From Saturday Night to Sunday Night by Dick Ebersol

Author:Dick Ebersol
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2022-09-13T00:00:00+00:00

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The area I got brought in to consult most prominently was my old stomping grounds of late night. In the spring of 1991, I was sitting backstage at an annual meeting of NBC’s affiliates at Carnegie Hall next to Johnny Carson when he turned to me just before going out onstage to talk to the press.

“This will be interesting,” he said matter-of-factly. “I’m about to tell everyone I’m going to retire.”

I wouldn’t have any chance to warn Wright and Welch; a few minutes later, he was out front onstage telling the world. The announcement was a huge surprise for everyone, stunning a crowd that had been laughing at Johnny’s onstage jokes one moment and dropping their jaws the next. Over the next several months, Carson’s departure set off a fervor of debate over the two logical candidates to replace him, Jay Leno, the stand-up comic who’d been Johnny’s regular guest host for years, or David Letterman, who’d long hosted the late night show that aired after Tonight. The executives running the West Coast operation in the wake of Brandon’s departure had promised the job to Leno, but Letterman, who was closer to Carson and idolized him, desperately wanted it as well. The drama played out in real time, a Hollywood gossip blockbuster if there ever was one, with CBS lurking as a potential home for whoever didn’t get the job. Everyone in the company seemed to take sides, and the drama had so many twists and turns that it eventually was adapted into a book and HBO movie. All throughout, I found myself in the middle of the “comedy drama,” brought in to give the other executives plagued with the tough decision any counsel I could provide.

Honestly, my position on the big question at the time, in retrospect, was the wrong one: I liked Letterman over Leno. I knew Dave well, going back to my time in 30 Rock at SNL when Late Night taped a few floors beneath us. He’d introduced me to Vince McMahon, and he’d vouched for talent like Bob Costas, who’d called “elevator races” for him as a gag when he’d started out at Sports. I thought Dave was funnier than Jay, and thought the audience would follow him and keep him the more relevant, more beloved comic for years to come.

The situation was further complicated by contracts—a guarantee in Jay’s that he’d get Tonight when Carson retired, and the fact that Dave’s deal didn’t expire for a year after the transition. The West Coast execs tried in vain to please all parties when Johnny left in 1992, giving Jay the show and trying to convince Dave he was part of their plans, but it all just seemed to make the situation worse. While Dave entertained potential offers from ABC and CBS, Jay struggled to flourish in Johnny’s deep shadow and amid so much negative press. It all came to a head, at least behind the scenes, in early 1993, at a GE senior

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