johnny, however, did NOT like Ed hosting his own section of the show, and lobbied NBC to eliminate that opening quarter-hour....which they did, in January 1967.

[@catholicpriest1]

Great collection of commercials.

[@fromthesidelines]

Doc took over the band after Milton DeLugg departed in 1967; Tommy became the "associate conductor" in 1968.

[@charlesmeadows6285]

Milton DeLugg years later became bandleader with The Gong Show,something Chuck Barris had face time as host.

[@Rob_Kates]

At this point, the show aired from 11:15 pm-1:00 am. In 1967, the duration was cut to 90 minutes. In 1980 Johnny signs a contract that reduces the show time from 90 minutes to 60 minutes. He gets more vacation time (15 weeks per year), and works just 3 days per week. Monday nights have a guest host, Tuesday nights have reruns. His salary is $25 million per year. His show was a “cash cow” for NBC, accounting for a large portion of the network’s overall profits. Johnny had threatened to leave for ABC, so NBC knew they had to satisfy him with an outstanding contract to get him to stay.

[@baronvonnembles]

Pretty sure the contract signed in 1980 that reduced the show to 60 minutes also returned Johnny to new shows four nights a week. It was the last several years of the 90 minute show where Tuesdays featured reruns.

[@michaelabrams8989]

When Johnny's shows originated from New York the only "Live" Tonight Shows were the ones done on New Years Eve. Before these broadcasts Johnny would often appear on the local 11 PM NBC News show to heckle long time NBC weatherman Frank Field.

[@ir10031981]

1966--------2016 FIFTY YEARS!

[@jamesten]

I'm told Woody Allen went wild on this episode. Would love to see his segment.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Hear the NBC tone at 19:20!

[@fromthesidelines]

Johnny found out in early 1965 that very few NBC affiliates carried the 11:15pm(et) segment because more stations were programming half-hour local newscasts before "THE TONIGHT SHOW". That's when he decided not to appear before 11:30 (until all the affiliates were "on board") after February 1965, leaving the first 15 minutes to Doc and Skitch Henderson. As time went on, he didn't appreciate the fact that, even through Ed wasn't seen by many viewers, his segment was doing quite well, and....

[@ApartmentKing66]

He didn't like the idea of being upstaged by Ed.

[@DiscoverGuy]

17:48 that guy sounds like the conductor from the polar express

[@LindaoRicardo]

Thats ben grauer

[@BegoneJonah]

Tonight Show interstitials at 13:27 and 21:31... I loved those! This is fascinating... Ed McMahon was GREAT.

[@musicom67]

Interesting the mix of B/W and color before NBC went 'All-Color Network' in 1966. This may be the last B/W New Years! Grauer and his descriptive talk could go on for hours.

[@charlesmeadows6285]

I’m convinced NBC’s moniker is the Full Color Network,at least stretching into the 1970s.

[@fromthesidelines]

NBC officially trimmed the show (and the Saturday night repeats) to 90 minutes as of January 9, 1967.

[@raicaaaaaaaaaaa]

This was 50 years ago. This is so cool. I like it.

[@jakeinator722]

How did you get your hands on this broadcast? Because I understand that almost all of Johnny's early years as host were lost.

[@RADIUMGLASS]

I read some were found in a salt mine. Many of the guests would also get a copy.

[@kbobdonahue1966]

@@RADIUMGLASS I'll bet those salt mines were near Hutchinson, Kansas.

[@RADIUMGLASS]

@@kbobdonahue1966 just imagine what's in there what we haven't seen or know about.

[@njpete987]

variety.com/2010/digital/markets-festivals/heeere-s-johnny-carson-tapes-digitized-1118022813/

[@DwighttFrye]

@nyreborn Glad you like it.Funny,only reason I posted this was because it included the 11:15-11:30 segment,which I never saw either.Was just a little kid back then,but remember when Johnny Carson said that he wouldnt do the first 15 minutes of the show anymore,thought to myself,what 15 minutes?After that,was left to Ed and the orchestra.Then after a while,they just dropped the segment completely.

[@jehobden]

50th anniversary of this broadcast this past New Years Eve

[@ApartmentKing66]

Caroline O'Connor was one classy lady! Surprised I didn't see any more of her in the 70s. Probably by choice because if I were a network or ad agency exec, I'd want her pitching my products. She handles herself very well on camera.

[@BegoneJonah]

I'll say! Lovely lady. So... what happened to her? Nothing on the Internet.

[@ApartmentKing66]

No idea, Wes.

[@BegoneJonah]

I watched this again on New Year's Ever 2024. Caroline and Ed were two advertising pros at the peak of their powers.

[@bobs.381]

I was exactly one week old!

[@bobs.381]

@Rough Acres Whatever, you don't like it? Who cares!

[@RayNDeere]

Johnny hated to do the two openings because he didn't want to do two monologues, so he would claim a "15-minute flu". NBC finally cut the show to 90 minutes in 1966 or 1967.

