RARE AUDIO: Groucho hosts The TONIGHT SHOW. . . with guest Lillian Roth! (1962) [EXCLUSIVE!]
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- Brand new exclusive material: An incredibly rare find of extremely valuable audio of Groucho Marx hosting the TONIGHT SHOW in 1962! (more info below. . . )
Virtually none of the TONIGHT SHOW prior to 1972 survives in any form, let alone from the week of shows hosted by Groucho just before Johnny Carson took over the program. But not only is this a very special recording due to the rarity of any pre-1972 TONIGHT SHOW material, but due to the enormous Marxian significance of the first guest featured: Lillian Roth, romantic lead of The Marx Bros second film, "Animal Crackers"! They even sing a duet (of sorts). George Fenneman reunites with Groucho, too, sitting in as temporary announcer, a year after the end of YOU BET YOUR LIFE.
The audio here is pretty rough, and the recording far from complete. Whoever recorded this originally was clearly uninterested in anything but The Marx Bros, since he didn't even bother to record the Barbra Streisand segment. But we're extremely lucky to be able to hear this in any form, thanks to a near-miraculous series of serendipitous events, which began with my friend (Patrick Barr) buying a bunch of reel to reel tapes at a garage sale without having any idea what he was buying, just because the label on one, "Groucho - Tonight Show", sounded intriguing. The heavily damaged reels were then expertly and carefully brought back to listenable quality by another friend, Steve Garland, via a very delicate and risky tape restoration process known as "baking". (I'm not making that term up: en.wikipedia.o... )
I've been sitting on this recording for far too long, because the audio needed a lot of work, most of which is well and truly beyond my amateur skills. I'm certain a true digital audio expert could make this sound quite a bit better than it does, but after countless hours of my own tinkering around with this for more than a couple of YEARS, I felt it was long overdue to get this posted once and for all in some semi-listenable form.
I hope you enjoy this historically important and immensely entertaining recording, despite the effort required to decipher the some of the dialogue. I feel incredibly honored to have been trusted to shepherd along this process, and to finally make it available to the the public here on RUclips.
Many thanks to Patrick for trusting me with the recording, to Steve for rescuing it from the dead, and most of all, to whomever made this home recording of the original broadcast in the first place! The odds were astronomically against this recording existing in the first place, let alone its having gotten into the hands of the right people so that it could be transferred, cleaned up, and made availble to fans everywhere. . . as it should be.
(PS: Please excuse the crappy slideshow. I don't have even remotely good software for this, now that RUclips decided to remove their "just slightly better than awful" slideshow creation feature.)
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This really a find -- I've read about it for years, and I never thought I'd get the opportunity to actually hear it. Thank you SO much!
This interim Tonight Show broadcast (after Jack Paar's departure) first aired Tuesday, August 21, 1962. It ran from 11:15pm to 1am. Johnny Carson premiered on October 1, 1962.
Carson was said to have based his show on Groucho's deal....was with a friend and we walked into a store looking for kids swimming toys one weekend...my friend (as we walked in) asked... ma'am do you happen to know where the kids department is? she said no I don't...he said....go down two rows and take a right......just realized it was a Grouco moment.
I've heard that Groucho was considered for the hosting job before Jack Paar left.
I find this pretty unbelievable, mostly because of his age (he was nearly 72 here).
I don't think he would have been suited for it anyway, despite his towering genius. The Tonight Show needed someone who was funny, but more relaxing and not so clever as the brand that Groucho brought.
Great job, well done.
You post the neatest things, Gary.
I vaguely remember this show. I think this was when Jack Paar walked off in 1962 and NBC was using fill ins until Johnny Carson was tapped to replace him.
Jack had finished his stint on "THE TONIGHT SHOW" (aka "THE JACK PAAR SHOW") on March 29, 1962 [he started his prime-time show that September]. NBC was waiting for Johnny Carson to succeed him, but he had to fulfill his contract with ABC for "WHO DO YOU TRUST?"{his daytime quiz show} first. So there were MANY, MANY guest hosts who filled in for a week or two between April and September 1962. Groucho was one of them.
Finally, what a gem.
Very nice!
Groucho was a genius.
Actually ..... Groucho was simply NOT AFRAID to lay it on the line!!! He knew, just as I do,,
that we're ~All Full o' shite~ !!!! ( I used the King's English!). It's a fact~!~ Even the Good Book says' ~"Man is wicked ... from KNEE-HIGH UP"~!~ Just look at our government today!
President Biden takes office, and what does he do??? The old geezer's geezer
shuts down the Keystone pipeline!?!? WHY!?!? because the left wants ~green energy~
but apparently,, they're unaware that we can NOT get rid of all fossil fuel uses!!!! FACT!!!
What do airline jets use??? ~#1 FUEL OIL~ And all it is, is a highly refined kerosene!!!
What do at least 40 million American homes heat their homes with ...... home heating oil!!!
What is asphalt made of/from ..... crude oil product!!! What do millions of industrial
machines need ..... petroleum oil(s)!!! Crude oil has at least 600 uses!!!! Fact!!!
