Johnny Carson’s HIGHEST Guests That Went Too Far He Ever Had on The Tonight Show

Johnny Carson, way over 50. Well, you’re poetry in motion. Lady, what? Stuck on something.  STUCK ON WHAT?  AT ITS PEAK, JOHNNY CARSON’S Tonight Show drew up to 80 million viewers. Scoring on the stage didn’t just get laughs, it built careers overnight and made you the toast of  the town.

However, that immense power also attracted pure, unscripted chaos. From Peter O’Toole casually setting the guest couch on fire to legendary comedians mercilessly roasting the host. Carson handled it all. Today, we’re counting down the most explosive, unpredictable, and hilarious guest appearances in late night television history.

Let’s dive in. One. The unscripted chaos of Dean Martin. The King of Cool, Dean Martin, used his lovable drunk persona to transform The Tonight Show into his own lawless playground, making him Carson’s most delightfully unpredictable guest.  You know, you you ain’t going to give me this the sig no cigarette jazz like uh you know, Randall whatever that name is. Whatever.

 Yeah, no, no. You know, I  If I want to smoke, guys, ain’t no Don’t tell me what  Despite breaking those smoking rules, Martin was fiercely professional. Watch how this undeniable charm effortlessly transitions into a hilarious, risqué joke about the era’s biggest female television stars.  You you you like those gals?  Oh, if you don’t like those girls, you don’t like home cooking, man.

 Wow. Each one, they’re prettier than the other.  Yeah, they are.  Oh, they Wow.  What What kind of  Um I just You know about getting to first base?  Yeah.  I didn’t even get in the cage.    Behind that Playboy image, Dean was surprisingly introverted and preferred quiet nights at home.

Now, prepare for a jaw-dropping punchline involving his famously estranged former comedy partner.  Thomas Wayne has electric jackknife. Of course, I know you used to do that. No, I play the owner of Imagine Me, the owner of a casino in Vegas.  No.  Yeah. And some of my friends are killed, so I call the girls and they help me find the killer.

 Ah.  Yeah, who happens to be Jerry.  Well, I mean can’t get a job.  on now.  Well,  you guys got back together.  We’re Oh, I’m kidding about you. He’s my best friend. Jerry.  Yeah. That legendary feud was Hollywood’s worst-kept secret. Switching gears from showbiz rivalries, Martin next unveils a dark, deadpan family anecdote that perfectly highlights his brilliant comedic timing.

 I That’s good. Good Good apple juice.  Huh?  That’s good apple juice.  I drink moderately.  Yeah.  In fact, I got a case of it in the back  moderately  But it’s good.  That’s good.  I love to I love to drink, smoke, girls. I had an uncle two cartons of cigarettes a day  Yeah.  two quarts of  booze every day  two girls a night  lots of women  He died he was 24.

 24?  Ironically, the whiskey fueling these wild tales was usually just apple juice. See how this completely sober superstar derailed the host by flipping their traditional interview format.  Problem with the show we’ve had we’ve had too many answers. We’ve never had enough questions.  See, I’m always getting answers.

 I’m I’m tired of answers. I just like to ask questions.  you a question? Does it get cold in here?  No.  Carson always happily surrendered control, knowing Dean famously refused to rehearse. That unscripted spontaneity shines again as Martin brutally exposes the exhausting reality behind elite Hollywood social gatherings.

 to get it away from the body when you go by.  I’m out the beast. I don’t Oh, I’ve had that Beverly Hills stuff, you know, with the parties and meet the same people.  Right.  And they talk about the same things. Every time they say goodnight, you know, they I got tired of them stepping on my hand.  In reality, the singer avoided wild parties to escape the crowds.

 Next, the suave icon shamelessly confesses a sketchy detail from his life before finding massive fame.  You used to be a blackjack dealer, didn’t you?  Yeah.  Were you good at it?  Well, I wasn’t bad at it. Made good money?  Yeah.  Stole a lot. I loved it.  Yeah.  That charming brazenness wasn’t just an act. It was his ultimate superpower.

Ahead is his final hilarious power play, proving absolutely nobody could force the king off his throne.  Oh, well. Yeah, well.  Hey, you got a lot of people here, you know.  Yeah, and I know you can’t stay with us tonight and you have to leave. Well, I mean I assume the star of your magnitude  No, well  couldn’t stay for the my magnitude.

