The Kenny the Gardener Collection

[@StumpyJoeTV]

Don, thank you so much for these videos. I had many hours of classic Letterman on tape but they were destroyed in a fire. Your channel has brought me such joy! There will never be a late night host to rival Letterman. Thanks again!

[@dongiller]

Thanks, Marcus!!

[@stephenclark6273]

The episode with Kenny dressed as Roy Orbison (starts about 1:10:00) is one of the funniest sight gags ever. Thanks for this wonderful stroll down memory lane.

[@craigfazekas3923]

Don Giller- for assembling this one collection (amongst the many !) should earn you a Nobel Peace Prize, or a Congressional Medal of Honor.... 👊🤓

[@dongiller]

I’ll just take the cash. :) Thanks!!

[@mellotronage7073]

Larry Bud Melman's ill-timed bursts of laughter just slay me. Every. Damn. Time.

[@WKRPinCINN]

For gods sake… never change. Don’t ever loose “that”

[@dreftymac9916]

"Suddenly the emptiness of my mundane life came crashing down on me like a sack of potting soil. [...] I was so overcome by a sense of hopelessness and despair, I was on the verge of taking my own life." -- HAA HAA!! COMEDY GOLD! >

[@randyj420]

Wonderful collection - I love how LBM can nail it with his singing - much harder than reading words off a card - singing melodies and songs he knows (or not) is among his actual talents. Connie Chung, in the house!

[@johndalton3180]

I'd love to test Marilu Henner's freaky memory thing and ask her to describe this appearance.

[@DHodges187]

She was Delicious Back in the day.

[@Donnies_lil_ding_ding]

I wish I could have seen norm Macdonald revive Kenny the gardener just once. Dave, “I didn’t order any petunias.” Norm, “HAH?”

[@MrRaretunes]

Kenny: "Goodnight everybody,drive home as fast as you can"

[@jacktrppr1]

This is a hidden gem, so glad I stumbled across it. Booooiiiiinnnngggg

[@zxccxz164]

lol - i have to hangout with people who like kenny the gardener!

[@ambientrelaxingandhealingm7552]

WHAT?? :-)

[@james9170]

@@ambientrelaxingandhealingm7552 boioioonng!

[@voicetube]

@@james9170 okay, thank you James :-) (this is my other channel - Ambient Relaxing and Healing Music is my music channel).

[@xanadu7lukas]

Calvert thanks for all the laughs good guy and funny as heck!!!!!!!!!

[@Scalihoo]

Dave & the writers really pushed the envelope borderline exploitation of Calvert as a person, saw him hanging on a meat hook amongst sides of beef in a skit earlier today in which he looked very unhappy, also the road trip to South America in an RV he was not doing well & wanted to come home, he was an older gentleman. RIP Calvert

[@xanadu7lukas]

@@Scalihoo It that skit on youtube??? thats over the line pushed the envelope to hard there an act or just mean??

[@jaytrace1006]

Geez! I’d forgotten what a doll Marilu Henner was!

[@percivalhowell7516]

Very high i.q. too

[@the8ctagon]

30:35 Probably the most brilliant, painful mangling of Ricky, Don't Lose That Number ever.

[@mayormc]

Wow. I remember seeing alot of this when it first aired. Pure insanity and really good fun. Funny to see Paul just working his chops as sidekick. Sometimes I would set the timer on the VCR to catch the show.

[@johndalton3180]

This, to me, epitomizes what made the early years of the show so great. It's a pretty savage parody, in a way, of Johnny Carson's characters like Aunt Blabby, and also of Late Night's own character bits, including Larry Bud Melman! It takes on 1950s earnestness, with Kenny doing a PSA about dangers in the workplace, and Dave's disclaimer. And it incorporates elements of surrealism, with things like Kenny singing Me and Mrs Jones, and Tad, who takes it to a whole new level. Whoever conceived these sketches was brilliant. And got what the show was about more than Paul, Dave, and poor Marilu Henner, who seems to be shell shocked by the proceedings. I sort of wonder if anyone who wasn't alive in 1984/85 could possibly understand these sketches.

[@CreamedCheesed]

John Dalton I could not have put it better myself. Please comment on more Late Night videos.

[@zxccxz164]

great stuff - don't over think it......bizarre, cheap to produce, with brilliant deadpan cast to play off of

[@johndalton3180]

@@zxccxz164 read Jason Zinoman's book on Letterman. This stuff was thought through.

[@johndalton3180]

@@CreamedCheesed wow that's a great compliment. Thank you.

[@stephenstrang590]

The writers for late night in the 80s were legendary.

[@pazuzuritter3987]

I loved Calvert DeForest, he was awesome.

[@TheRealLaughingGravy]

Paul: "I gotta hangout with people who like 'Kenny the Gardner?'"

