CONAN Will Switch From a Nightly Talk Show to Weekly Format:

I haven't read the books in full. My opinions and inferences were always shaped by the passages I've seen, journalists' extensive coverage of what was going on during that time (including stuff Bill Carter wrote for the NY Times),


Carter's book, however, is the more complete history for the "Tonight Show" debacle. And, after reading it, I have to say, Drebin, some of what you assumed regarding Jay's culpability in that scandal was just not correct.


...and watching all the shows of course.


So you watched "The Tonight Show" at that time to get Jay's take on what was happening, too?


I've also acknowledged I think Conan is a much more creative and talented entertainer than Jay,

I certainly feel that when it came to Late Night's stable of running characters, sketches, and when it came to doing remote pieces, Conan's show was the better of the two. Further, (though he was never in the same league as Letterman or even Kimmel), when it came to improvisation, Conan was the more talented performer. Thinking on his feet was not Jay's strong suit at all.


...who I always perceived as the personification of unoriginal, uninspired comedy (or maybe too inspired, given the resemblance of some of his bits to others')

I doubt Jay would ever deny he was a great admirer of Rodney Dangerfield, and his "The Economy's bad!" jokes were pretty much in the same style and rhythm as Rodney. However, he's hardly the only comic who borrowed from the masters: Carson patterned himself after Jack Benny and Jackie Gleason; Letterman's "Late Night" was Steve Allen's original "Tonight Show" (watch Dave get into a vat of Jello and compare it to Allen performing the same stunt years earlier); I recall you stating that Headlines was a steal from Dave's Small Town News, but Dave had no patent on that bit. They'd both kinda stolen it from Mort Sahl.

and plain, boring interviews. I don't deny my bias.

Fair enough there. Although I do think Jay was underrated when it came to being tough with politicians from sides of the political fence when they'd visit the show.

But I still maintain that Jay has to share some of the blame for the strong negative public image he garnered in certain circles.

Sure, he made some enemies along the way. The Joan Rivers feud, for example, is not one of Jay's finest hours. I understand his keeping her off the show out of respect for his mentor, Carson. But, when Johnny passed away, why maintain the ban? Jay stated that it was because of her comments about him in response to said ban, and that probably was a mistake on Joan's part. She was a very outspoken person and fought with a lot of people in her career. Still, it would've been better for all concerned if Jay had just called her up and settled their differences, and I do give Jimmy Fallon credit for inviting her back on "The Tonight Show" for his first telecast as host. As it is, Jay will always look like he let resentment and rather slavish devotion to Johnny rule his decision where Joan was concerned. Still, I doubt there are many who reach that level of success that don't leave some disgruntled people in their wake. Carson certainly was not universally adored. And, while I am encouraged by his personal admissions and more positive statements in recent years, the Dave Letterman I grew up revering turned out not even close to being as cool as I once thought he was.

I believe you once called [Jay] the most misunderstood man in show business?

The most unfairly judged man in show business, and this is because he was routinely denounced for doing things that others seemed to get a pass for, and because some folks either did not fully investigate the facts, or worse, just weren't even willing to consider his side of the story. And I think any one of us, if we found ourselves in a controversial situation, would hope that others would first consider the whole story before passing judgment on us. Only seems fair to me.