# What was the last talk/interview show on the air where people smoked? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197 "2010-07-10T06:44:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2010, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/1 "2010-07-10T06:44:45Z")
Just curious. The last one I remember is[Tom Snyder of the "Tomorrow Show"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomorrow_(TV_series))smoking on the air in the 70’s and (I think) the early 80’s. Any ones later than that? ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/2 "2010-07-11T01:08:26Z")
I think Morton Downey Jr. smoked on air, mid-80s. How about Martin Caiden? Richard Belzer? I can’t remember past the mid 80s. Best wishes, hh ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/3 "2010-07-11T01:20:40Z")
Letterman used to puff a cigar during commercials (and would occasionally get “caught” blowing a puff on camera) up until shortly before his heart operation, IIRC. I think that was within the last decade or so. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/4 "2010-07-11T01:59:24Z")
**The Tonight Show** , with Johnny Carson. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/5 "2010-07-11T02:30:37Z")
The last particular instance I recall of people smoking in that scenario was [Dennis Potter’s final interview](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnVrK38xI-A), it was aired on British television in 1994. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/6 "2010-07-11T10:43:22Z")
I seem to recall that Fran Lebowitz smoked during her Letterman interviews sometime in the nineties. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/7 "2010-07-11T20:42:44Z")
Letterman smoked a cigar during breaks for the longest time. Sometimes you would still see it in his hand when they came back (and once in a while for a whole segment). I don’t know when he stopped but it was well into the CBS run of his show. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/8 "2010-07-12T01:29:09Z")
I think Charlie Rose has allowed smoking on his show, although to my knowledge, Rose himself has never been shown smoking. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/9 "2010-07-12T01:39:02Z")
If Leno, Letterman or one of their guests wanted to smoke on air, would it run afoul of any workplace smoking bans? Or is it all considered performance and therefore allowed (though they’d still suffer a PR disaster that would make them wish they’d been caught raping little girls)? ---
**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:** [July 12, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/10 "2010-07-12T03:06:56Z")
On **August 8, 1999** , Peter Falk smoked all the way through his Inside the Actors Studio interview. This was the air date, not the filming date. I remember it distinctly because I thought he must be nearly smoking himself to death at that age. He’s still alive, though. ---
**Author:** ![PackLeader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@PackLeader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PackLeader)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/11 "2010-07-12T03:07:47Z")
There is a show called Actors Studio (I may well be wrong about the name) where they still smoke during the interview. Dave Chappelle is the last one I can remember lighting up…that was a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/12 "2010-07-12T05:36:02Z")
Kramer on the Merv Griffin set. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/13 "2010-07-12T06:26:24Z")
> [@PackLeader](#): > > There is a show called Actors Studio (I may well be wrong about the name) where they still smoke during the interview. Dave Chappelle is the last one I can remember lighting up…that was a few years ago. Are you and Mahaloth talking about the same show, the one with James Lipton? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/14 "2010-07-12T12:58:25Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > If Leno, Letterman or one of their guests wanted to smoke on air, would it run afoul of any workplace smoking bans? Or is it all considered performance and therefore allowed (though they’d still suffer a PR disaster that would make them wish they’d been caught raping little girls)? Letterman routinely commented on how people kept telling him that it was against the fire code for him to smoke on the set. This was usually followed by a long puff. He had a “What are you going to do, arrest me for smoking?” attitude, but without the dress. ---
**Author:** ![LilShieste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@LilShieste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilShieste)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/15 "2010-07-12T18:23:48Z")
Does cable count? Stephen Colbert did it just last week on the Report. > **[The Colbert Report | Comedy Central](https://www.cc.com/shows/the-colbert-report)** > > Stephen Colbert takes on cable news pundits (and everyone else) in this political satire. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2010, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-last-talk-interview-show-on-the-air-where-people-smoked/546197/16 "2010-07-13T22:32:35Z")
> [@PackLeader](#): > > There is a show called Actors Studio (I may well be wrong about the name) where they still smoke during the interview. Dave Chappelle is the last one I can remember lighting up…that was a few years ago. Forgot about that! > [@BigT](#): > > Are you and Mahaloth talking about the same show, the one with James Lipton? Yes we are, but he’s right. Peter Falk was not the only one to smoke. Chapelle did, too. And his aired February 12, 2006. That has to be the winner. You can see a clip here, but I don’t think you can see the smoke in it. [http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi1765736473/](http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi1765736473/) Anyway, he smoked through most of it.