 I mean, we’re we’re friends.  you want me to leave, just tell me.  Let’s just say I know you have to leave. I don’t have to  You don’t have to leave at all.  I can move over here.  I just thought you had a lot of things to do.    Off camera, these two titans were devoted friends who eventually supported each other.

Their late-night chemistry remains an absolute  masterpiece of classic American television.  [cheering and music]  Two, The Merchant of Venom. When Don Rickles destroyed Johnny Carson. Nicknamed Mr. Warmth, Don Rickles was a pure comedy assassin. He turned insult comedy into an art, leaving everyone, especially Carson, completely gasping for air.

 Uh you got married, Joanna?  That’s right.  Lovely girl.  Yes, she is.  The night you were married, we said, “Gee, uh I think I think you’ll be very happy.” We talked about it. And she said, “Well, Don, I I I I I really feel Don is a warm human being, you know?” And and you were. You’re an outgoing guy.

 I just I just picture you on the wedding night, all that wild vitality, and all that, you know, that aggressiveness, you know? Probably sat in the room in his underwear, looking at his periscope.  Cuz he’s a very reserved guy. He doesn’t let go. See, I got to I I want Joanna is outgoing, and like Suzanne, aggressive, like uh  Not aggressive.

 Anyway, I was going to bring up the pop, but I forget that you had cirrhosis. That’s in Jewish aggravation. But please God, everything will work out. But I I’m married 8 years now.  Surprisingly, this aggressive comic was a trained dramatic actor. Next, watch how fearlessly he attacks the network’s biggest boss while exposing Johnny’s workplace politics.

 There was a girl at the table.  No, girl.  And twice I went over to Joanna, and I kissed her, we gave a gift, and you kept kissing me, and I said, “Not now.”  I remember I remember that. Yes, I was. It was a long and uh what what the president of the network  Don Durgin.  Not Don Durgin. He’s a lot of fun.

 He’s just happy to roam and listen to the light. But uh  Julian Goodman.  Julian Goodman.  He’s the president of uh  of NBC. Who is one who I said, “Mr. Goodman, it’s nice to meet you.” And he went, “Mr. Goodman.”  They don’t get out They don’t get out often.  No, it was a nice And you kept leaning over saying, “Gee, Mr.

 Goodman, isn’t this a wonderful night?”  You brown nose.     You ought to try some of that. You might stay ON THE AIR.     CARSON GENUINELY LOVED these beatings because Rickles treated him normally. Now, prepare to see the host’s humble country boy image totally demolished on live television.

 Isn’t this great? You’re staying up late and everything, huh? With your little Buster Brown suit. Where is that Where is your your clothing store? Your business? Your factory that  We have stores all over the country.  really?  The The  clothes are sold  Hello, folks.  Clothes are sold  Treating them like peasants.

 These people live in Ensenada and Cino, two rooms in Figueroa,  and you’re going, “We have factories all over.”    And you dump people come to see me. I am wealthy. I AM JOHNNY CARSON.    I’M A LITTLE FARM BOY THAT BECAME A MILLIONAIRE, AND YOU PEOPLE ARE DUMB. AND I GOT A BEAUTIFUL WIFE AND A BIG HOUSE,  AND LITTLE TIMMY AND THREE SONS.

 THERE’S A WOLF IN HERE.  BENEATH THE VENOM, Rickles was actually a total softy who mocked everyone equally. His upcoming attack on a beloved sidekick’s past proves nobody was safe.  What happened to your thumb, Ed?  It was damaged.  Oh, fine, wonderful. I know.  Did you hear about that?  No.  He was doing his act when uh he does a little thing in his act with a vegetable slicer and when he was  I know. I knew you’d like this.

 Tell me.  I knew you’d like this.  Tell me.  I felt the same way. I said,  “The dummy sliced off his thumb?”  What happened?  He was doing his act at the Playboy Club and he’s got a vegetable slicer. He does a clever opening thing about buy one of these Morismatic things and he sliced off a part of his thumb.

