Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Mel Blanc Tells Johnny Carson How He Created His Iconic Cartoon Voices

In May 1983 (40 years ago) Mel Blanc, the "Man of a Thousand Voices" appeared on the Tonight Show and explained to Johnny Carson how he got started in voicing cartoon characters.

Blanc has been called the first and best voice actor. He made it an art. His career spanned vaudeville, radio, movies and television starting in the late 1920s and continuing to this day, 34 years after his death. 

Blanc has been the voice behind more than 400 animated characters in over three thousand cartoons. In his 60 year career he has been the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Tweety, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, the Tasmanian Devil, and numerous other characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons. 

 

He later voiced characters for Hanna-Barbera's television cartoons, including Barney Rubble and Dino on The Flintstones, Mr. Spacely on The Jetsons, Secret Squirrel on The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show, the title character of Speed Buggy, and Captain Caveman on Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels and The Flintstone Kids.

 

Enjoy!

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Remembering Ed Ames: Singer, Actor, Ardent Zionist, and Inadvertent Mohel on Johnny Carson Show

Ed Ames, the singer, actor, and ardent Zionist, died in Los Angeles on May 21 at the age of 95.

Best known for his singing career with three of his brothers as The Ames Brothers, and his acting in the role of Mingo, a Cherokee tribesman in the TV series Daniel Boone, Ames was a committed Zionist and president of the California chapter of the Zionist Organization of America.

Ames also became known as an unintentional mohel after a guest appearance on the Johnny Carson Show.

As Dennis Hevesi wrote in The New York Times,

Mr. Ames played Mingo for the first four of the show’s six seasons, from 1964 to 1968. But his most memorable moment during those years did not come on “Daniel Boone.” It happened on April 29, 1965, when he was Johnny Carson’s guest on “The Tonight Show.”

In a segment that soon became a staple of “Tonight Show” highlight reels, Mr. Ames set out to teach Mr. Carson how to toss a tomahawk, using a rudimentary drawing of a sheriff on a wooden panel as his target. He threw the tomahawk across the stage. When it embedded precisely in the sheriff’s crotch, the audience reacted with loud, sustained laughter.

Mr. Ames tried to retrieve the tomahawk, but Mr. Carson grabbed his arm. As another roar of laughter subsided, Mr. Carson looked at Mr. Ames and said, “I didn’t even know you were Jewish.”

He was.

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO IS NOT VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.  

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Alan King and Johnny Carson Talk About Bad Food and Bad Restaurants

Today we're turning the calendar back 38 years to 1985 when Alan King and Johnny Carson talked about their experiences with bad food served in bad restaurants.

The conversation was triggered by King giving Carson a copy of his newly published book, "Is Salami and Eggs Better than Sex?"

Alan King appeared on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show a total of 73 times. He was a frequent guest on the show and often appeared as a guest host. King was a well-known comedian and actor who was popular in the 1950s and 1960s, and his appearances on the Tonight Show helped to solidify his status as one of the greats of his time.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

 

  #Throwback Thursday   #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Jack Benny and Mel Blanc on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show

Today we're going back 48 years to 1974, when Mel Blanc, the man of a thousand voices, appeared with Jack Benny on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

Blanc, the man behind the voices of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird and Sylvester the cat, Yosemite Sam, and countless other Warner Brothers cartoon characters, has been called the first and best voice actor.

Blanc was a regular on the NBC Red Network show The Jack Benny Program in various roles, including voicing Benny's Maxwell automobile (in desperate need of a tune-up), violin teacher Professor LeBlanc, Polly the Parrot, Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael and the train announcer. 

 

In this video clip, Benny and Blanc reminisce about their many skits on the program and re-enact some of them to Carson's delight.

Enjoy!

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 #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Jackie Mason Holds Nothing Back on the Johnny Carson Show

It's another Throwback Thursday and we're turning the calendar back to 1988 when Jackie Mason made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. 

