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| Greatest Talk Show Host |
| Carson |
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25% |
[ 10 ] |
| Oprah |
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12% |
[ 5 ] |
| Leno |
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5% |
[ 2 ] |
| Other |
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57% |
[ 23 ] |
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| Total Votes : 40 |
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The Bobster
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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 Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 12:59 am Post subject: |
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Donohue for innovation.
Letterman for elevating sarcasm to an art form.
Charlie Rose for getting smart people to come on TV and say smart things. Actually, he deserves a nice present just having the idea. |
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jaderedux2
Joined: 09 Jul 2007
Location: lurking just lurking
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| Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 6:17 am Post subject: |
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kickin it old school
Tom Snyder |
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Chris2007
Joined: 20 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 6:36 am Post subject: |
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| 4 pages and not one mention of Oprah? How can this be? She'll be devastated!! |
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tigerbluekitty
Joined: 19 Apr 2007
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| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 2:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Chris2007 wrote: |
| 4 pages and not one mention of Oprah? How can this be? She'll be devastated!! |
You're telling me. Think people tend to pay more attention to talk show hosts who are entertaining rather than the ones who are just informative.
Oprah rules though. Hurrah for her, kicking Angelina to the curb like she did.  |
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Doogie
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Hwaseong City
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| Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2007 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Chris2007 wrote: |
| 4 pages and not one mention of Oprah? How can this be? She'll be devastated!! |
Is it just me, though, or is Oprah's show tailored for women only? The times I have watched it, it seems like 80% of the guests are women and 80% of the studio audience is women. I wouldn't be surprised if 80% of the TV audience is also women. There's nothing wrong with that. Actually, it's proven to be target-marketing gold for her. |
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Dev
Joined: 18 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:20 pm Post subject: |
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My vote goes to Donahue.
In his day, there was no topic that he wouldn't dare to tackle. He would do heavy duty topics like abortion and (if he were on tv today) stem cell research and global warming. He was also ballsy enough to have representatives of opposing groups. His shows were daring, but not a circus like Maurry or Heraldo. I found his shows to be educational as well as entertaining. He was funny but a lot of it was tongue in cheek. |
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Gatsby
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 8:13 am Post subject: |
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On the whole, I would agree with dogshed's list:
| Quote: |
Carson is obviously the winner but we must not forget
*beep* Cavett
Jack Parr
Steve Allen
Of today's people I really like Craig Furgeson |
But I think it need some elaboration. Carson and Letterman, in their prime, were both terrific. Most people, however, remember Carson from his later years, when he was a mere shadow of his earlier rapier wit. I guess his prime lasted until he left New York City for LA. Letterman in his first five or so years was incredibly creative and funny. He is still good, though.
Actually, there is not much in the way of these talk shows that is truly innovative. Apparently Steve Allen and Jack Paar created the format, from what I've seen of excerpts of their shows. Some of the modern talk show gags also go back to Ernie Kovacs.
In terms of entertainment and sophistication, plus influence upon the culture of the time, early Johnny Carson was tops. He was also a good interviewer, much better than the intellectual superficiality we see with the current crop like Leno and Letterman.
But in terms of pure talk show, Dick Cavett ( this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dick_Cavett_Show ) was probably the best. He was extremely bright, knowledgeable, and he knew how to shut up. Before I left Dodge, cable was doing reruns of some of the great Cavett shows. They were still great. Carson, on the other hand, loses something because his humor is so locked into the context of the day. But Cavett's shows are a historical record. Just do a search for him in youtube.com Here, I'll do it for you:
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=dick+cavett&search=Search
Actually, a good one to help understand the ABBA phenomenon still reverbrating here in Korea is:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qZChCHiajR4 and additional parts.
One of the things that is so fascinating about Cavett's style is that he is not afraid of silence after he asks a question. There is an important lesson there for interviewers - use silence. And he seems to draw out thoughful answers with his slower style.
I liked Tom Snyder a lot, but didn't get to see him that much. David Frost also has a sterling reputation, but didn't run that long in the States.
In terms of IQ, I suspect Steve Allen would be tops. He was a very versatile geniuis.
In terms of highest self-estimated IQ, it would have to be Charlie Rose. Gad, what a waste! He is Larry King's doppleganger. Whereas idiots and airheads feel perfectly safe appearing on Larry King, intellectuals and egotists feel perfectly safe flocking to Charlie Rose. Now if only Rose would shut up. |
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twg
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 5:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Gatsby wrote: |
| intellectuals |
Boo! Smart people! Hisss! |
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contrarian
Joined: 20 Jan 2007
Location: Nearly in NK
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Rush Limbaugh mainly because he really pi$$es the liberal off. |
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Doogie
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Hwaseong City
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:22 pm Post subject: |
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| cangel wrote: |
| It's easy to get guests when the guest knows they won't be taken to task. Barbara Walters was famous for this. People would say, "Barbara Walters can get an interview with anyone." Yeah, for sure, but she never asks the really tough questions. Not easy for someone like Howard Stern to get guests when the first question is how long your johnson is, followed by, "prove it." |
Actually, Barbara would ask the tough questions, but you could tell that they had done a lot of scripting beforehand. There was certainly nothing spontaneous about her interviews. That's why she always gets the mega-stars on her specials. They know that it's going to be a totally safe interview. All questions and answers are pre-planned. |
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twg
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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| contrarian wrote: |
| Rush Limbaugh mainly because he really pi$$es the liberal off. |
Nothing worth admiring more than a pill-popper who calls teen-aged girls ugly on national TV, that's for sure. |
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The Bobster
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:23 pm Post subject: |
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| jaderedux2 wrote: |
kickin it old school
Tom Snyder |
First time in history I ever disagreed with you, Jade. Tom was a comedian who never knew how funny he was, and that's a sad thing to behold ... maybe he was better off on radio? |
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applesandshanana
Joined: 09 May 2007
Location: Michigan
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| Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Conan doesn't even have to speak or have guests to win this prize in my book. The string dance alone makes it worthwhile. |
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Doogie
Joined: 19 Jan 2006
Location: Hwaseong City
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| Posted: Sun Aug 12, 2007 3:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Just a quick note........I don't think anyone has voted for him, but Merv Griffin died yesterday at the age of 82. He certainly had a long TV career. |
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The Bobster
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:12 am Post subject: |
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| Doogie wrote: |
| Just a quick note........I don't think anyone has voted for him, but Merv Griffin died yesterday at the age of 82. He certainly had a long TV career. |
I'm old enough to remember him. I'm sorry to say, even after his demise ...
He was boring. Just the way things go, sometimes. Sorry, know I'm not supposed to speak ill of the recently deceased. That's what I recall about him, though.
Hope he was comfortable when he passed, which is what I wish for every human. Damn, I hope it for myself ... and, you know, 82 is not a bad score. |
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