 He sliced it very funny.  That’s it.  And you’re a MARINE COLONEL,  HUH?    DON’T YOU FEEL SAFE?  CAN YOU SEE HIM IN THE COCKPIT? I’m going TO LAND BUT I CAN’T FIND MY HAND.  YOU DUMBBELL.  DON HIMSELF actually served in the Navy during World War II.

Up next, he seamlessly turns a legendary American space hero into a clueless driver.  I said I said to Gene Sherman one night I said, “Gene, I said you know, it’s exciting.” I said, “A Rolls-Royce, you know, status symbol.” You folks out there, I don’t say that like in the sense but we all we all have goals in life.

 Some of you folks uh you know, dream someday maybe being in downtown Hollywood.  The guy here in the front went he knows my dream. But uh we all we all have dreams in life and I said to Gene, “Hey Gene, look at my new Rolls-Royce.” And he said to me, “Could I drive it?” And this is funny to chase us. God’s truth.

 And I said, “Please, Gene.” And he got in and this is a guy graduate MIT, whatever, engineer, going to the moon. God will be with him. Wonderful man. And he said to me, “Where’s the starter?” And I said, “This dumbbell’s going to the moon.”  Well, when we came back and we he took us for a tour around Cape Kennedy in his car. He drove.

 Worst driver  Worst driver you’ve ever seen. I talk about it on the air. He’s He’s driving and he says, “Over there is where the rocket is.” And we’re in the ditch.  Worst driver in the world.  We’re in the ditch and we kid him about it.  Thriving on pure chaos, Rickles eventually won an Emmy for his documentary.

Here he perfectly mimics Johnny’s notoriously aloof off-camera personality to the audience’s delight.  Yeah. He knows he’s had every bit of training. He spoke to me from isolation. They’re in isolation now. And he spoke to me the other night and I the phone rings and you know you have a Carroll O’Connor and a couple of us sitting around having a couple of drinks.

 And the phone rings and it’s James Caan and I said and I in my humor, you know, with that baloney I go like I say to Johnny when he calls or anybody of any prominence I right away give it Not now, I’m busy. What are you bugging me, bumba? And Carson always goes Okay and hangs up.  Even calling Carson a dummy was a secret term of endearment.

Watch how Don brilliantly uses a simple sound effect to mercilessly mock massive wealth.  He came over. Now this is Johnny Carson, right? The big the big star television, the world is walking around, you know, you’re sitting in your little your little you got outside there a Lincoln Continental with a double thing with your name on the door.

 I don’t have my name on the  Yes, you do. Your name on the door and Freddie de Cordova, your producer running behind GOING THE GASOLINE’S ON MY LIPS. YOU KNOW. AND ED MCMAHON IS OUTSIDE SAYING I think you need oil.  And Doc Severinsen’s on the corner going I don’t need his money. You’re a millionaire, John. Admit it.

You try to play it like you’re one of the guys. I’ve seen you in a bathing suit. YOUR BODY LIGHTS UP.  YOU’RE RICH. ADMIT IT. You go to bed at night, your wife lays there and goes I hear jingling.  ANYWAY, UH CAN YOU SEE THE SENSOR GOING WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? JINGLING. JINGLING.

 He hears jingling in bed.  Offstage, these legendary comedians always shared Scotch in Carson’s dressing room. Finally, a rapid-fire visual insult that perfectly captures late-night television’s glorious golden era.  Ed McMahon, I love Ed. You you know you became a critical of a sudden. You keep looking around going, “Is that funny?” I mean, what do you know? You were in the Marine and with your weight now, you’ll never get in a fight a plane.

You’ll just sit there in a COCKPIT AND GO HOW LONG YOU’VE BEEN A PILOT, ED?  All my life, Don. Since I was 1 year old.  Oh, wonderful. Put a rubber band on your neck and take off. Never liked Ed. Never liked Ed. You always like him. That’s why you don’t invite him out.  Despite rumors of a late career rivalry over hosting duties, their unscripted battles remain iconic.

Rickles proved even television kings desperately need a harsh reality check. Three. Peter O’Toole’s unforgettable chaos on Carson. On January 13th, 1978, The Tonight Show shook as Peter O’Toole arrived. The Lawrence of Arabia star brought pure intoxicated chaos directly onto live television.  Yes.  No. Tell them what happened.

