Worldwide Pants

 

For David Letterman’s morning show (1980), that was produced by a company called Space Age Meats. (Letterman always seemed to have a meat obsession). On his CBS Late Show he did a segment called “Know Your Cuts of Meat.” Space Age Meats is also credited with producing Letterman’s NBC show Late Night with David Letterman from 1982-1990. This was produced in partnership with NBC and Carson Productions. Founded in 1991, Worldwide Pants was responsible for co-producing the final two years of Letterman’s Late-Night show (1991-1993) along with NBC and Carson Productions.
Letterman’s 1993 contract had some things in common with Johnny Carson’s 1980 contract. Carson Productions gave Johnny ownership of his show and projects made by the company (Amen and The Big Chill being two examples). With ownership of his Late Show and other programs, Letterman had many projects to contribute to building his wealth. Other than Late Show with David Letterman, the most successful Worldwide Pants show was Everybody Loves Raymond, starring Ray Romano (1996-2005). Letterman had Romano on his Late Show and wanted to base a sitcom around his life. This was co-produced with HBO Independent Productions and creator/executive producer Phil Rosenthal’s company, Where’s Lunch. The company tried to produce two programs with Bonnie Hunt, The Building (1993) and Bonnie (2015). Both were short lived. Worldwide Pants produced The Late Late Show which had different hosts, including Tom Snyder (1995-1999), Craig Kilborn (1999-2004) and Craig Ferguson (2005-2014). The program Ed was produced from 2000-2004 and aired on NBC. HBO shows produced by Letterman’s company include The High Life (1996) and Foo Fighters Sonic Highways (2014). Netflix shows include The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), My Next Guest Needs No Introduction (2018-present) and That’s My Time with David Letterman (2022). That’s my Time was a great showcase for young up-and-coming comics. Three shows were produced for PBS in conjunction with Sesame Workshop. The Knights of Prosperity was produced for ABC in 2007. In 2024, TBS aired a Worldwide Pants show called Stupid Pet Tricks, a program that was based on a Letterman staple from his Late Night and Late Show. It was hosted by Sarah Silverman.
Other crazy names for Letterman production companies over the years included: Cardboard Shoe Productions, United States Chemical Cheese Productions and Recreational Poultry Productions.

*Some information from Wikipedia and latenighter.com. 

Ordinary People (1980)

 

This year marks the 45^th anniversary of an outstanding film, Ordinary People.

Directed by Robert Redford (A River Runs Through It, Quiz Show, The Horse Whisperer and The Legend of Bagger Vance). Ordinary People was his feature filmmaking directing debut.

It’s based on a 1976 novel by Judith Guest.

This film starred: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch and Timothy Hutton (his film debut at age 20).

At the 1981 Oscars, this film won four awards. They won for best picture, best supporting actor (Timothy Hutton), best director (Robert Redford) and best writing, screenplay based on material from another medium (Alvin Sargent). Ordinary People had an uphill battle that year, going head-to-head against Martin Scorsese’s brilliant boxing film, starring Robert DeNiro, Raging Bull.

Overall, this film had 21 wins and 14 nominations.

It won five Golden Globes, including one for best picture (drama) and one for Mary Tyler Moore for best actress (drama).

The budget was $6 million, and the worldwide gross was $90 million.

The Jarrett family lives in an affluent Chicago suburban neighborhood. From the outside, they probably appear to be a family who has it all, but there is turmoil behind closed doors.

Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore played Calvin and Beth Jarrett, who are parents to Conrad Jarrett, played brilliantly by Timothy Hutton. The other son, Buck Jarrett, was killed in a tragic boating accident. Conrad feels responsible for his death and is haunted by images of the event. His grief and guilt are overwhelming. His feelings led to a suicide attempt. Conrad felt that his mother preferred Buck over himself. Conrad is closer to his father than his mother. The interactions between mother and son are awkward.

Mary Tyler Moore did not play her normal bubbly, positive character like she did when she played Mary Richards and Laura Petrie. Beth was cold and distant. This role showed the impressive range of Moore. She was shocked when Robert Redford said that he wanted her for the role. He had her in mind from the first time he read the novel. Her character was not always likeable. During the filming, Moore was aloof toward Timothy Hutton to get into character. Mary Tyler Moore called this film "The Holy Grail of my Career".

 The parents decide that Conrad needs to see a therapist to deal with his guilt and depression tied to what happened with his brother. Judd Hirsch played Dr. Tyrone Berger, the therapist who tries to help Conrad. Redford chose Hirsch for the role after seeing his character in the TV show Taxi. Some of the scenes between Conrad and Dr. Berger are intense and gripping. This film delves deep into the dynamics of human relations and the challenging feelings that accompany them. The film is largely about forgiveness…forgiving others and ourselves. The main theme for the soundtrack was Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major, which set the perfect mood for this emotional film.

