Tom Snyder with David Letterman, September 22, 1980

[@willk7184]

Thanks for preserving this little gem of tv history.

[@garynowak9897]

Loved Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow show❤️. David Letterman is a classic! Thanks for the video !

[@johnsjohnson448]

TS was great in any format. LOL. I also feel that his later work (ABC Radio, CNBC, and CBS) was his BEST work. Dave was a big fan of Tom's. Dave demonstrated great reverence, and gratitude as he hired him for the "Late Late Show." Thanks for sharing.

[@dogcowrph]

Thanks for posting this. I’d catch Tom and later David when I’d come home from the bar and be a little tipsy while I watched. This was part of being a young adult in the late seventies and eighties. I didn’t get a VCR until 1982 and tape was so expensive that I never kept anything I recorded. I wish I had.

[@KungEMuller]

When I saw the beginning portions of this video, I knew three things. 1: Tom somehow knew that David Letterman wouldn't have the morning show anymore, but Dave didn't. 2: The audience knew that Dave would replace Tom, but Tom didn't. 3: Everybody knew that Tom Snyder was not happy when NBC made a lot of changes to The Tomorrow Show in 1980. Of course, Dave has to thank Rona Barrett for making the new format for The Tomorrow Show awful because if it hadn't been for her, then Dave wouldn't have changed late night TV. Also, keep in mind that NBC began to stop wanting Tom back in 1979, but the network didn't do anything about that until 1981. Strange, huh?

[@KungEMuller]

@burteriksson Well, you could refer to an interview that Tom & Bob Costas did in the late 80s, and you could look at these links, too. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6PVpGqpmtt0paM books.google.com/books?id=ne38AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA116&lpg=PA116&dq=tom+snyder+nbc+fred+silverman&source=bl&ots=DKsLkC9LiA&sig=ACfU3U1Cgilz66DrYb4xwtjCmjHqru7lFA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiCxqqhiaXpAhXTB80KHVTMBlU4ChDoATAIegQIChAB#v=onepage&q=tom%20snyder%20nbc%20fred%20silverman&f=false

[@KungEMuller]

@burteriksson Also, you gotta remember that Letterman's morning show didn't do so well in the ratings and that he worked better during the late night hours. Finally, NBC wanted to replace Tom Snyder with Steve Allen, but Johnny didn't like that idea and instead opted to replace Tom with David Letterman.

[@KungEMuller]

@burteriksson Well, that's not hard to do. I mean, people on TV can predict things all the time. I mean, you can tell that at this point, Tom wasn't happy doing The Tomorrow Show because NBC made him do it with a studio audience and an extended show. It was originally an hour, and then it was expanded to 90 minutes.

[@KungEMuller]

@burteriksson Actually, here's the thing. Tom works well when there's nobody in the audience at all. The laughs that came from Tom's earlier Tomorrow Show episodes and even on The Late Late Show came from him and his staff.

[@untexan]

There’s an interview out there with Fred Silverman, who was running NBC at the time. Silverman claims his original thought with Letterman was to give him the spot after Carson... but Snyder had just signed a new contract with NBC and it would have been too expensive to push him out. (This obviously conflicts with Henry Bushkin’s book.) That led to Silverman trying Dave in the morning, which was a fiasco, but Fred recognized it wasn’t Dave’s fault and kept him around the network. At the same time, Carson had just routed NBC in contract negotiations and got his own show reduced to an hour, and he also got control of the hour after his, which went to Dave.

[@davidsthubbins176]

Wow, Snyder was already calling Dave the heir apparent to Johnny Carson in 1980. But when it was his time 13 years later, Letterman got screwed by NBC.

[@RosebudKane41]

NBC is legendary for screwing over worthy talent.

[@siggylloyd3566]

@@RosebudKane41 yeah, like how they screwed Leno out of the Tonight Show by giving it to Conan for 7 months. Bastards.

[@Rob_Kates]

Yes, but Dave turned out OK. He is worth $400 million and he established a good late night franchise for CBS.

[@bratton79]

Johnny Carson was planning to retire in 1980. NBC wasn’t ready to let him ride off into the sunset just yet but at the time everyone thought David Lettermen was going to be a shoe in to fill the position of host of the Tonight Show.

[@mrmike743]

Tom Snyder was so great. Wish you had all of his shows...

[@uberhund72]

Dr. Frank Field also makes an appearance waxing the third floor. He passed away last year at 100 and was WNBCs chief meteorologist, and made many appearances on the Tonight Show before Johnny Carson left for California. Makes this video even more fascinating!

[@sbwification2]

It's crazy to hear Snyder say "Dave does better in the morning" knowing Letterman would soon occupy the Tomorrow show time slot.

[@jimlaforte1755]

TS did NOT like this format with a studio audience because he felt that it was too long of a time for people to sit and not receive gifts. LOL. Tom Snyder was the last of the BROADCAST greats! I miss him greatly. Thanks for sharing.

[@HoorayTV21]

Glad to have another Tomorrow show. They keep piling up out there on the ole internet. Another quality Dave upload as well.

[@MonoverSusstereo]

Cant get enough of the Tom Snyder stuff

[@LimitlessThinker]

I'll never forget when Dave stood on top of the building and let a watermelon go. Filmed it until it smashed on the walk.