 Do you remember the night at all?  It was very strange.  And I still get people asking me when I go out about moments on The Tonight Show and strange things that have happened and your name comes up and I say, “Tell me about Peter O’Toole.”  I said, “What do you want to know?”  Because what happened? You came on the show one night and we’d never met and I said, “Well, Peter, it’s nice to have you here.

” And you said something like  I’m fine. I’m fine.  And I said, “Well, that’s uh I’ve enjoyed your work and uh how long you planning to be here?” And Peter said something to the effect of  Well, it’s quite good.  And I said, “What the hell is going on?” I said, “I didn’t know whether you were putting me on.

” Then I thought of this this horrible thing crossed my mind. I says, “He’s bombed out of his gourd.”  Holding the record for eight Oscar losses, his career matched his massive alcohol tolerance. Next, hear his incredibly aristocratic excuse for being intoxicated.  I was on a journey back from Japan.  Right.

 That was it. And we left on Monday. And arrived [clears throat] in the United States on Sunday. Which allowed me  Yes.  And coming from Japan when it did stops at lots of places. Hawaii and all over. And it coincided our stopping with a cocktail hour.  Aha.  Everywhere we went it was a cocktail hour.

And one doesn’t want to be discourteous.  Of course not. So all along the way you  So we were That’s true.  Because of non-stop international drinking the actor’s grasp of time completely vanished. His hilariously delayed realization about the date is coming up right now.  Um but [clears throat] uh Friday the 13th is is um today. Today.

I wondered why everyone was rather quiet. Yes, we didn’t fly today and I wondered why we didn’t fly today, yeah.  That absent-minded eccentricity made him an absolute television magnet. The ultimate peak of chaos happens when he nearly burns the studio down completely.  I think the end of your cigarette flew out into our couch.

And you you just set your chair on fire.  I don’t like it I’m not I’m not very good with ash.  Didn’t want to alarm you but I think when a guest is on fire the host should say something.  Because otherwise it looks like you have    Our show’s I’m comfy.  Although he almost ignited the couch, Carson playfully indulged his guest.

Comedian Buddy Hackett immediately defends himself by delivering a sharp, hilarious, sarcastic insult.  Mr. Hackett is uh quite anti-smoking.  Uh Peter, I don’t tell anybody not to smoke. I just don’t like it. I don’t allow it in my house, in my car, or on my dog.    But, I don’t tell anybody else not to smoke unless I like them.

I never told you, did I?  Few realized he was currently filming the masterpiece The Stunt Man. Ironically, this massive project created a profoundly ridiculous, laugh-out-loud case of mistaken identity.  That is correct. I’m playing the director of the film of the film that’s the film Here we go.  And people  The film, this is yesterday today again.

The film is called The Stunt Man.  Uh-huh.  Um  And in that picture they are making a film.  They are making a film. It’s a film within the film.  And you are playing the director in the film, but people are thinking you’re the director of the picture.  That is correct. And people now assuming I am the director of the film, like pilots and things today are asking me for instructions, and I don’t know what to do.

 How how is the film progressing?  With his inherent eccentric energy, Peter constantly gave producers massive heart attacks. Hiding a lit cigarette right inside his suit pocket perfectly caps off tonight.  I’ve known this work since what, 1970?  take your cigarette out of that before you put it in your pocket?  Like that’s happened.

 I’ve seen that I’ve seen that happen, you know, sometimes and then there’s a flash fire and something and uh  I have a cold.  What do you do when you do your plastic lighters and you know what I’m talking about?  Um  Nobody could ever hate this brilliant drunk.

 O’Toole forever represents the absolute gold standard of a wild, unscripted, and glorious television talk show era.  to stop and occasionally sell something so we can we can do this next week. We’ll do this first. We’ll be right back.    For Jerry Lewis’s manic energy on Carson. Once the undisputed king of physical comedy, Jerry Lewis sacrificed his spine for laughs.

He brought chaotic, manic energy that constantly challenged Johnny’s ultimate authority.  If he wasn’t in show business you  I’m not Napoleon.  Okay. He gets the award because he’s a great general. Now you have Emile Zola, a great scientist.  Right.  You have Dr. Jonas Salk, a great researcher.  Right.