[@DwighttFrye]

@maynardsmoreland Thanks for pointing that out.Didnt realize it,and thats my favorite ad from the show.

[@josephcalderon906]

Two weeks before this special new year's episode,ol' ski nose,bob hope hosted his very first color special(december 15,) with bing crosby,jack benny,janet leigh, as his guests,with lovely nancy wilson as his musical guest.

[@fuckedoveredbyincest]

IN 1972 WE LIVED IN BRANCHVILLE N J,WHERE DOC SEVERNSEN LIVED.NOW AND THEN WE,D SEE HIM AND FAMILY IN THEIR BULE BUICK ELECTRIC 225.THEY WERE A NICE FAMILY.THE BUICK WAS A 1969,OR 1970.

[@glen6945]

happy new year all

[@rethastoneking4680]

My goodness !!! Johnny was just a kid here !!! 😂

[@tomservo56954]

Alice doesn't sweat here anymore, Maynard...

[@MrJoeybabe25]

This show goes past 11:30 till Johnny (The Prince) comes out. Did the show not alway make the 11:30 mark, or is this clip edited. I would think at 11:30 they would want to be right in place to bring most of the network. Joe

[@johnp4008]

Ed McMahon as the "authority on 3-way action"...funny yet disturbing.

[@jehobden]

Yes, I wonder if the "3-way" double entendre existed yet back then.

[@dougtaylor2803]

I think I detected about 2 laughs and the rest evidently had no idea.

[@TheDurnans]

Holy smokes, there's a lot of adverts on here. There must be some of the actual program excised from this presentation here.

[@RayNDeere]

at 4:06 you see Doc Severinsen as the middle trumpet in the shot, and at 4:41 Tommy Newsom is the sax player on the far right.

[@ApartmentKing66]

Is that Ellen Burstyn in the 5-Day ad @ 23:55??

[@DwighttFrye]

wannawatchu66 Yea,that is Ellen.Didnt realize it myself until a viewer pointed it out.

[@michaelmcgee8543]

Enjoyed it Too bad you could not show the full episode.Today the tonight show stinks

[@robertszvetics210]

+Michael Mcgee YOU ARE CORRECT SIR

[@davidrosler5413]

Yes, I get the ads are fun because they're so quirky, but where is THE SHOW and Gila Golan and Woody Allen? Seriously, now.

[@BegoneJonah]

Ugh. Can't stand Jimmy Fallon.

[@musicom67]

16:48 - "I'm not an authority on 3-way action...." Risque double entendre?

[@wiedep]

you can see the tension Skitch had kibitzing w/Ed, watch his left hand 2:22 - 2:57

[@charlesmeadows6285]

3 months later,Matt Thomas with WNBC-TV that other ch 4 in NY substituted for Mel Brandt in an installment to the award-winning General Electric College Bowl namely the game between Agnes Scott and Princeton something that was described as a pulse-pounding whistle-beater in the program’s 11-year history.

[@jamesholz63]

Before my time....didn't stay up until 69/70. That was my first new years.

[@STATter911]

Looks like Bobby Rosengarden drums and Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar.

[@gli7utubeo]

Like he said, Dow 970, and then Dow 782 in 1982.

[@MrJoeybabe25]

Did Jack Paar do the first 15 minutes of the show? Also, did Johnny ever do the first 15 minutes?

[@byrd56]

Originally, "The Tonight Show" was from 11:15 pm-1 am Eastern time during the Paar era. It carried over into the Carson era until Johnny found out that many NBC stations had already expanded their late news from 15 to 30 minutes, thus bumping Johnny's monologue. So by early 1965, Johnny decided to hold off on his monologue until 11:30, with the Ed-and-Skitch warmup at 11:15 for those affiliates that were still doing 15-minute late newscasts; the warmup ended as 1966 did.

[@limechecksout]

Steve Byrd 8:15 Pm Pt :D

[@LandondeeL]

19:38 Mr. Grauer seems to be happy about "the escalation of the war in Vietnam".

[@ir10031981]

50 years ago!

[@kristalinc9546]

Everyone dressed in suites..

[@frederikbeelen5247]

0:33 Did anybody else see that Santa?

[@Avatar610]

Future Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn selling deodorant!

[@deedeecarr1402]

I wasn't even thought of. My dad I believe was 15yrs old. Love Carson

[@MrJoeybabe25]

What polka is that? It sound like something Spike Jones did.

[@bobprochko832]

Why, it's "The Lichtensteiner Polka"

[@pianopappy]

@@bobprochko832 Thanks. I couldn't remember the title either--and I"m originally from polka country in eastern PA.

[@the22dude94]

My grandma was 11 at the time

[@airaero5473]

Wow one color another black and white. Kinda trippy.

[@ApartmentKing66]

Yeah, a B&W camera backstage for the commercials.

[@philliplewis1152]

Skitch Miller lead the Tonight Show band for many years and then he was replaced by Doc Sevensom. If you look you can see Tommy Newsome playing sax in the background. What happened to Skitch?

