# Challenge! Who is the man sitting with all the stars on Johnny Carson? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 30, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321 "2014-04-30T00:42:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/221 "2014-05-01T21:04:02Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > Browse photos of Cavett in Google Image Search and you’ll see he really looks nothing like MM. Where do you think I got that image of him in the first place? 🙂 I see the same hairstyle, same brow, same nose, same chin, same laugh lines, even the same dark spot on the left temple. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/222 "2014-05-01T21:06:59Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Where do you think I got that image of him in the first place? 🙂 > I see the same hairstyle, same brow, same nose, same chin, same laugh lines, even the same dark spot on the left temple. Not Cavett. Look at full-body photos (of him sitting) and you’ll see the size difference. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/223 "2014-05-01T21:07:12Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Where do you think I got that image of him in the first place? 🙂 Good point! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/224 "2014-05-01T21:14:08Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Not Cavett. Look at full-body photos (of him sitting) and you’ll see the size difference. You mean [like this, where he appears to be the same size as 5’10" Richard Burton](http://www.thirteen.org/13pressroom/files/2013/01/Dick-Cavett-and-Richard-Burton.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/225 "2014-05-01T21:22:17Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > You mean [like this, where he appears to be the same size as 5’10" Richard Burton](http://www.thirteen.org/13pressroom/files/2013/01/Dick-Cavett-and-Richard-Burton.jpg)? Cavett’s chair is clearly set higher than Burton’s. The resolution of the mystery photo is poor enough that you might be able to merge a lot of the faces on it with equal success. Try the others suggested here. Do Sid Caeser and Bette Davis too just to see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/226 "2014-05-01T21:26:59Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Jerry Lewis was the regular guest host then. It aint him. Although I’m surprised no one has suggested him. > [@mordecaiB](#): > > How about [Jonathan Smith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Harris)? IMDB doesn’t show him doing anything noteworthy in 1970 but it sure looks like him. You mean Jonathan Harris, who played Dr. Smith. No, doesn’t look like him. And it doesn’t look like Dick Cavett either. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/227 "2014-05-01T21:29:30Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > In 1970, the Tonight Show was set in New York. Didn’t move to Burbank until 1972. The TV guide listings posted up thread, said they filming in California that week primarily for the Photoplay awards. So this pic wouldn’t have been from the regular set they were using at that time. Um, I found a pic of the same set - same hideous green shag carpet, same desk with the weird cutouts on the front of it. In it, Johnny was talking with Freddie Prinze. His fame was approximately from 1973 to his death Jan 29, 1977. The caption said either that his first appearance on the Tonight Show was when he was 21 or 2 years before at age 19 (it was a little ambiguous). Born 6/22/1954. ---
**Author:** ![cococ173](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@cococ173](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cococ173)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/228 "2014-05-01T21:33:53Z")
Hi all. I am the person Stoid got this pic and info from. I came on to clarify how this came to be. I posted the pic on my personal fb page after seeing it on a fb page set up to solve the identity of the mystery man. The origin of the pic came from a retro tv page of Marlo Thomas slides. I will have to search for the link but I think it is called fanpop. The credits under the pic were actually credits for the whole set of slides and that is why Ted Bessell’s name appears. The names did not correspond to each pic but the entire set of pics. The ‘archivist’ who posted the pic as well as others is called Willow2US and I think someone mentioned him earlier in this thread. We track down Willow and we solve the mystery, maybe. I do not think this is a hoax or photoshopped or lab altered because the woman who first wondered who the guy in the yellow chair is is a friend of one of my friends. I’m thinking to get people to pledge $ to St. Judes if Marlo Thomas answers on her fb page. Who knows if she even remembers…or post on youtube in the hopes of someone actually knowing the identity of the man with the morphing face. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/229 "2014-05-01T21:35:40Z")
Following with fascination. My seat-of-the-pants vote is **David Soul**. A few thoughts about the picture in general: I grew up with green shag just like that! My army men would get lost and snagged in it all the time, only to be stepped on with bare feet in the middle of the night Ah, the days when there was an ashtray on every table. Between the cigs and the carpet, that set must have smelled like a stale armpit. Damn, but Marlo Thomas was a beauty! And Karen Valentine! So many smokin’ hot brunette ladies in those days. Those huge clown bow ties were sure horrible, I much prefer the small tidy modern ones. I want that couch, what a comfy looking couch. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/230 "2014-05-01T21:36:20Z")
Yeah, we found those fanpop links. ETA: [Here](https://www.google.com/search?q=freddie+prinze+tonight+show&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=pr1iU4DyLIraoATTiYKoCA&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAg&biw=1440&bih=805#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=gK93BJVMm0f4oM%253A%3Bg5T0RP1fCg6BgM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.umich.edu%252F~ac213%252Fstudent_projects06%252Fstudent_projects%252Ffp%252Fimages%252FPrinze%252520%2526%252520Carson.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.umich.edu%252F~ac213%252Fstudent_projects06%252Fstudent_projects%252Ffp%252FBiography%252520of%252520Freddie%252520Prinze%252520Sr.htm%3B704%3B480) is the link to Freddie Prinze on this set with Johnny. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/231 "2014-05-01T21:39:50Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Following with fascination. My seat-of-the-pants vote is **David Soul**. Not only does it not look anything like David Soul, this would have, assuming the photo was taken in 1970, been a few years before he hit it big with _Starsky and Hutch_. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/232 "2014-05-01T21:48:31Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Try the others suggested here. Do Sid Caeser and Bette Davis too just to see what happens. Sure, if a shot from approximately the same angle can be found. Got lucky with one of the first large images of Cavett that that Google returned. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/233 "2014-05-01T21:52:13Z")