 You have Madame Curie, a great pathologist, and now you get Jerry Lewis FOR DOING POLITICS.  MADAME CURIE DID THAT WHEN SHE DISCOVERED RADIUM.  OH, WE GOT HERE IN THE DISH. IT’S GLOWING.  HAVING GUEST HOSTED the program 52 times, this Hollywood auteur felt completely at home.

Watch them violently bicker over a fancy French restaurant like old married spouses.  You retire to the grill area in the opera house where  You mean like a a luncheonette or something?  No, it’s for dinner. Will you pay attention?  Certainly.  For Christ’s sake, you’re on to a show.  about You’re talking about a grill.

 What are they?  No, it’s a place where people sit and eat.  I understand that.  We go in there and we eat.  Oh, really?  And we’re dressed with black tie and we’re eating. It’s night time, all right? Will you forget lunch?  GOT THAT.  WHAT YOU GO THROUGH, my god.    Ball lays in right to the grip.

 Decades of brutal pratfalls forced him into heavy painkiller addiction. Surprisingly, he turns his terrifying open heart surgery experience into an incredibly absurd hardware store punchline.  Surgery, right?  Double, John. It was a double bypass.  bypass. What?  You had it twice.  Ready said you had it twice.

 Double bypass.  No, I didn’t.  Why did I Why did I think it was quadruple?  Well, the press exaggerated  Quadruple sounds better, but you still have to get the Black & Decker to open you up. Oh, yeah. And then like 12 in with the retractors and they go in and they they take the artery out of your leg and they graft it TO THE HEART.

 THAT FAMOUS RUBBER FACE MASKED A physically broken man desperate for control. Discovering his ultimate secret to looking remarkably youthful will definitely catch everyone off guard.  But you I’ve never seen you look as well.  I feel marvelous. I’ll tell you the big secret. I just don’t GO TO WENDY’S.  WAIT A MINUTE.

 WILL YOU WAIT A MINUTE? You’re as bad as he is. It’s just that it’s junk food and I ate it all my life and it’s okay for people who want to do that. But now after you have this kind of an operation, you have salads and you eat chicken and you watch your diet and after 43 years of smoking four packs a day, I don’t smoke anything.

 I don’t put anything in my body.   Beyond the screen, Lewis ruthlessly demanded absolute obedience from his movie sets. However, conquering his massive nicotine habit demanded a hilariously dangerous sugary substitute instead.  I chew a lot of gum and I eat a lot of lemon drops and I’m going to get lockjaw and diabetes before this year is over.

 What What did you have for breakfast? What was a typical breakfast like?  Typical breakfast  you normally have that you don’t have anymore?  A slice of toast and a cup of coffee. For lunch I have a salad and for dinner I’ll have either fish or chicken. It’s 6 to 700 calories a day.  And you feel comfortable with that?  I feel wonderful.

 You don’t miss all that trashing  up annoys me but  Yes, of course.  Raising billions through telethons cemented his status as a national hero. Johnny masterfully exploits this inflated ego by brutally refusing to promote his newest cinematic project.  Vonnegut Slapstick was a marvelous book.

I didn’t believe it could be brought to the screen.  Yeah.  We have We have a film clip. I suppose you know that.  Yes.  Are you going to keep it?  Yeah. I just wanted you to know we had it.  Oh, good. I’m glad.  We unfortunately don’t have time to show it.  Oh, well, that’s  Oh, of course we have it.

 I I can act it out.  Oh, we have time to show it.  Oh, okay.  Uh is it Do we have to know anything about this?  Yeah, it should be set up but we couldn’t get anyone to come on to do that.  THAT?  THAT INCREDIBLE QUICK-WITTED COMEBACK proves exactly why their comedic chemistry was legendary.

We conclude with a chaotic backstage disaster involving a lost prop and a guilty dog.  They call me on the set the first day and we only had one set of teeth, okay, John? One set of teeth. The dentist is delivering more during the course of the week. You know, it’s dangerous making a film with one anything.