Gene Hackman was considered for the role of Calvin. Michael J. Fox auditioned for the role of Conrad, but Redford wanted to go with Hutton. Natalie Wood was considered for the role of Beth, which went to Mary Tyler Moore.

The film received high praise from critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Siskel called it the 2^nd best film of 1980 and Ebert said it was the 5^th best film of the year.

The intense writing, acting and insights into stressful family dynamics make this an outstanding film.

 

*Some information from imdb.com and Wikipedia.  

 

 

Saturday Night Live Season 11, A Turbulent Period

This was a challenging season for the franchise to say the least. It marked the return of executive producer Lorne Michaels after a five-year absence. The season ran from November 1985 to May 1986.

The show had just come off a successful season with cast members Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest, with Dick Ebersol as producer. That season wanted to attract people with previous comedy experience. For example, Martin Short appeared on SCTV before doing SNL.

Cast members for season 11 included: Robert Downey Jr. (his uncle Jim Downey was a writer for the show), Joan Cusack, Anthony Michael Hall, Randy Quaid, Nora Dunn, Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Terry Sweeney, Danitra Vance, Damon Wayans, Dan Vitale and A. Whitney Brown. This season had an emphasis on youth and the cast did not seem to gel.

Most did not make it to the next season except for Jon Lovitz, Dennis Miller, Nora Dunn and A. Whitney Brown. The season ended with a fake fire in the studio, questioning who would survive for season 12 and who would not. In the closing credits everyone had a question mark after their name. NBC President Brandon Tartikoff threatened to cancel the show after this disappointing season. Michaels talked him out of doing that.

Lovitz had success with his “liar” character and “Master Thespian.” Nora Dunn had her fashion-obsessed Pat Stephens character. Dennis Miller was a strong Weekend Update anchor, with his sarcastic, smarmy attitude.

Damon Wayans sabotaged his career and got fired. He played a flamboyantly gay character in a sketch where he was not supposed to do that. Many do not realize that the leeway for improvisation on SNL is virtually non-existent. Cast members must do the skits exactly as written.

Dan Vitale was fired during the season due to substance abuse issues.

Chris Elliott from Late Night with David Letterman auditioned for the show. He was offered the job but decided not to take it. In 1994 he would join the cast of SNL. His daughter Abby was in the cast from 2008-2012.

Terry Sweeney was the first openly gay cast member. He portrayed Nancy Reagan.

Danitra Vance was the first black female member of the primary SNL cast. In 1994, she died of cancer at age 40.

Writers for season 11 included: Jim Downey (Head Writer), Al Franken, Tom Davis, George Meyer, Herb Sargent, Carol Leifer, Jack Handey, Robert Smigel, Don Novello, Jon Vitti, John Swartzwelder and more. Meyer, Swartzwelder and Vitti would later write for The Simpsons.

Hosts during this season included: Madonna, Chevy Chase, Pee-Wee Herman, John Lithgow, Tom Hanks, Teri Garr, Oprah Winfrey, Tony Danza and more.

Musical guests included: Simple Minds, Sheila E, Mr. Mister, Sade, The Dream Academy, Laurie Anderson, Al Green, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Level 42, George Clinton and more.

Sam Kinison and Penn and Teller appeared as special guests a few times during the season.

SNL has had a show with so many ups and downs regarding writers and cast, but they have managed to hang on for 50 years.

*Some information from Wikipedia and snl.fandom.com/wiki/Season_11.

 

 

Carson Productions

 

As part of Johnny Carson’s landmark 1980 contract, Carson Productions was established. Its primary productions were “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” from 1980-1992 and “Late Night with David Letterman” from 1982-1993. Johnny’s contract gave him ownership of his show and the show that followed his, which was David Letterman’s program. With this contract, Johnny also received more money, more time off and the show was trimmed from 90 minutes to 60 minutes. Johnny had considered retiring or going to another network. NBC knew they had to pull out all the stops to keep him since his program was a cash cow for the peacock network.

Not every Carson Productions project was a hit. One successful show was “Amen” (1986-1991), starring Sherman Hemsley, best known for playing George Jefferson. A successful film they produced was “The Big Chill” (1983). From 1984-1993, Carson Productions co-produced along with Dick Clark Productions “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes.” This show starred Ed McMahon and Dick Clark and Johnny appeared on the show as the victim of a practical joke.

Other productions included a miniseries starring Rock Hudson and Suzanne Pleshette called “The Star Maker” (1981). “Lewis & Clark” only lasted one season and premiered in 1981. “Cassie & Co.” starred Angie Dickinson but only lasted one season. “Teachers Only” went on the air in 1982 and lasted two seasons.

In the years since Johnny’s retirement and death, the company has been changed to Carson Entertainment. Its main goal is to preserve Johnny’s legacy and license clips from "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."