Jackie held nothing back in that session, cracking Carson up with his staccato delivery and his unique accent. 

Topics included his Broadway show, his films and records, why he never got married, soup vs. sex, cars as status symbols, and New York vs. Hollywood.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

  

 #Throwback Thursday      #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Andy Kaufman Performs on the Johnny Carson Show in 1977

In August 1977 comedian and performance artist Andy Kaufman made an appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.  

After doing impressions in his Foreign Man accent, a masterful Elvis Presley impersonation, and playing a wild song from the Islands of the Caspian Sea on the bongo drums, Kaufman sat for an interview with Carson. 

In the interview, he explains the origin of his Elvis character and tells a story of how his Foreign Man character got an autograph from a woman in a massage parlor on 42nd Street in New York.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

  

#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Gilda Radner's First Appearance on Johnny Carson Show

In 1983, seven years after Gilda Radner joined Saturday Night Live as a member of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, she made her first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

In a funny, wide-ranging interview, Gilda reads a hilarious selection from her book, Roseanne Rosanadanna's Hey! Get Back to Work Book. 

She explains how she overcame her shyness by getting lost in the characters that she invented and brought to life in the show.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

 

#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Buddy Hackett on Johnny Carson Show in 1986

Today we're turning back the clock to October 7, 1986. 

In one of his many appearances on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, comedian Buddy Hackett comes through with his father's explanation of canine mating on the streets of New York, comments about the status of Soviet Jews in Gorbachev's USSR, and a skillful retelling of one of the oldest and funniest Jewish jokes ever told.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

   

#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Dick Shawn's Standup Act on the Johnny Carson Show

Comedian Dick Shawn was born Richard Schulefand in Buffalo, New York and raised in adjacent Lackawanna.  

He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s he played small roles in madcap comedies, usually portraying caricatures of counter culture personalities, such as deadbeat son Sylvester Marcus in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the hippie actor Lorenzo Saint DuBois ("L.S.D.") in The Producers (1968), and as the voice of Snow Miser in The Year Without a Santa Claus.

In addition to roles in more than 30 movies and seven Broadway productions, Shawn made numerous television appearances, toured often, and periodically performed a one-man show that mixed songs, sketches, and pantomime. 

In this video clip of one of his appearances on The Johnny Carson Show, Shawn does a wacky wide-ranging monologue that includes the classic joke about a rabbi, priest, and minister giving their definitions of when life begins.

Enjoy!
 
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Wacky Wednesday Comedy Special: A Classic Buddy Hackett Joke with Johnny Carson

When it came to wacky comedy, no comedian could come close to Buddy Hackett. Whether you encountered hm in a nightclub, on television, or in his hilarious movies, Buddy had the talent to make you roll on the floor laughing. 

One of his favorite haunts was the Johnny Carson Show, where he made many appearances. There was always a tension between Buddy and Johnny, with Johnny nervous about how close Buddy's joke would be to going over the line where clean comedy ended.

In this appearance on the Carson show, Buddy delivered one of his classic jokes, "I'll do anything for $200."

Enjoy!

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Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Buddy Hackett Jokes with Johnny Carson and Roy Rogers

We're big fans of the Buddy Hackett and have posted many of his sessions on the Johnny Carson Show. 

But it's always a challenge to find his jokes and conversations that are family-friendly for us to share.We keep looking for new posts and we found one! Buddy and Johnny are long gone, but every now and then a video clip comes to the surface. 

Today we're turning the clock back to 1975 (Yes, that's 45 years ago) when Buddy made an appearance on the Johnny Carson Show with Roy Rogers. The subject was multiple marriages and Buddy didn't disappoint.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

 

#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Wacky Wednesday Comedy Showcase: Buddy Hackett Talks to the Animals

Have we got a Buddy Hackett joke for you! We're big fans of the roly-poly hilarious comedian and have posted many of his sessions on the Johnny Carson Show. 