 You always have to have a backup. We didn’t have a backup. They called me, I can’t find the teeth in my trailer. It’s a 40-ft trailer. We’re now under the bunks into the refrigerator looking for the teeth. I got a whole crew waiting. My little shih tzu is in the motor home.  It’s a dog for people who don’t know.  little puppy Angel, my little shih tzu.

We’re looking for the teeth and it’s a good thing I had a camera because in the corner of of motor home we finally saw where the two were.    Sadly, this glorious partnership eventually shattered. Lewis was permanently banned after aggressively screaming at a crew member, breaking Carson’s strict rule about always respecting the staff.

   Five, Andy Kaufman, the guest who fooled America. Regarded as the ultimate pioneer of anti-comedy, Andy Kaufman refused to tell conventional jokes. Instead, he specialized in awkward silences and absolute mind-bending psychological manipulation.  The The man It was only a man from England and a man from New York.

 So, the man from England pushed out the man from New York. And as he pushed him, he say a something that it was very funny, but I don’t remember what it was.  But But it was very funny. Thank you very much.    To truly appreciate his bizarre genius, one must embrace the absolute discomfort he deliberately created.

 Up next is a spectacularly failed attempt at athletic impersonation.  So, first, I would like to imitate Muhammad Ali. I I am so pretty. I am I am going to to float like a butterfly and sting like like a bee.  Going to knock him out. Thank you very much.    Beneath this intentionally pathetic mimicry lived a disciplined transcendental meditation practitioner.

Get ready for an elaborate deception that completely shattered everyone’s perception.  Ladies and gentlemen, so far everything I’ve done for you tonight, really I’m only fooling. This is really me. And right now, may I please have my clothes back?       Well, this we’ll come back with you, okay? There we are, Andy. Right back.

 Even Elvis Presley himself reportedly considered that specific tribute an absolute masterpiece. Soon, an uncomfortable college anecdote reveals his unlikely early triumphs in show business.  They um they came up to me and said, “Andy, how would you like to do a little something for our talent show?” And I said, “Well, I don’t know how to do anything but what I do in my room.

” So, I So, I imitated I went on and I imitated Elvis Presley. They all thought, you know, they were calling me they said that I was the uh comedy relief and the token white buffoon. That’s what they called me. And they thought it was really going to be a bomb.  Yeah.  And they liked it.  Well, you’re probably the smash of the show.

 Yeah.  Before achieving mainstream television stardom playing Latka Gravas, he bravely tested his limits everywhere. A notoriously scandalous district provides the setting for his next misadventure.  I I want to meet her get autograph.  He said, “Sure, sure, you go up there and you’ll meet her.

” So, uh I went up the stairs and I said,  “Hello, I went to I went to to meet the the lady.”  And the man said, “What do you want? What do you want?” And um  “I want to meet the lady in the in the picture downstairs. The man say I could come up have a free look.”  Did he genuinely believe those deceptive adult advertisements? Or was it another elaborate prank? Only pure innocence could orchestrate the heartwarming climax waiting just ahead.

 So, uh she came out and she was smiling.  “Oh, are you the lady in the in the picture? She said, yeah, I’m the lady in the picture. So, so I said, could I please have your autograph because I’ve always wanted to meet you. I’m such a big fan of you. And she was so touched because no one ever looked at her like this before.

 She gave me her autograph. She gave She wrote, dear Andy, best wishes. Thank you very much. Good luck. Everything that you’re you can think of to write in an autograph and she signed her name.  That’s kind of nice.  I said, thank you very much.  Seldom does late night television feature such profoundly sweet unscripted humanity within a red light district story.

Now, prepare yourselves for a wildly energetic, culturally inaccurate musical finale.  Okay, this is a song that they sing Seriously, this is a song that they sing every year at harvest time in the islands of the Caspian Sea.    Passing away tragically young at 35, this eccentric visionary left behind a legacy so mysterious  that thousands still firmly believe he faked his own death.

      Do you like it BETTER THAN THAT?      SIX. CRISPIN GLOVER’S BIZARRE LATE-NIGHT PRANK. When Crispin Glover bizarrely appeared

on national television in 1987, the young eccentric actor instantly sparked massive rumors about severe drug abuse and psychological breakdowns.  You’ve changed the your appearance somewhat since that picture.  Oh, yes. Well, I guess I have the long hair and I I I wore Vitalis in the film and that’s the that’s why I can play various parts, I suppose.