A fact of life for you....... even if America tries to go green ... it wouldn't do much of any good! Why!?!? Because China is and has been building on average, 1 coal fired power plant
per WEEK!!!! What's going to really happen????? We will be breathing greenhouse gases
here in the states from CHINA, SOUTH AMERICA, INDIA, AFRICA, AND AUSTRALIA!!!
So,,,,, Biden, is full o' poopsky, along with the Europeans, Asians, and most everyone else!!!
I didn't know that Groucho's "You Bet Your Life" announcer George Fenneman worked with him on the Tonight Show as well.
Wasn't Fenneman's role as the sidekick/foil on "You Bet Your Life" pretty much the prototype for Ed McMahon?
@@jazzmanchgo - I suppose that that's true, even though the styles of the reserved Fennenan and the boisterous McMahon were very dissimilar.
Very very cool. Thank you for sharing. I hope more rare recordings come your way!
Wonderful! I've read several Groucho / Marx Bros. bios, and this isn't mentioned in any of them.
Thank you and thanks to your friends and colleagues who assisted you in this endeavor!
Why are your videos so old why don’t you just take down your RUclips channel
Good hearing this audio Gary!
Scheisse it's not on film, time to go watch "You Bet Your Life"
I'd love to hear the one with Martyn Green. G&S, ad libitum.
Groucho became famous because of his disregard for most "etiquecies" (pardon my spelling?!?!) and/or societal convention! Of course ........ he was right in doing so, because ~society~ changes like the weather in Georgia!!! LOLOL!!! Bottom line ....... we're ALL full o' shlitzky!!! And Groucho knew that very, very well, and took full advantage~!~!~!~
Is everyone sure that the video was wiped/erased? Still a huge find though. THANK YOU!
Well, do you know anyone with a copy? :) Yes, nearly the entirety of the TONIGHT SHOW prior to its moving to Burbank in 1972 is considered to be lost forever. There's actually another copy of the AUDIO of this particular episode, which I know of only because it was featured in an unreleased Barbra Streisand video from decades ago, just a very short clip from a different part of the show, clearly from a totally separate recording (presumably from NBC's audio transcription discs, whereas the recording I posted here was definitely recorded at home directly off the air.) But yes, basically all video of the TONIGHT SHOW prior to 1972 is lost.
There's also a clip of Frank Zappa on the tonight show with George Allen as host.
@@OO9SoundSystem
Steve Allen.
Great story about this find, I made a recording on reel to reel of the Allman bros. At nassau county coliseum.. it's out there somewhere ? AD.
Groucho never a stand up. Comics never memorize. That is actor. He was brilliant at ad lib.
humor is no joke and virtually timeless, besides that, it's universal everywhere.....
Thank you for this rarity Gary!
Groucho are erudite and funny, but too damn old by 1962 to be considered seriously as the new host of "The Tonight Show".
He certainly had the stories and the friends to make a terrific show (IMHO).
What a shame. Did he guest host after Johnny took over?
hi do you have any more of this show's audio ? I am doing a documentary on Buddy Greco and would love to hear more of his performance , intro ... etc Thanks
My favourite of all time
Who's the gentleman Groucho had that very amusing conversation about accents with?
Didn't catch his name, but Groucho seems genuinely interested and intrigued. He didn't have a lot of formal education, but he was a very well-read, erudite, and intellectually curious man. And of course, as an actor who'd played (and satirized) various "ethnic" characters on stage and in movies, that topic would have fascinated him.
I would guess that Groucho was VERY interested in accents and dialects because of his own very heavy New York Bronx accent. He couldn’t hide from that accent.
I’ll bet that accent was the subject of many a conversation. I have been charmed by that accent and amazed by it!!! But the truth is groucho’s accent would never pass muster if he were applying to be a newscaster!!! His accent is too lowbrow. If groucho weren’t so brilliant, hilarious, well-read, erudite and clever, sharp-witted, etc., if Groucho we’re just reading off of a card, he would have been toast in the public speaking world.
Sociolinguistics!!!
@@ethyltreatman1275 lucky for us that Groucho never really tried to hide that wonderful accent. Definitely part of his charm, IMHO
My mom and aunt Olga were on his show in the 50’s and my siblings are looking for the episode. Since she has since passed away, we have been looking for it. Is there any way to find them with just their names?
Look up "You Bet Your Life", his quiz show on NBC. The names of the relatives you're looking for may be enough; you also may need the date. Good luck.
Groucho- the king of one-liners.
Who was that dialect expert?
Is this the 11:30 open or the 11:15?
No idea, sorry.
Sounds like the 11:30pm(et) opening. This was originally telecast during the week Groucho was a guest host, on August 21, 1962. He was the guest host from August 20-24, 1962.
@@fromthesidelines it might be a 11:15 open sequence
Maybe.
@@fromthesidelines There MUST be other treasures out there hiding in attics, vaults, haylofts, etc...
Audio, kinescope or maybe even some (COLOR) tape!?