10 Comedy Legends’ First Appearance on ‘The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson’
More than 30 years after his departure from The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson is still often viewed as the best that’s ever done it. In addition to his wonderful, funny interviews, a big part of Carson’s legacy is how he shaped comedy for decades to come.
During Carson’s reign as host, featuring a comedian on the show would massively boost their career. As Drew Carey told me, “The Tonight Show was such an important credit. It was a legitimacy that I needed. After I did it, all of a sudden I was getting all these offers.”
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As such, much of Carey’s success can be traced back to his first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and the same is true of these comedians.
Andy Kaufman
Andy Kaufman’s greatest talk show appearances were on Late Night With David Letterman, but he had a successful first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Kaufman came out on January 21st, 1977 as his Foreign Man character that would later become Latka on Taxi. While it's unclear if Carson knew that Kaufman’s character was a front, Carson played the straight man perfectly as Kaufman deliberately stumbled through the interview. Kaufman then painstakingly read a children's book aloud before getting to his act of terrible, punchline-less stand-up comedy, followed by a repertoire of awful celebrity imitations. Carson didn’t quite make Kaufman’s career the way he did some others, but his first Tonight Show was an excellent showcase.
Roseanne Barr
Just a few years into her stand-up career, on August 23rd, 1985, Roseanne Barr began making waves with her groundbreaking “Domestic Goddess” persona, which talked about her life as a housewife and how she specifically objected to that term. While Barr’s signature snark and attitude would eventually be played completely straight, it’s charming to see her break and chuckle at a number of her own jokes. She also commanded the stage with lines like “So, I’m fat. I thought I’d point that out,” before complaining about her husband and explaining why fat moms are better than skinny moms.
David Spade
David Spade appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on August 14, 1991—less than a year after he debuted on Saturday Night Live. Spade immediately began with self-deprecating jokes about his youthful appearance, saying “My name is David Spade and I’m 12,” before adding that his mom just dropped him off. Many of his appearance-related jokes received only smatterings of laughter, as did his complaints about River Phoenix’s vegetarianism, which ages especially poorly.
Ray Romano
Ray Romano’s signature whine was first heard on November 15, 1991. Whereas most young stand-up comics were bachelors during their first time on Carson, Romano stood out with jokes about his wife and new baby. The domestic, relatable humor was a hit with the audience and led to his hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.
Tim Allen
On November 13, 1991 Tim Allen performed on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson as an already-established star. Tim Allen had risen to fame by doing various stand-up comedy showcases like Comedy’s Dirtiest Dozen in 1988 and Rodney Dangerfield: Opening Night at Rodney's Place in 1989, but on The Tonight Show, Allen brought out his “regular guy” comedy, and talked about cars and his German-Irish ancestry. His material was also laced with an element of dark humor, like saying he hated his grandmother. And, of course, there was plenty of grunting.
Steven Wright
Steven Wright’s legendary deadpan comedy paired with non sequitur, brilliantly-written jokes debuted on August 6th, 1982. Carson warned “I think you’re going to find him a little different,” when introducing him, and Wright immediately cracked up the audience by responding “Thanks.” He then opened with “I had a dream that all the babies prevented by the pill showed up — they were mad.” It was a stunning performance by a singular comedic voice, made only more impressive by the fact that it was Wright’s first time on national television.
Eddie Murphy
At just 20 years old, Eddie Murphy appeared on The Tonight Show during his tenure as SNL’s biggest star. On New Years Day, 1982, Eddie Murphy strolled out without a hint of nervousness. His material was a little raunchier than most, at least for NBC at the time, as one of his topics was the lack of bulge underwear models seem to have. He also mentioned prostitutes, homosexuals and how risky it would be to be the first Black president. None of it was nearly as edgy as what would appear in stand-up specials like Delirious and Raw, but his act was more risqué than any of the other performers on this list.
Jay Leno
Jay Leno’s first Tonight Show appearance was March 2nd, 1977. Leno’s material, which talked about various idiosyncrasies of news reports and growing up with parents who came up during the Depression, got a lukewarm response initially, but he finished strong..
Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling first appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson on March 18, 1981. His neurotic, sarcastic material included waiting to hear your name called at restaurants and what camping is like when you’re Jewish. Shandling’s performance was strong, but some of his best material would come decades later, when he was deconstructing late night comedy on The Larry Sanders Show.
Jerry Seinfeld
On May 6, 1981, Carson introduced Jerry Seinfeld to the Tonight Show audience. Seinfeld did observational comedy about weather forecasts, going through customs and driving—some of which, in a more refined form, appeared in the nightclub scenes of Seinfeld years later. While a couple of jokes in the middle fell flat, Jerry largely got a great response from the crowd, and received Carson’s approving “okay” sign. More importantly, Seinfeld did so well that he returned to the show just a few months later.