 You can have your hair at at a long [snorts] length, you can cut it to be shorter if you need it and and I’m I’m here in my 100% polyester suit to rival Mr. Neeson’s being polyester.   Behind his bizarrely tailored polyester nightmare, Crispin expertly executed an elaborate performance art stunt promoting a weird, unreleased indie cult movie character named Reuben.

 And my father wore this in a movie called Diamonds Are Forever. My father’s an actor.  Oh, he’s played in several James Bond pictures, didn’t he?  he was in he was in that one and he’s been in he’s been a lot of films that one in Diamonds Diamonds Are Forever and Chinatown and  This is your dad wore this suit?  Yes, my dad wore this suit.

 So, here I am and I’ve got my my patriotic shoes on to to for America.  Why didn’t I get a phone call?  Yeah.  Crispin Glover famously sued Blockbuster producers for illegally stealing his facial likeness after he aggressively questioned their highly materialistic Hollywood morals during previous film negotiations.

 We we with the Earth Liberated.  Do you like a cup of coffee to pick you up?    You got a lot of energy.    You got a lot of energy working there.  Uh I guess I get Well, I guess I’m excited to be here. Yes.  Yeah, well, it’s  nice having you. You You went to school out here in California?  Yes, I went to a small school called the Merman School, which was a private school. I went there for 9 years.

 Because Crispin Glover truly despised standard promotional interviews, he weaponized pure awkwardness to completely shatter all traditional audience expectations.  No, no, I have these hobbies. I make books. I make I take old books from the 1800s.  Rebind them?  Well, well, I have rebound one of them.

I’ve made nine of them and and they’re from the 1890s mostly and I and I I write in them and I draw on them and and then I use some of the pictures that were originally there and I’ve made nine. One’s called rat catching about this That’s my latest one. It’s about this guy who It’s kind of a treatise for for for young kids at school on how to catch rats and  To fully fund his own surreal independent cinema projects, Crispin Glover essentially accepted mainstream blockbuster roles while stubbornly maintaining his beautifully

chaotic and extremely eccentric personality.  In fact, I’ve I bought you a present here. I I make volcanoes and I sculpt them and and I bought you a present. You can open it. This is That’s going to be your present.  This is not a joke, a big spring  No, no, no, no, that’s a real present. Yeah, you open it up and see what you do is you wind this You wind this up.

Yeah, you can take it Be careful though cuz I just I finished it. Here, I’ll I’ll do this.  What is a volcano?  Yeah, this is a volcano and you and you wind it up and and and it and it plays music. Oh, god.  What conventional audiences completely missed was Crispin Glover’s absolute dedication to avant-garde artistic expression, rather than simply conforming to standard, boring Hollywood entertainment industry rules.

 There’s a little hand here. It plays I want to I want to Well, it plays it plays the music and and see there’s a little hand here and and lava comes out.  All right.  And the music is I I want to hold your hand here. I want to hold your hand.  How’s the lava going to come out?  to Here here’s the lava.

 Yeah, yeah, you’re right.  See the lava?  Yeah. Yeah.  Well, that’s very unusual.    Yeah. Yeah, that’s that’s for  you.  Well, thank you.  Although this wildly unpredictable energy deeply terrified conventional television hosts like Letterman, it permanently cemented Crispin Glover’s legendary status as a brilliantly defiant, uncompromising cinematic rebel.

 Yeah.  What’s What’s now on your Now, this this picture you’re doing is a grim picture.  Oh Oh, well  Back to the Future was light and  Well, I I I I I suppose so. I think I I I I think River’s Edge has a a lot of comedy in it, but I guess  Well, it’s a story based on a true story about a young man who had in high school murdered his girlfriend, then took other students down, told them about it.

 They looked at the body, did they not?  Yes. And nobody reported it. That’s right.  And this this is a This is a comedy?  Was this genuine madness or pure comedic genius? Decades later, Crispin Glover still delightfully refuses to officially confirm or deny anything about his wildly bizarre performance.  Yeah.