*Some information from Wikipedia.

 

Cartoonist Charles Schulz and the Peanuts Gang

 

The Peanuts comic strip has been beloved by millions of people for decades. It was drawn solely by one man, Charles Schulz, from 1950-2000. That is very rare for one person to draw 100% of the strips, especially for that duration. Many prominent cartoonists say that Schulz was an influence, such as Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes), Matt Groening (Life in Hell, The Simpsons) and Jim Davis (Garfield). Schulz was born in Minneapolis in 1922. He served in the Army during World War II. From 1947-1950 he drew a one panel strip called Li’l Folks that featured a young boy named Charlie Brown. A four-panel comic strip was developed but United Feature Syndicate said they name had to be changed due to legal reasons. Schulz said that he was never a fan of the name Peanuts. Some of the Sunday strips were titled as “Peanuts, featuring good ol’ Charlie Brown.” At its peak, Peanuts was published daily in 2,600 newspapers, in 75 countries, in 21 languages. Over the 50-year period of the strip, Schulz drew nearly 18,000 strips. The merchandising for the characters was prominent and lucrative, earning more than $1 billion per year. Schulz earned $30-$40 million per year. The Peanuts TV specials proved to be very popular, and they became holiday traditions, airing around Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Schulz was writer or co-writer of these and closely monitored the production. One of the specials was called “Snoopy’s Reunion.” It was very enjoyable since it revealed a lot of things about the life of Snoopy that many would not know about. Snoopy and his siblings were separated when they got adopted by different people from the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. The TV show has them reuniting and reveals that all of them are musical. They come together and bond with each other in a musical jam session.

Various aspects of the strip are based on the life of Schulz and people that he knew. Themes of sports, art, the military and religion were prominent in the strip since those topics were important to Schulz.

  My dad was just 18 years old when the strip first appeared in newspapers, and he was always a fan. He was a fan of other strips too, such as Blondie and Beetle Bailey. I have always admired the talent of cartoonists since they need to be able to draw, plus come up with funny ideas. I have been a fan of Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang for as long as I can remember.

Schulz died on February 12, 2000. His final strip was in papers the following day. His strips were drawn weeks in advance. His final strip was a goodbye message with Snoopy sitting on his doghouse writing on a typewriter. The strip has Schulz expressing his thankfulness for being about to draw the strip for 50 years. It says that he was unable to continue doing the strip, and it would not be drawn by anyone else. His final line was “Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy, how can I ever forget them…” On May 27,2000 Schulz was honored by over 100 comic strips, where the Peanuts characters were incorporated into various strips.

The Charles M. Schulz Museum was opened in 2002, in Santa Rosa, California. This is just two blocks from the studio where Schulz drew Peanuts.

The thing that made Peanuts special was the character development. We knew them and loved them. Here are a few profiles of the prominent characters.

Charlie Brown…first appeared in 1950…a boy who struggles to get through life due to his confidence issues. He loves sports, and even though he is not a great athlete, he never gives up. He has a crush on the little red-haired girl but is too afraid to approach her.

Snoopy… first appeared in 1950…Charlie Brown’s dog who is a beagle that everyone loves. His imagination is second to none, seeing himself as a World War I flying ace, a star athlete, a best selling author and “Joe Cool.”

Linus…first appeared in 1952…a philosophical, intelligent, religious boy who never lets go of his beloved security blanket. He is often the voice of reason for Charlie Brown.

Lucy…first appeared in 1952…the fussbudget with a short fuse. She has a crush on Schroeder but it’s an unrequited love. She is the sister of Linus. She is notorious for holding the football for Charlie Brown and pulls it away at the last minute.

Sally… first appeared in 1959…The sister of Charlie Brown who has a crush on Linus. She hates school.

Schroeder… first appeared in 1951…the child prodigy who can play anything on his piano. The toy piano sounds like a real piano when he plays it. He idolizes Beethoven and has a bust of him on his piano. Lucy has a crush on him and leans on his piano as he plays.

Peppermint Patty… first appeared in 1966…she is the best athlete in town and the worst student. She is best buddies with Marcie, (first appearance was 1971) who calls her “Sir.”

A bit of trivia, some Peanuts characters had very unusual names. One young boy was named 5 (first name) 95472 (last name). He had younger twin sisters named 3 and 4.

Molly Volley was a mixed doubles tennis partner for Snoopy who has a hair trigger temper.

Tapioca Pudding is a character whose unique name comes from the fact that her father works in licensing.

Joe Richkid is from a family of wealth and is not liked by others due to his arrogance.  

The legacy of Charles Schulz and Peanuts will live on forever. He will always be remembered as one of the great artistic visionaries of the 20^th Century, along with Walt Disney and Jim Henson.

*Some information from Wikipedia and peanuts.fandom.com.