[@zxccxz164]

lololol

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

Haha, Paul looked so baked. "You think I'm hanging with the wrong crowd?"

[@trust5977]

The one with Chris Elliot acting as Kenny’s nephew Ted from up North 27:55 is my favorite. One of my most vivid Late Night memories.

[@75patrickfoley]

Letterman walking off the set from shame and embarrassment when they were singing absolutely killed me.

[@michaeljudge5437]

Him singing "Gentle on my Mind" is simply immortal.

[@JaredLewisMusic]

When Calvert sings "Gentle on my mind" it was truly beautiful ! That clip should have been played when he passed away. I was a bit disappointed by the clip selection when Mr. Deforest passed away. I suppose it was due to limited time and access to the NBC archives.

[@xanadu7lukas]

Larry Bud and Dave great together they really laughed the most ever

[@johndalton3180]

"We introduced a new character on this show last week, and we received so little negative response that we're having him back." My God this show was utterly brilliant. We shan't see its like again.

[@i.p.knightly149]

So little negative response, that line killed me.

[@finnsterling6514]

You're 110% correct on all counts: it absolutely was and we certainly, unfortunately shan't. Humongous thanks to Don Giller for uploading all these videos to show everyone (who didn't already know) why David Letterman is an American icon.

[@donaldsmith7077]

Calvert Larry Bud Melman Kenny the Gardener Donny the Pastry Chef DeForest. "What?" This has gotten even better with age. Funny stuff.

[@DHodges187]

Bravo by the way on your MOST excellent compilations.... My Wife never had a clue Dave used to be this good..... she's only heard me tell fables of lore.... of the glorious days of Late night TV.

[@toweypat]

According to Wikipedia, Calvert DeForest really did have a day job that he was forced to give up because of working on "Late Night." And I'm really impressed with Paul Shaffer's singing in the last two clips!

[@dongiller]

Discussed in the Etiquette Collection here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnfZqWqJhdCJiq8 In the segment that begins at 2:09:00.

[@stephenstrang590]

Be good to each other.

[@jrpipik]

Great stuff! They do that bit umpteen times and I don't think the sound mix once catches the first lines of Sid and Will singing their bit. And they seldom seem to get them on camera as they were singing. It's like it surprises the crew every time!

[@moxica93]

Anytime I meet someone with a three-syllable last name, I say "Hiya! Hiya! Mr. Three-syllable-name!"

[@Football__Junkie]

Marilu Henner... what a babe

[@AccurateCrabLegs]

Take a drink every time you hear the famous Kenny The Gardener "BOING!" sound.

[@gersonkphone]

@19:23 "out on your own / making it work" - I'd bet that's a Jeff Martin lyric since it show's up again in one of his Simpsons eps, Lisa the Beauty Queen in the Litte Miss Springfield pageant as "Out on our own / making it work / gasping for air"

[@dandy_griffith]

“13 cameras? MERCY!”

[@fatandyboy6856]

Thanks again, your postings of these are really appreciated here! Today's comedy, some ok, but not like the last 2 segments as Roy Orbison as Kenny... I rarely laugh out loud anymore, this I couldn't hold back if it saved my life! Miss these days.

[@dongiller]

Thanks! I always refer to those last two bits as "Calvert as Larry Bud as Kenny as Roy."

[@yosemitesaddam]

thank you so much for posting this

[@KrazeeClark]

Mmmm....donuts.

[@80sEric]

The stagehand receiving his tree at 1:08:36 looks like gruff, but lovable Gus- the forklift driver for the NBC Bookmobile sketches.

[@cameramanzoomit]

Boy, that was great! Laughed a lot throughout.

[@lysippus]

I was going to ask if you had the 'gentle on my mind' bit, of course you never fail to disappoint. thanks, don

[@peterw.5984]

comedy platinum

[@scottlarson8090]

A man the early Letterman. So rough and lo-fi and brilliant.

[@zxccxz164]

i lost interest when it became to 'big and broadway'

[@stephenstrang590]

@@zxccxz164 Thats the word ive been searching for. New York changed and with it all people in New York City.

[@fatandyboy6856]

Masterpiece... that's all I can say.

[@Tobbetejj]

At 49:18 sweet Calvert DeForest is trying his drandest to do well. Thank you Don

[@zxccxz164]

i'd like to think dave walking off the stage during kenny the gardener ricky don't lose that number was spontaneous......as chris elliot joins in.......

[@peterw.5984]

Love seeing them casually smoke cigars too. Dave seemed to be upset was it was comedy platinum

[@VillemarMxO]

日本のテレビでケニー・ザ・ガーデナーのエピソードを全部見たい！

[@kma5699]

Also during the Kenny theme song after Paul sings "You can fertilize plants but you can't water your heart" ( which is dumb I prefered Bud Melman's version where he sings "When he wheels out his cart he'll steal your heart") then I'm assuming it is Sid McGinnis and Will Lee or Anton Fig singing stuff but it bleeds with what Paul is saying. All I can hear are the last two lines "working it out, and having a ball" What do they say before that?

