# Guests don't stay around anymore on late night tv **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930 "2014-10-10T05:20:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/1 "2014-10-10T05:20:58Z")
Why don’t guests stay around on the late night talk shows anymore? For example, Seth Myers had Robert Downey Jr as his guest. Now he’s interviewing Emmy Rossum. Robert is nowhere to be found. I can remember guests scooting down on Jay’s couch, and occasionally adding their .02 to the interview. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/2 "2014-10-10T05:33:32Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Why don’t guests stay around on the late night talk shows anymore? For example, Seth Myers had Robert Downey Jr as his guest. Now he’s interviewing Emmy Rossum. Robert is nowhere to be found. I can remember guests scooting down on Jay’s couch, and occasionally adding their .02 to the interview. That was _Johnny’s_ couch. Jay was merely borrowing it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/3 "2014-10-10T06:32:07Z")
The best is when the _second_ guest can _not_ get their own $0.02 in because the first guest is far more entertaining: Truman Capote on the Dick Cavett show, the interview was entirely taken over by the first guest sitting just one chair over: Groucho Marx. Courtney Thorne-Smith as the second guest on Conan, completely unable to compete with first guest, Norm MacDonald. Conan: So, what is the name of this movie you’re in with Carrot Top Norm: If it’s a movie starring Carrot Top, a good name would be “Box Office Poison”! Courtney T-S: No! It is called “Chairman of the Board”! Norm: Yeah, and it’s spelled B-O-R-E-D! ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/4 "2014-10-10T07:24:03Z")
Back when Letterman had his show in the 80’s, one of the things that was different about it is that guests didn’t hang around after their segment was done. So maybe it started then? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/5 "2014-10-10T07:24:33Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That was _Johnny’s_ couch. Jay was merely borrowing it. > > 😃 That was _Steve’s_ couch. Everyone else from Jack Paar on down were merely borrowing it. 😃 ---
**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:** [October 10, 2014, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/6 "2014-10-10T11:56:18Z")
Anyone not watching Graham Norton weekly is sorely missing out. The guests come out together, stay the entire hour, and while they have preset questions, they almost always flow away from them and have great fun. If you want to see what a celebrity is like, watch them on there. Many are on youtube if you are curious. Look for the Mark Wahlberg one. He comes out tipsy, gets drunker, and makes a bafoon of himself in front of the other guests and Graham. We love the one with Billy Crystal and Hugh Jackman. Just really fun people. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/7 "2014-10-10T13:02:11Z")
I totally agree about the Graham Norton show. Norton himself can be pretty funny, but when he has a good group of guests playing off each other, it’s great. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/8 "2014-10-10T13:09:54Z")
For most of the 20 years or so I’ve been paying attention to late night shows, the really huge superstar guests tend to leave after they are done promoting, but lesser known/emerging stars who book the first spot tend to stick around. I didn’t watch Leno much the last 5 or so years, but he typically was on camera asking “Can you stick around? or do you have to go?” and guests would sometimes say “I have to run. I have to catch a plane” or whatever. To me this has been so expected that I typically notice when a top-tier guest DOES stick around, because it tends to be the exception. Then, sometimes there is some sort of awkward (or not) introduction- “Hey. have you 2 met?” ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/9 "2014-10-10T13:12:49Z")
My favorite (so far) is the one with Bill Murray, Matt Damon, and Hugh Bonneville. They’d come from the London premiere of Monuments Men IIRC and were already half hot. No commercial breaks and Bonneville basically had to stand up and excuse himself on camera to go to the loo. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/10 "2014-10-10T13:40:30Z")
Nothing matches [Johnny Carson from 1969](http://fan.tcm.com/video/johnny-carson-madness): Bob Hope, Dean Martin, George Gobel. Everybody half in the bag and smoking. Watch Dean while George is talking. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/11 "2014-10-10T13:59:03Z")
It is presumed the bigger the celebrity, the more rushed he/she is, travelling from show to show, city to city, promoting the latest project. They flit in, chat, show a clip, and then they are off. They would not deign to waste a half hour anyway, while someone else is in the guest seat. I’ve also read that it is a bad sign for any celebrity to just show up on a talk show, sitting there and nattering away, without any project to publicize. It’s seen as pathetic if they have nothing going on in their work lives, and have nothing better to do. I disagree, I remember Tony Randall doing bits, and sitting down to chat seemingly ‘on the fly’ many many times on David Letterman (of course he may not have had any actual ‘work’ at the time) and he was always interesting and funny. It seems in the past stars were more relaxed, maybe? I don’t know…Quite often the second or third guest on David Letterman was bumped to another night because the first and maybe second guest was so fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/12 "2014-10-10T14:31:53Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > That was _Johnny’s_ couch. Jay was merely borrowing it. > > 😃 Do you have, you know, an ACTUAL constructive, answer! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/13 "2014-10-10T14:36:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Nothing matches [Johnny Carson from 1969](http://fan.tcm.com/video/johnny-carson-madness): Bob Hope, Dean Martin, George Gobel. Everybody half in the bag and smoking. Watch Dean while George is talking. Is it the episode when George says,“Ever feel like the world is a tuxedo, and you’re a pair of brown shoes.”? Watched clip, yes it was. BTW, what’s the deal with Johnny’s scarf? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/14 "2014-10-10T14:36:31Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Do you have, you know, an ACTUAL constructive, answer! :rolleyes: His answer was more constructive than your OP. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/15 "2014-10-10T14:41:36Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > That was _Steve’s_ couch. Everyone else from Jack Paar on down were merely borrowing it. 😃 Uh-uh. It was always Johnny’s couch. Steve and Jack were just using it until Johnny was ready for it. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/16 "2014-10-10T14:43:00Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > His answer was more constructive than your OP. WTF is your problem with me?! Feel free to put me on “ignore”. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2014, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/17 "2014-10-10T15:49:30Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > BTW, what’s the deal with Johnny’s scarf? A scarf on top of a turtleneck. All I can say is, it was 1969. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/18 "2014-10-10T18:22:57Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Do you have, you know, an ACTUAL constructive, answer! :rolleyes: > [@silenus](#): > > His answer was more constructive than your OP. > [@etv78](#): > > WTF is your problem with me?! Feel free to put me on “ignore”. **etv78** , an OP doesn’t have a privileged position in a thread – it’s not your place to comment on, or roll your eyes about, other people’s posts. If you have a problem with another person, take it to the Pit. In any case, stop this petty squabbling BS in Cafe Society. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/19 "2014-10-10T18:58:11Z")
> [@Manduck](#): > > Back when Letterman had his show in the 80’s, one of the things that was different about it is that guests didn’t hang around after their segment was done. So maybe it started then? Letterman’s show was the first one I’m aware of that dismissed the guest after their segment ended. Rarely the first guest sticks around. Recently Denzel Washington stayed for Lenny Kravitz spot, but that was mostly because they are good friends. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930/20 "2014-10-10T20:24:19Z")
I saw part of a Jimmy Kimmel recently where Martin Short stuck around for the next guest (some guy bringing out animals). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guests-dont-stay-around-anymore-on-late-night-tv/700930.md?page=2)