 

 

The Career of Conan O’Brien

 

Conan O’Brien is 60 years old, so he still has plenty of time ahead of him to accomplish more in show business. He has an impressive resume, although he has weathered some significant challenges. I wanted to write about him since he is an impressive figure in the history of late-night TV, who is #3 on my list of favorites, behind Johnny Carson and David Letterman.

Conaco Productions is a production company was founded by Conan O’Brien in 2001. It produced “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” and “Conan” (TBS). Having ownership of his programs has contributed significantly to Conan’s wealth, which is estimated at $200 million. Other shows produced by Conaco produced included “Andy Barker PI,” “Operating Instructions,” and “Outlaw.”

His dad was a doctor and his mother was a lawyer, so he came from a family that emphasized education. Both of his parents died in December of 2024, a few days apart. They were both in their 90s.

Here are a few key events in the timeline of Conan.

1981 Conan graduates from high school in Brookline, Massachusetts as valedictorian.

1981-85, attends Harvard where he was president of “The Harvard Lampoon,” the college humor magazine. He majored in history and literature.

1985-1987 Conan wrote for “Not Necessarily the News.” Another writer on the show was Greg Daniels, who Conan knew from Harvard. Daniels went on to write for “Parks and Recreation”, and he was the creator/writer for “The Office” and “King of the Hill.”  Around this time, Conan took improvisational classes at “The Groundlings” in Los Angeles.

1987 “Rich Hall Show,” writer

1987-88 “The Wilton North Report,” writer

1987-1991 He wrote for “SNL.”

1991 He worked with Robert Smigel to write a pilot for “Lookwell,” starring Adam West. NBC chairman Brandon Tartikoff liked the show, but it was not picked up as a series. Smigel would end up writing for “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Saturday Night Live.”

1992-1993 he wrote for “The Simpsons”. Two episodes in season 4 (New Kid on the Block, Marge vs. the Monorail), 2 in season 5 (Homer Goes to College, Treehouse of Horror IV).

1993 marked his debut on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” replacing David Letterman in the 12:35 am time slot. He stayed at the show until 2009.

2009-2010 “Tonight Show” host. Conan was only host for a short period of time and then Jay Leno was reinstated as “Tonight Show” host. NBC wanted to hand on to Conan and Jay so they made a deal where Conan would eventually replace Leno as “Tonight Show” host. NBC tried putting Jay into a Monday-Friday 10 pm show, but the ratings were poor. An offer was made to Conan to start his show at 12:05 am eastern, following a 30-minute Jay Leno show but Conan declined. This was a poorly handled fiasco for NBC. The whole situation is detailed in the book “The War for Late Night.” This was written by Bill Carter, who also wrote “The Late Shift” which chronicled the period in 1991-93 where it was Leno vs. Letterman to take over for Johnny Carson. Leno got The Tonight Show and Letterman left for CBS.

April 2010 Kicked off a 30-city tour of live performances since he could not do TV shows for a certain period after leaving The Tonight Show.

2010-2021 Conan on TBS.

2019 Conan show on TBS was trimmed back to 30 minutes and the live band was dropped. Conan switched to a more casual wardrobe, often wearing a jean jacket over a button-down shirt.

2018 “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast begins. This is released every Monday. This podcast has become very successful, and Conan attracts big name guests.

2019-2023 “Conan without Borders.” This made sense since often the best Conan comedy bits were when he was outside of the studio.

2022 Conan’s podcast and entire Team Coco digital media business were sold to SiriusXM radio for $150 million.

2024 “Conan O’Brien Must Go” on MAX. This is another travel show, but it’s a brilliant concept since Conan is meeting up with people overseas that he has interviewed on his podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan.” That podcast comes out on Thursdays and features interviews with non-celebrities. It’s kind of like Conan took a cue from Johnny Carson who would sometimes feature non-celebrities on his show, or as he called them, “civilians.”

I have always felt that Conan had a very impressive career even before getting his Late-Night job in 1993. He graduated from Harvard, wrote for “SNL” and “The Simpsons.” Many writers for “The Simpsons” and “SNL” came out of Harvard, which can be a reason for the success and longevity of those programs.

Conan owes a large debt of gratitude to Lorne Michaels, who recognized his talents and saw his potential as a late-night host. Conan had zero experience as a stand-up comic or interviewer when he took the job filling the shoes of David Letterman in 1993. The odds were against him, but he prevailed. He worked in late night TV for 28 years, coming close to the longevity of 2 of his idols, Johnny Carson (30 years) and David Letterman (33 years). Other influences include Bob Hope, Woody Allen, Bob Newhart, Peter Sellers, Sid Caesar and others.

Conan may no longer have a late-night show on TV anymore, but Samsung has a 24/7 channel that has highlights from his TBS show.

Conan has been married to his wife Liza since 2000 and they have 2 children.

*Some information from imdb and Wikipedia.