[@scott6443]

k ma Out on your own Making it work

[@Jherman10001]

20:20 describes my usual weekend.

[@blindriv3r]

LOL nobody has this complete lack of timing like Calvert, the best ever lol

[@peterw.5984]

Good night everybody and be good to each other!!

[@charlesbush7822]

omg. this is the first time I ever saw anyone on Dave's left side.

[@wackyworldnews]

wow!!!!!!!!! love when he screws up the cue cards and letterman is almost dying not to laugh and how letterman reacts to how bad the sketch is with chris elliott and appears to leave stage upset after its done.

[@toweypat]

That's freaking hilarious! Dave walked out on the sketch.

[@JohnnyTyrone77]

Paul Schaefer's "Kenny the Gardner" opening song is cool!

[@dongiller]

Shaffer; Paul Shaffer. :)

[@mellotronage7073]

Workin' it out, havin' it all....

[@JohnnyTyrone77]

@@mellotronage7073 "Lookout that gardner is back!"

[@mellotronage7073]

@@JohnnyTyrone77 I've just completed watching that whole collection. Takes me right back to the mid-80s. We really didn't know how good we had it back then. We'd always assumed it would continue to be so good... Just great stuff with Calvert DeForest, Chris Elliott. Even watching now, I still remember the band members' names !!

[@JohnnyTyrone77]

@@mellotronage7073 Classic days of late night with Dave! At one point i had seen almost 70-80 percent of his NBC shows. Chris Elliot was cool too!

[@briandelaney9710]

“You can fertilize plants but you can’t water your heart ! “

[@DHodges187]

Looks like I found the inspiration for several Fez Marie Whatley Characters....

[@seththomas9105]

Marilu Henner looked absolutely lost, my God I forgot just how insane and great this show was. PS Marilu was a FOX!

[@richardvilseck]

21:35 Obviously in the times before the internet and ebay, when you “couldn’t make a dime” off of an image of Elvis in a grilled cheese sandwich.

[@tertommy]

I don't think Marilu Henner even remotely gets it. 10:51

[@toweypat]

I'm not sure I get it, either :D

[@Stonehopper1067HMG]

32:54 that's what Connie Chung did the Maury Povich that year.

[@jimsullivan2813]

Kenny the Gardner looks like MN gov Timmy Walz at Farmfest!

[@toweypat]

Whoa--the chairs, they're on the other side!

[@dongiller]

An experiment that lasted for around 10 shows.

[@Kubakaiser]

6:55 that's one of the pretties women I've seen.

[@kma5699]

Who was the blonde dancer from the Tune Hundred Years sketch at around the 53:00 mark. For 1986 she was smoking hot.

[@dongiller]

Answer in my notes below the video. Jasmine Lewis.

[@qthelost]

@@dongiller Sorry for commenting one year later but I just discovered your brilliant channel. Thanks for putting the names of the dancers because I knew I recognized the other one on the left (on Kenny's right) Laurie Diamond. Wasn't she Dave's personal assistant he later called Rose?

[@dongiller]

@@qthelost Thanks! Yes, that's Laurie, as ID'd in the description.

[@videonut28]

Excellent humor!

[@charlesbush7822]

it will grow on you.

[@swrennie]

So long ago, the chairs were on Dave's left!

[@dongiller]

For just a few shows. As a failed experiment.

[@nedwart]

Any particular reason that the desk and chairs were swapped in the first clip?

[@dongiller]

For six shows, from November 28 to December 6, 1984, the guest chairs were positioned to Dave's left. Why, I have no idea.

[@scrim67]

Barbara Streisand related? Did she appear around that time on his show?

[@johndalton3180]

scrim67 no, she was never on the NBC show, and I think only did a cameo on the CBS show.

[@divingduck1970]

OMG, over an hour of LBM as LTG! LOL PDQ!

[@james9170]

What?

[@kma5699]

Why does Letterman seem genuinely pissed at having to do the segment? It isn't part of the act like the fake animosity between Letterman and Chris Elliot in the Guy under the seats sketches? The Kenny sketches were very popular but you see Dave rolling his eyes and genuinely displeased. Even after a few episodes it seems like he was the one to initiate the planned disclaimer that he would read before Bud Melman would do his bit. That ruined the continuity and to me it seemed Dave was hoping to sabotage the segment. Also why was Paul Shaffer against the Kenny the Gardener segment? I liked the first episode with Bud melman singing the intro NOT schaffer.

