From 1966 and 1968: TV Guide Chronicles Joan Rivers' Early Career

"The Only Problem With Joan is to Quiet Her Down": Check out this picture feature from the March 5, 1966 issue of TV Guide magazine, as cameras followed a nervous Rivers on an early visit to "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." Rivers, of course, would eventually become Carson's permanent guest host -- until she launched "The Late Show" on Fox in 1986.

Meanwhile, below, in the August 10, 1968 profile "The Last Girl in Larchmont to Get Married" -- featuring a photo of Rivers with her then 7-month-old daughter Melissa -- takes a deeper look at the comedienne, including Carson's prediction after her first "Tonight Show" visit in 1965 that "You're going to be a big star."

End of An Era: NBC Ends Its Burbank Studio Tour

When my family would visit Los Angeles in the 1980s, one of the highlights for me was always the NBC Studio Tour. A trip to see the NBC lot was cool in itself -- I was steps away from the likes of Brandon Tartikoff, a name I knew thanks to reading TV Guide. But then we actually got to see the "Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" set when it was dark, plus walk past soundstages and see the local news set. For a 10 year-old, that was all awesome.

But in recent years, most of NBC moved over to the Universal lot. Leno's still there, as is KNBC (although even that is moving soon), but most of NBC is no longer there (and NBC doesn't even own the lot anymore, it just leases part of it) -- so I just assumed that the NBC Studio Tour had disappeared a long time ago. Turns out it hadn't -- but as Joe Flint reports at the L.A. Times, today's the last day:

A little bit of history will be happening in Burbank on Friday as the last tour of the famous NBC Studios will be happening at noon. For decades, tourists have been able to pop in on NBC's Burbank lot and get visits to sets including"The Tonight Show" from willing and cheerful pages. But the studio has been sold and most of NBC has or is moving over to the Universal lot so the tours are ending.

Coincidentally, just a few weeks ago I posted this 1983 "PM Magazine" report by Maria Shriver of the NBC Studio Tour:



Of course, Universal still does its famous Tram Ride as a part of Universal Studios, and the Warner Bros. studio tour (by appointment) is supposed to be well-done. But it's the end of an era as NBC continues to say good-bye to Burbank. Above and below (the old Carson set), publicity shots of the NBC Studio Tour used for postcards and promo materials in the early 1980s.

Johnny Carson's Final "Tonight Show," 20 Years Later

Has it really been 20 years? Johnny Carson took to the "Tonight Show" stage one last time on May 22, 1992, for a subdued look back at his nearly 30 years hosting the late night franchise. (The big farewell had been the night before, a legendary episode featuring Robin Williams and Bette Midler). Here's the last hurrah. (The show starts 45 seconds into the clip above.)

Below, Johnny closes the show and says farewell.

Bette Davis' "Take Fountain" Mural

Spotted as I drove to work this morning: A mural turning Bette Davis' famous advice to "Take Fountain" into a cartoon -- located on Fountain, naturally.

Meanwhile, check out this wild clip of Bette Davis being interviewed by Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show":

Retro Friday: Johnny Carson in Burbank Edition

Back before he permanently moved "The Tonight Show" out to Burbank in the early 1970s, Johnny Carson would frequently take the show on the road here. Here's a 1969 special episode (in color!) that features Johnny riffing on the West Coast and beautiful downtown Burbank.

Retro Friday: 1950s L.A. TV, Including Johnny Carson

Before hosting "The Tonight Show," Johnny Carson's resume included hosting a show here in L.A. on local KNXT-TV (Channel 2, now known as KCBS) in 1951 and 1952: "Carson's Cellar."

Here's how the Museum of Broadcast Communication's Encyclopedia of Television describes the show: "Relocating to Hollywood in the early 1950s, Carson's television career took a step forward with his weekly low budget series, Carson's Cellar, on CBS' KNXT. Performing monologues and satirical sketches reminiscent of his later work, Carson attracted the attention of such stars as Fred Allen, Groucho Marx and Red Skelton--all of whom dropped by to appear on the local show at no charge. Based on his work with Carson's Cellar, a more sophisticated Johnny Carson Show was created for regional broadcasts in the western United States. This proved unsuccessful and Carson subsequently began work for the Red Skelton Show as a writer."



And speaking of KNXT, here's the Memorial Day edition of the station's 1961 morning program "Panorama Pacific."



Another cool find: A promo from 1954, when KECA-TV Channel 7 changed its call letters to KABC.

Retro Friday: New Year's Edition

Johnny Carson counts down to the New Year, along with guest Robert Blake, in 1976.

Retro Friday: Late Night Edition

As Jay Leno hosts his final "Tonight Show" tonight, and Conan O'Brien takes over on Monday... here's another blast from the past. From 1982, the first episode of "Late Night with David Letterman."

And here's a quick retrospective of Johnny Carson's 30 years as host of "Tonight," from his final show:

Retro Friday: Johnny Carson

Dan Rather is back in the spotlight, having just hit former employer CBS with a megabucks lawsuit. Rather argues that his departure from the network represented a breach of contract.

In 1981, the transition between Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather went much smoother -- even though behind the scenes Cronkite was fuming over the loss of his chair.

Here's a classic clip of Johnny Carson, doing a pretty good Cronkite impression as he re-enacts how the newsman's final night on the "CBS Evening News" shoulda gone. If anything, it's a reminder of how great Carson was, and why, even after his passing, he's still the late night gold standard.