But it's always a challenge to find his jokes and conversations that are family-friendly for us to share.We keep looking for new posts and we found one! Buddy and Johnny are long gone, but every now and then a video clip comes to the surface. 

Here's an undated quickie from one of his Carson show appearances. In it, Buddy tells of a weary Gypsy traveler who had the ability to converse with animals.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Buddy Hackett on the Johnny Carson Show in 1978

We thought that we had run out of Buddy Hackett videos and were pleasantly surprised to find another batch of Buddy's appearances on the Johnny Carson Tonight Show. It's rare to find a Hackett video these days, especially one that's clean.

So go back with us 41 years to 1978 when Buddy made one of his visits to Carson's late night show.

In this episode, Buddy tells stories about an unusual treatment for severe headache pain and his new vegetarian diet.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Don Rickles' Last Interview on Johnny Carson Show

Today's Throwback Thursday Comedy Special takes us back to May 1992 when Don Rickles made an appearance on one of Johnny Carson's last late night shows.

Don had Johnny and Ed McMahon laughing with his observations on marriage and on being selected as one of the ten best dressed men in the world.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Buddy Hackett Tells Johnny Carson About His Mother's Chulent

Every Thursday we take a walk down memory lane to find a video clip that made us laugh so many years ago and that continues to be a source of smiles and laughter.

Buddy Hackett is one of our favorites, and from the comments you've made on previous postings, he's one of your favorites, too. He appeared many times on The Johnny Carson show, and we have shared many video clips of those shows on Jewish Humor Central over the past few years.

In this episode on the Johnny Carson show from July 1974, Buddy tells Johnny about his mother's chulent and reads poems from The Naked Mind of Buddy Hackett, a book of poetry that he wrote back in 1974.

In the book, Buddy has something to say about nearly everything. Each of his poems expresses unusual insight and a respect for personal individuality. And each, he says, was inspired by a a specific person or event. He's saved them over the years-on scraps of paper and restaurant napkins-and the whole collection is here in his book, which is now out of print.


Enjoy! 


 

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Andy Kaufman on the Tonight Show

Back in 1977 Comedian Andy Kaufman paid a visit to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and had the audience laughing all the way through his performance as Elvis Presley and Foreign Man.

In a serious interview he revealed the origins of his act and followed with a wild drumming/singing/dancing routine "from the islands of the Caspian Sea."

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday   #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: George Burns at 93 on the Johnny Carson Show

When George Burns was 93 years old in 1989 he was interviewed by Johnny Carson on his Tonight Show. In the interview Burns reminisced about the many entertainers that he knew and wrote about in his book All My Best Friends, including Al Jolson, Groucho Marx, and Jack Benny.

Burns, who lived to be 100, had Carson laughing as he joked about outliving his doctors and his habit of smoking between 15 and 20 cigars every day.
   
Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

                         
#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Buddy Hackett on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in 1980

It's another Throwback Thursday and today we're turning the clock back 38 years to 1980 for another appearance by Buddy Hackett on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

In this episode Buddy talks with Johnny about snakes, nutrition, medicine, psychics, seances, and recalls an episode when his recently deceased mother-in-law has a brief exchange in Yiddish with her brother.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Showcase: Rodney Dangerfield on the Johnny Carson Show

It's another Throwback Thursday and we're taking you back 39 years to 1979 when Rodney Dangerfield made one of his appearances on the Johnny Carson show. 

In this ten minute episode he delivers a few minutes of standup comedy and shares lots of laughs with Carson.

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.


#Throwback Thursday    #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Alan King Visits Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show

Comedian Alan King was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson's Tonight show. As a guest he didn't do formal stand-up comedy, but their conversations often included jokes, gags, and funny stories.

In this appearance from 1982 (that's 36 years ago, folks) Alan revealed some family facts, including his growing up in an Orthodox family, holding on to the basic laws of kashrut, having a grandfather who was a rabbi who lived to 104, and reflections on doctors and the medical profession (3 of his brothers were doctors.)

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.
 

#Throwback Thursday   #TBT