[@khenpaulw311]

I get the impression that Dave was more displeased with Calvert's performance of the character than with the bit itself. I think Calvert took a few liberties here and there and departed from the script, or just outright flubbed it up. But why Dave would allow the bit to go on if he wasn't feeling it is beyond me. Was the show really that sensitive to the audience's reactions? You can really sense a nervous tension between the two of them though. Dave was always really hard on Calvert.

[@DT14Real]

I read the book letterman, it says that that is a part of david’s persona on tv like he doesn’t want to be there or to do a bit. That’s why late night was well loved because its an anti talk show and the host doesn’t want to be there

[@zxccxz164]

it is the rolling eyes that make it funny.....the jokes aren't funny.....it is the reaction that is funny....like wtf .....i can't believe we are getting away with this crap

[@untexan]

I think Dave at least expected the bits to go off professionally and Calvert/Larry was the least professional person on the whole show. But that also made him the funniest, which is why he kept coming back over and over again.

[@Donnies_lil_ding_ding]

I think that’s what made this entire show so funny. He kept the bit about being a host that didn’t want to be there, but early on I’m pretty sure it was real. Dave’s body language and reactions give it away. He knows it’s not funny, and he hadn’t yet realized how funny something that isn’t funny could be. His reactions suggested that he was thinking, “any second now the viewers are going to catch onto how bad this show is, and then we’re in trouble.” I think this worked so well not because it was perfect comedy, but because it was almost a middle finger to the very concept of entertainment. A silly old man in overalls that sings and says “what?” Somehow it was one of the most subversive things this show ever did, and it contributed in no small part to the pioneer status of this show. In short, Kenny the gardener is punk rock.

[@james9170]

Hiya hiya hiya!

[@qthelost]

I guess Dave couldn't stand Kenny butchering Steely Dan so he just walked off. 31:10

[@wecontrolthevideo]

What?

[@ticketmequick9342]

Booyyooyyooiiing!

[@psadelachute363]

Dave NEVER had guests sitting to his LEFT !!!!! Why did you flip the image ??? To avoid copyright infringement LAWSUIT perhaps ???

[@dongiller]

I flipped nothing. The guest-on-the-left was a week-long experiment on the show. Which Dave explicitly stated when it started.

[@dongiller]

Also, if I had flipped the video, then EVERYTHING would have been flipped, including the sign on the stage. Of course, anyone with half a brain would have realized that before jumping to baseless conclusions.

[@brooke8567]

Moron

[@petercipriani3307]

Who is singing for "Donny the Pastry Chef?"

[@dongiller]

That's Will Lee, with Sid Mcginnis.

[@petercipriani3307]

Thanks!

[@evanshumeyko]

I had the same question this morning. Amazing!

[@DHodges187]

We need a Susan Mitchell right about now.

[@royalsfan]

I don't mind hearing "Song For My Father" at 31:30

[@surfcollector]

That looks weird with the guest on the right.

[@bluestate69]

but they missed a golden opportunity when introducing Kenny to Marilu Henner. it should have gone, "kenny the gardener, this is Mary Lou Henner", then had the "bowererereer" sound effect.

[@dreftymac9916]

> < HAA HAA! This is funnier than the whole video! :-D

[@williamkirby1940]

is the video tape reversed? Dave's desk is always on the stage right

[@dongiller]

It’s not reversed. For a couple weeks in the Fall of 1984, the guest chairs were moved to the other side of Dave’s desk. Then they were returned to their original position.

[@williamkirby1940]

@@dongiller okay, thanks for the info!

[@JohnnyTyrone77]

It was a Dave gag...He took time to point it out and mark the moment by reversing the picture 5min after the show began...He even had t-shirts made!

[@MayorMcCheeseStalker]

51:18 --- The song selection for "Tune Hundred Years" is a brilliant parody of such medleys. It goes straight from 1848's "Oh! Susanna" to the rock era with nothing in between! (Also nothing prior to "Oh! Susanna.") And the song chosen to represent American rock from the '60s was written and recorded in England . . . by a British band. Inspired satire.

[@docthemetalfreak]

i would bet about anything that Stone Cold Steve Austin took the "what" catchphrase from Kenny The Gardener lol

[@brooke8567]

Uhhh I don't think so. This was 40 years ago

[@hiimbrady]

Kenny the GAAAAAHDNAH!

[@KrazeeClark]

Fast forward thirty years and this is still true: 1:05:05. More now than then for sure

[@MayorMcCheeseStalker]

Go run to your safe space, snowflake.

[@7beers]

8:45 LOL!

[@ziparis]

ONLY in New York. Omg.

[@avolite719]

4:45 - STRAWBERRY LETTER # 23. Hell's Yeah !!! 1:14:48 - Shut Up , Paul. Please.

[@weeeeee-bh4hg]

Marilu 🤤

[@fredmossberg2069]

LOL!!!!!!!!!