# A Tonight Show w/Johnny Carson question. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154 "2012-05-17T00:40:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/1 "2012-05-17T00:40:50Z")
I didn’t see the recent special about Carson but I’ve always wondered: Besides Drew Carey, who were the other comedians made famous by being called over the the couch? Carson was on for 30 years and Carey is the only one “called over” that you ever hear about. Was Letterman called over? Leno? Seinfield? Bob Newhart? Who else? ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/2 "2012-05-17T01:06:05Z")
Eddie Murphy, Ellen Degeneres, Steven Wright, Yakov Smirinoff, Roseann Barr were all called over after their first appearances…I don’t think Jerry Seinfeld was after his first appearance, but he was on the show a number of times and I think his early success is generally associated with the Carson show. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/3 "2012-05-17T01:40:30Z")
Degeneres and Barr have both talked about their “OMG THIS ISN’T HAPPENING!” excitement. (Their first appearances are on YouTube if interested.) Stand-up comedy is a notoriously sexist field and Johnny was one of the most she-comic friendly hosts. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/4 "2012-05-17T01:47:25Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > Eddie Murphy, Ellen Degeneres, Steven Wright, Yakov Smirinoff, Roseann Barr were all called over after their first appearances…I don’t think Jerry Seinfeld was after his first appearance, but he was on the show a number of times and I think his early success is generally associated with the Carson show. That’s interesting. Was Eddie Murphy called over before, after, or during his stint on SNL? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/5 "2012-05-17T01:50:03Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > That’s interesting. Was Eddie Murphy called over before, after, or during his stint on SNL? I just watched that clip last night. During the intro, Carson says that Murphy is emerging as one of the highlights of the new cast. So he was on SNL, but maybe only by months. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/6 "2012-05-17T02:29:24Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > That’s interesting. Was Eddie Murphy called over before, after, or during his stint on SNL? Yeah, must have been during. He was like 19 years old when he started SNL. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/7 "2012-05-17T02:38:00Z")
Wasn’t Murphy first-generation new cast? IIRC there was a _lot_ of scepticism about the cast change then. The show was still relatively new, and the idea of it as a breeding ground for good comedic actors was far, far away. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/8 "2012-05-17T02:40:12Z")
“In Soviet Russia, couch calls _you_!” ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/9 "2012-05-17T02:46:22Z")
Shandling was called over, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/10 "2012-05-17T02:50:17Z")
Also Freddie Prinze, of “Chico and the Man” fame. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/11 "2012-05-17T03:53:53Z")
Jeff Dunham, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/12 "2012-05-17T04:01:09Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Wasn’t Murphy first-generation new cast? IIRC there was a _lot_ of scepticism about the cast change then. The show was still relatively new, and the idea of it as a breeding ground for good comedic actors was far, far away. He was, though only he and Joe Piscopo were retained after their first season (1980-1981) on the show; the rest of that ill-fated cast (as well as the producer, Jean Doumanian) was let go after the one season. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/13 "2012-05-17T14:33:41Z")
Eddie Murphy was the break-out star of the 2nd generation of SNL. SNL being an NBC show, like the Tonight Show, it seems only natural that Carson would’ve had Murphy on the show and would’ve invited him over to the couch. Not that Murphy wasn’t hilarious back then and would’ve been invited to over to Johnny on his own merits, because he most certainly was, but I don’t think Johnny would’ve NOT invited a fellow NBC star over, cross-promotion of network shows being a big part of the talk-show game. Except for contract negotiations, Johnny struck me as a good company man. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tonight-show-w-johnny-carson-question/622154/14 "2012-05-17T15:26:39Z")
> [@zamboniracer](#): > > Eddie Murphy was the break-out star of the 2nd generation of SNL. SNL being an NBC show, like the Tonight Show, it seems only natural that Carson would’ve had Murphy on the show and would’ve invited him over to the couch. > > Not that Murphy wasn’t hilarious back then and would’ve been invited to over to Johnny on his own merits, because he most certainly was, but I don’t think Johnny would’ve NOT invited a fellow NBC star over, cross-promotion of network shows being a big part of the talk-show game. Except for contract negotiations, Johnny struck me as a good company man. According to the documentary he was at war with the network. But it does make sense as a general rule to promote your own network shows.