[@michaelj.r457]

"Don't give up. Stay with it." Tom Snyder to David Letterman CUT TO: "Cancellation should not be confused with failure." David Letterman to Jon Stewart

[@jimlaforte1755]

Both Gerard Mulligan and Brian McAloon became Legendary in their own right. Gerard as a long-time writer on both Dave's NBC and CBS shows. Brian went on to direct three iterations of "The Late Late Show" before he retired. What is more, he worked under the tutelage of the GREAT Hal Gurnee.

[@GeneBurnett]

This is great. I live very close to Medford!

[@lc96wa]

“More fun than humans ought to be allowed to have.”. Classic Dave.

[@bratton79]

I’m from Medford! I don’t know what’s so special about this one horse town, especially back in 1980. The KTVL news program was recently canceled. I wonder what Tom Snyder would think about that.

[@allendracabal0819]

I think Tom was talking it up to make up for the earlier oversight.

[@allendracabal0819]

There is probably software available today that can remove the constant background crackling noise in this video without impacting the quality of the rest of the audio.

[@dougscott188]

This was a different world

[@tubeviewer8126]

Great job Don , awesome ! 👍

[@Anthony-hu3rj]

It takes bravery to be silly. That's what I've learned from these two masters of confidence.

[@savannahm4367]

David Letterman, Johnny Carson & Conan O’Brien are the real kings of late night!!!!!! I love me some David so much!!!!!!😍😍😍😍♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

[@frankm.973]

I would say Carson, Leno, LEtterman Obrien and Snyder.. Letterman a very very close 2nd after carson

[@VinceFelix-ff9cf]

Hey Don, any chance of all the Tom Snyder shows being put on dvds?

[@dongiller]

I’ve no idea.

[@VinceFelix-ff9cf]

@dongiller I didn't ask the question correctly..what I was trying to ask is there any way you could make dvds of all of what you have of Tom and David shows?

[@dongiller]

@@VinceFelix-ff9cf Ah, thanks. First, a ton of time and effort. Second, I couldn’t distribute them, as they’re not my content to share.

[@VinceFelix-ff9cf]

@dongiller Don can we take this discussion off youtube. How can I make contact with you by email?

[@dongiller]

@@VinceFelix-ff9cf There’s nothing to discuss. What you’re asking is not going to happen,

[@jordielias]

Tom Snyder looks huge beside Dave Letterman

[@DomFalance]

Was this the first time "Relight My Fire" was used?

[@RaginRonic]

A wireless microphone in 1980? O.o

[@GeorgiaOverdrive]

Those have been around since at least 1970.

[@johnellizz]

7:30 "Dave is better in the morning."

[@bratton79]

That’s what she said…

[@spuzzlightyeartoo]

Whoops! What happened to the Page collection, who assisted in the Stallone phone call?

[@dongiller]

Blocked by NBCU last week.

[@geekay1349]

Back when television had something to say

[@joshpritt2146]

Relight my fire- Dan Hartman (1979)

[@mactheknife7049]

When the bulk of the audience complains about format changes and the last audience member comment is about a scenario that involved David Letterman taking over the post-Tonight Show time slot? Perhaps someone at 30 Rock was actually paying attention...

[@dictator9849]

It freezes at 21:20

[@dongiller]

Not on this end.

[@RageTVHTX]

Why all the Dan Hartman bumper music?

[@DomFalance]

I believe at this point they were using all kinds of songs and decided to stick with Dan.

[@bradbugos4246]

Is that Gerard Mulligan in the audience sitting next to the lady who asked the first question?

[@dongiller]

As mentioned in the description.

[@bradbugos4246]

Sorry I'm a bit simple.

[@waiter1971]

Didn't Tomorrow end in 1982 ?

[@dongiller]

December 1981, then repeats until Late Night debuted February 1, 1982.

[@KiddBloo86]

7:15... She had this question half predicted!

[@nancyericson4263]

I went on a tour of the CBS studios in 1978. This is about all I saw. We enjoyed the public market across the street a lot more.

[@dongiller]

This was at 30 Rock, home of NBC’s studios, not CBS’s.

[@rushmore120]

Tom smokes em way down.....lol

[@ianbauer4703]

This interview, it's funny because Dave would - very shortly - take over Tom's slot at NBC. The ups and downs of network TV, I guess.

[@dongiller]

It’d be over a year and four months later.

[@ianbauer4703]

@@dongiller Yeah, a bit sad because I did like Tom Snyder's show but it paved the way for the legend of Letterman.

[@pegna7404]

And Letterman would pay him back by putting his last show on thair back in it's old time slot

[@OrangeBang74]

Stupid bird network

[@HardRockMaster7577]

Leno did his show perfectly, but David Letterman was the heir to Johnny Carson, and was the best, after Carson.

[@at1212b]

Leno copied 40% of his stuff from Letterman.

[@tomloft2000]

Tom Snyder hahahahahahahaha

[@chriscollins3470]

Too bad this kid couldn’t transition from the morning slot to something else……..

[@sttarch5150]

I watched his morning show when I was between classes in college. Very funny, but the housewives, I who are the majority of viewers at that time, didn't have the brains to get his humor.

[@robertsprouse9282]

Prejudiced Bigot, are ya? You did not have the brains to restrain from answering my first question with your twitty post. Better to remain quiet and have folks wondering if you are a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. Are you judging millions of folks you likely have never ever met, and just bitter about the house you grew up in? That is psychologically based prejudicial bigotry. YOUR MOVE, MENSA BOY.