This [pic of Sid Caeser in Grease](http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1052206.1333052137!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/gallery_1200/sid-caesar-coach-calhoun.jpg) (filmed in 77, I believe) sure seems to match up pretty well - though it’s hard without seeing his hair. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/234 "2014-05-01T21:55:17Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > [Better merge](https://www.flickr.com/photos/9587066@N08/13897146960/), other one was off by a pixel. Shoot. In that one, he looks like [Ted Bundy](https://www.google.com/search?q=ted+bundy+photo&client=firefox-a&hs=Fd0&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=sb&tbm=isch&imgil=M8VNiyMMxUmZCM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcSLo53htJ9D5zvt0jngmB09zNAIrrOCqJGl6TefsIHk8k-X6Uw%253B600%253B466%253Bz76ylkUwulSDTM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fcrimedesk24.com%25252Fted-bundy-serial-killer%25252F&source=iu&usg=__nCvO-eDjthpvOlofIAbushWrkK4%3D&sa=X&ei=WMJiU8TVDpW0yASJqYHgDA&ved=0CEAQ9QEwCw#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=M8VNiyMMxUmZCM%253A%3BAJOlhhuRMyqMrM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252Fe%252Fea%252FTed_Bundy_in_court.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FTed_Bundy%3B600%3B466) – the side view from the Wiki article. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/235 "2014-05-01T22:03:00Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > This [pic of Sid Caeser in Grease](http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1052206.1333052137!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/gallery_1200/sid-caesar-coach-calhoun.jpg) (filmed in 77, I believe) sure seems to match up pretty well - though it’s hard without seeing his hair. Copied Sid into Paint Shop. Will try lining them up sometime tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/236 "2014-05-01T22:05:07Z")
OK, this is just for fun, and I don’t really believe it, but maybe it’s a young [Geoffrey Palmer](https://www.google.com/search?q=geoffrey+palmer+photos&biw=1920&bih=1075&tbm=isch&imgil=43YXZkAeqrsftM%253A%253Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fencrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com%252Fimages%253Fq%253Dtbn%253AANd9GcSX9xHVaZ7lPwg05fgpsl0P9KBRcKWoy198A2wx_R7VbkhHYsOC%253B320%253B240%253Bai4bH-LxFFCGkM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.aveleyman.com%25252FActorCredit.aspx%25253FActorID%2525253D13359&source=iu&usg=__H7yGemwkFpJs7zSna1nL0PBxhsQ%3D&sa=X&ei=CMRiU8uFO8_xoASM0ICIDw&ved=0CEIQ9QEwDQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=43YXZkAeqrsftM%253A%3Bai4bH-LxFFCGkM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wearysloth.com%252FGallery%252FActorsP%252Ftve13359-19760915-111.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.aveleyman.com%252FActorCredit.aspx%253FActorID%253D13359%3B320%3B240). He was unknown in the US at the time, but he was doing a lot of British TV. You’re right, I don’t believe it either. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/237 "2014-05-01T22:21:31Z")
> [@cococ173](#): > > Hi all. I am the person Stoid got this pic and info from. I came on to clarify how this came to be. I posted the pic on my personal fb page after seeing it on a fb page set up to solve the identity of the mystery man. The origin of the pic came from a retro tv page of Marlo Thomas slides. I will have to search for the link but I think it is called fanpop. The credits under the pic were actually credits for the whole set of slides and that is why Ted Bessell’s name appears. The names did not correspond to each pic but the entire set of pics. > > The ‘archivist’ who posted the pic as well as others is called Willow2US and I think someone mentioned him earlier in this thread. We track down Willow and we solve the mystery, maybe. I do not think this is a hoax or photoshopped or lab altered because the woman who first wondered who the guy in the yellow chair is is a friend of one of my friends. > > I’m thinking to get people to pledge $ to St. Judes if Marlo Thomas answers on her fb page. Who knows if she even remembers…or post on youtube in the hopes of someone actually knowing the identity of the man with the morphing face. Thanks for taking the trouble to post this and for the clue about Willow. Hopefully one way or the other we’ll get this solved. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/238 "2014-05-01T22:52:04Z")
I definitely recognize that actor. It’s not Dick Cavett. I actually watched the tonight show back in the day, and would recognize him instantly. Here’s an outside possibility: [Lloyd Bridges](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Lloyd_Bridges_1966.jpg). The set design and hairstyles and such make this look like the early 1970’s. I believe that set is the first ‘Burbank’ set starting in 1972, and that desk was retired in 1976 or early 1977. So this picture dates from somewhere between those four years. So, why would these people all be in tuxes? I recall Johnny used to have guests on after the Emmy awards or Oscars or other awards shows. My guess is that this is a group from some event like that who all stopped by as a ‘walk-in’, and the guest in the chair is the regularly scheduled guest who was sitting there when this bunch came in. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/239 "2014-05-01T22:58:06Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > This [pic of Sid Caeser in Grease](http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1052206.1333052137!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/gallery_1200/sid-caesar-coach-calhoun.jpg) (filmed in 77, I believe) sure seems to match up pretty well - though it’s hard without seeing his hair. [Looks like Sid’s ears are too high.](https://www.flickr.com/photos/9587066@N08/14081462221/) And the merged mouth reminds me of Harpo Marx. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2014, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321/240 "2014-05-01T23:00:37Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > So, why would these people all be in tuxes? I recall Johnny used to have guests on after the Emmy awards or Oscars or other awards shows. My guess is that this is a group from some event like that who all stopped by as a ‘walk-in’, and the guest in the chair is the regularly scheduled guest who was sitting there when this bunch came in. Except that he is also in a tux and Glen Campbell is not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/challenge-who-is-the-man-sitting-with-all-the-stars-on-johnny-carson/687321.md?page=13)