 Are we going to show a clip of this or  we’re not going to have time to show a clip.  Oh, no. Oh, oh, well. Okay, yeah.  Sounds good just the way you talked about it.  Yes, yes, definitely. Go see that. I’m very happy about it.  All right. We’ll take a take a break. We’ll be right back.  Okay.    Seven, Burt Reynolds and Johnny Carson, a legendary late-night rivalry.

Before achieving legendary status, Burt Reynolds completely revitalized his acting career by successfully transforming into a brilliant late-night television comedian alongside Johnny Carson.  Thank you.  Hey, you’re looking good.  Thank you.  Obviously, you’re going on a safari with Jim Fowler.  Yes. This is the new thing now.

 You just push these up and hope you have forearms.  You wear that kind of stuff well. You see, Doc can wear that kind of stuff. I can’t wear that kind of stuff.  Sure you can.  No, I think I’d look, you know, see I mean, that  That looks That looks  You don’t push the button.  That’s right. You shouldn’t do that.

 Becoming the very first actor to ever guest host this iconic program gave him unprecedented confidence to boldly mock the king of late-night.    What do you mean your career is I mean, you’re up here.  Sure.  Been box office star for what? The last 10 years or something like number one.  I was I was number one for four years in a row.

 Right.  And Life magazine never called. They never called.  Aw.  Then when I got to be 50 Uh when I had my birthday  I didn’t hear that.  I know because when you get as old as you, you can’t hear.  Although his rugged macho cinematic image conquered global box offices turning 50 brought an incredibly harsh and undeniably hilarious reality check from mainstream media.

 Are you through?  Cuz I want to read it.  Maybe.  I want to read this.  don’t Now, listen to this. I mean, they could have said, “He’s 50. He looks pretty good.”  Right.  He looks 49.  They could have said  They could have said, you know, he’s okay.  What What are they  It says “Time catches the bandit.

”    It’s over. I mean, my life is over. Time catches me, it’s over. Time catches.  Armed with incredible comedic timing that immediately sparked seven new movie offers the beloved actor masterfully turned a depressing local newspaper headline into pure gold.  Dom gave me Dom DeLuise gave me a vibrating rocker.

 Vibrating rocker.  And I got a truss. And I And a hearing aid. Because if you had sex for a lot of years  What?  You can’t hear.  OH.    I’LL PLAY STRAIGHT. I’LL I’LL play straight.  It’s all right.  It’s all right.  Does it did it did it bother you at all, seriously now? Did it bother you turning 50?  Not a [clears throat] drop.

 Great.  This famously rebellious star absolutely loved breaking Johnny’s strict backstage rules by fearlessly weaponizing physical comedy and aggressively self-deprecating humor about his own aging body.  Okay, now this this should be this should go right Well, this should go right through him.    Slight applause.

 I was expecting more, but this will probably get  Big applause.  This will probably get me because I want to shove this baby right stuck on something.  Stuck on what?  To deliberately provoke the deeply private host who absolutely hated being touched, Reynolds brilliantly orchestrated an incredibly dangerous and uncomfortably intimate magical illusion on stage.

 Perhaps this half can get its own talk show. Why do I have a feeling Joanna is going to show up FOR HER HALF?   AM I BACK TOGETHER?  AS THEIR LEGENDARY totally unscripted television chemistry reached its absolute peak, Johnny masterfully delivered a brutally dark joke targeting his own notoriously expensive Hollywood divorce.

 This isn’t right. This isn’t right. That’s right. I I I have a suggestion. This way? This way. This must be good. I wish I could see this. She just wants to have the rights to checks. Don’t worry about this. I’ll just do a little patter here while I do this.  If backstage tension truly existed between these massive egos, they perfectly hid it, successfully establishing the absolute gold standard for wildly unpredictable late-night entertainment.

 You didn’t do You didn’t do badly. I want to thank our good friend Mark Wilson, a very skillful magician, for furnishing the equipment and helping us out.    Thank you, Mark. We’ll be back in a moment.  From Peter O’Toole’s chaos to Burt Reynolds crossing every possible line, Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show was unmatched.

With 80 million viewers, scoring on his stage made you the toast of the town and built careers overnight. These fearless unscripted moments created a magical late-night era we will  never see again. Which iconic Carson guest is your absolute favorite? Comment below, like this video, and subscribe for more classic television history.