[@ApartmentKing66]

Well, I hear he changed his name back to "Henderson" after you changed it to "Miller." Were you thinking of Mitch Miller?

[@batfly]

Looking for The tonight show Chan Thomas 7 April 1965

[@Kw1161]

I have a feeling that Ed's Chase and San Born coffee was Irish coffee.....😀

[@ferabra8939]

Funny ... that's depicted in "Rosemary's baby"...New years eve 65 into 66.

[@xlxfjh]

Skitch Henderson quit the show not long after this. He probably had had enough of bantering with Bonehead Ed.

[@dougtaylor2803]

I had never seen the much talked about Skitch Henderson before seeing this clip. Thank you for posting this, it's great to see since I came along 2 years later.

[@LINYVideo]

Actually it appears that Skitch did not like Johnny that much. Maybe he did not like that 15 minutes so he blamed Johnny and his high horse.

[@troybirch]

Do some research. Skitch didn't quit the show. Ed was exactly what Johnny needed as a co-host. Ed McMahon, besides being a veteran was far from being a "bonehead".and deserves our respect.

[@workingtheworld68]

Is that Ellen Burstyn doing the 5 day pad commercial?

[@maynardsmoreland]

That's future Oscar-winning actress Ellen Burstyn in the 5-Day commercial at 23:30.

[@DwighttFrye]

@ClassicShowbiz Guess we can see now why Ed never filled in as host when Johnny Carson wasnt there.Was pretty good as a professional laugher,a second banana type.Dont know how he would have fared as top dog though.

[@jamesmiller4184]

Please show us ALL of Criswell -- ACE prognosticator? "He was 90% correct!" -- Mae West

[@Avatar610]

I was only 6 months old when this aired!

[@baronvonnembles]

I was three years old so I was a "big" kid while you were just a "baby". ;-)

[@ApartmentKing66]

@@baronvonnembles I was conceived in Jan 1966, so I was neither.

[@jamesmiller4184]

I was twenty and remember it!

[@MTSs2024]

0:05

[@jhassett2]

That's a young Ellen Burstyn in the commercial at 23:47.

[@MerleOberon]

Good catch!

[@ApartmentKing66]

Thank you.

[@fuckedoveredbyincest]

THE NIGHT I WAS MARRIED,IN SUSSEX NEW JERSEY

[@BegoneJonah]

Caroline O'Connor: In America there used to be women who were young, mature and adult but yet elegant and attractive. What happened to these women?

[@gingerdeegan5936]

There also used to be men who didn't wear baseball caps and dressed like bums. What's your point?

[@ApartmentKing66]

+Ginger Deegan You're both right.

[@bogieboog]

And why do they all seem smarter, more eloquent and articulate than people today?

[@Nana91171]

@@bogieboog *I suspect it was the damn hippie movement of the mid to late 60s; taste in clothing, music, etc. went to the dogs.*

[@peggysullivan5396]

bogieboog they are and we were also more homogenous

[@victorkreitner754]

In 7 months I'd be born..16:50 Ed not knowing about any 3 way action. Obviously walked into one of Johnnys suggestive jokes.

[@Unknown00201]

I like ben grauer

[@AW336Lab]

I didn’t know there was color in 1965

[@KB4QAA]

AW: NBC was the leader in full time color programming about that time. They and other networks previously had occasional shows and specials in color, but around 1965/66 NBC was the first with all shows in color.

[@ApartmentKing66]

NBC was broadcasting in color as far back as 1954. Not every show, but they had the technology.

[@jimnewell9248]

What if I don't have a hand break.

[@luissuarez9718]

my dads birthday

[@classic-kool]

@ 5:39 - Listen to the guy in the band mimic Ed's brown-nosing guffaw laugh, then Ed proceeds to blow Johnny before he enters the stage .. …

[@BFTWOW]

That’s really old

[@foxman362]

i really hate 2016 new years time square this one much better......

[@BegoneJonah]

The 2024 edition we saw last night really sucked. These days we spend time watching NYE fireworks from other national capitals around the world. That NYC ball drop is a dud.

[@logofilm8644]

1965 is when The FBI debuted around this time.

[@BegoneJonah]

Since then they've debuted as the DNC's CIA.

[@altfactor]

"Come on over to the L & M Side......and get lung cancer!"

[@JeffreyGSmith]

That's a young Ellen Burstyn doing the 5 DAY deodorant ad, right?

[@ronaldmcreynolds7345]

What is wrong with Ed's nose?

[@joelfogelsanger5773]

Ronald McReynolds It got redder as the years went by.

[@burakarkan9457]

ESKİ YILBAŞI HİÇ GÜZEL DEĞİLMİŞ

[@DerBingle1]

Wow! did that ever stink! Back in the say it seemed "normal" but now it looks sloppy and amateurish. But great to see Ed, Skitch and Johnnie when they were just kids.