October 15, 1973…’Tomorrow’ Debuted On NBC
October 15, 1973…’Tomorrow’ Debuted On NBC
The only way to remember this great show is to remember what made it great…Tom Snyder. On the event of his death in 2007, here are remembrances from Brian Williams, Jay Leno and David Letterman. Incidentally, Letterman’s NBC show replaced ‘Tomorrow’.
‘Tomorrow’ followed ‘Tonight’ With Johnny Carson and started as a 60-minute series which aired only four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, in order to accommodate the weekly shows ‘Midnight Special’ (1973–81) and SCTV (1981–82) in that time slot on Fridays. It was originally broadcast from the NBC studios in Burbank, but relocated to New York in December 1974 when Snyder took on additional anchor duties for NBC News and the network’s flagship station, WNBC-TV. Our friend Joel Tator who directed the show started with Tom in LA, went with him to NYC and returned with him to LA.
In June 1977, the show returned to Burbank until 1979, when Snyder once again began originating from 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
On September 16, 1980, when ‘Tonight’ was shortened to 60 minutes, ‘Tomorrow’ was scheduled at 12:30 Eastern and lengthened to 90 minutes, a format that lasted until its cancellation 16 months later. In February 1982, NBC replaced ‘Tomorrow Coast-To-Coast’ with ‘Late Night With David Letterman’. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
I recall being at a Party in the mid 80’s that came to a screeching halt! Tom Syder interviewed Charles Manson for the first time on Network TV it was the most creepy compelling piece of Television I have ever seen in my Life!!
The only interview that my frazzled brain remembers from Snyder’s show was Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest). Kesey came on drunk with a thermos full of liquor, and kept taking swigs from it during the interview. I watched a lot of the shows, and not one was dull. Today, I don’t think regular tv or even cable would ever allow such an independent person like Snyder to ever host their own show. Bill Maher might have a grain of what Snyder had, but Snyder actually appreciated not only his audience, but seemed to genuinely appreciate the medium as well, and never looked down on anybody. I think NBC banned him to that late spot, and that studio in Connecticutt, because he had appeared somewhat drunk a couple of times on the air. He was one of those hard-living telejournalists that aren’t around too much anymore. Thank you agsin for reminding us of this great icon.
His show was amazing. He would smoke like a chimney, rant and rave on topics, and had such a genuine excitement for his guests and topics. There is nobody who comes close to him since that time. Thank you for reminding us of him. Another great interviewer, although the complete opposite in style, was David Susskind. I was a very young kid when he died, but I remember 3 of his shows from over 40 years ago: a) Interviewing Anthony Quinn for 2 hours – never dull for one second b) Baseball greats ex-wives (Steve Garvey, Jim Bouton, and one third ex-wife) c) Similarly, the widows and exes if boxing greats – I can only.remember Sugar Ray Robinson’s widow on this one. You definitely might want to check out David Susskind. His shows were at a lower energy than Snyder’s, but similarly, once you started watching, you could not stop watching!
It was an innovative program, showing the realities of life that could not be ignored, good and bad!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzMTEBJEF44
Tom Snyder was into HO trains, the New York Central to be exact. I’m not sure but I think he shared this interest with Jerry Carroll (Crazy Eddie) but I don’t know if they knew each other.
Raise up a “color-tini” as tom used to say.
The first time I watched Tom Snyder, it was on a backhaul feed on C-Band satellite of his short lived CNBC show about 20 years ago that I was watching one Friday night while channel surfing using my dad’s big dish. Then of course, on Friday nights, I would stay up late for his CBS show. .
I remember the portable bar in the studio that was open for business before show time…made for some interesting stories.
The Smoke House in Burbank hasn’t been the same since…
I used to watch him all the time. He was great and so damn funny. I do miss him and his great talent.
I got to attend a taping of Tomorrow in 1981. Some college buddies and I were visiting NYC over spring break (I would move here just over a year later) and we got tickets because Albert Brooks was appearing on the show (his movie, Modern Romance, was just about to be released). We stopped by 30 Rock that afternoon to pick up our tickets, and who did we bump into in the lobby but Mr. Snyder himself. We introduced ourselves and told him we were visiting from out of town and would be in the audience that night.
:”Where are you fellas from?” he asked us. “Oklahoma,” we responded.
“Of course you are,” he said with a chuckle before taking his leave. It sounds mean, but it wasn’t, really. Just a gentle poke and we thought it was funny.
Two Toms.
Tom came down to the tape room to view some segments; he did this alone, no entourage. We were both smoking and flicking ashes when he told me to stop the tape. We need an ashtray and went about rummaging through the tape room until he found one. “Now, we can view this as perfect gentleman,” he said with one of his characteristic laughs.
On my first visit to NBC in 1976, I saw Studio 6A set up for Snyder’s show. Here’s photo of it. Notice that there’s really no set; it’s just chairs on a rug:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dennisdegan/515349913/
Snyder did not mind being satirized on his show or elsewhere. Here’s a video clip of him introducing ‘The Credibility Gap’, a group of improv performers, doing a spoof of a Snyder interview. You may recognize some if not all of the performers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo35tjSK3Dk&list=UUA2EohsdZUfghPn9ijrBvzA
I think all of us who worked in broadcasting had a special connection with Tom Snyder. I looked forward to working night shift in master control during his show at the NBC stations where I worked. I loved his laid-back interview style and that he seemed fascinated with the medium as illustrated by his reference to “pictures as they fly through the air”. Which is something that still fascinates me. Thanks for posting this. I will be watching him again on Youtube, which I do from time to time.
What a shame that, when his CBS late night show ended because Tom got sick, that David Letterman didn’t let Snyder do a “Best of” DVD set.
He was a class act. I really miss his Late Late Show on CBS. He was much better than Craig Ferguson or Craig Kilborn. http://rwkates2001.wix.com/late-night-tv#!tom-snyder/ce0j
I really enjoyed working on the Tomorrow Show! Tom often interviewed industry leaders giving a heads up where we were headed. Here’s one that many (like Union leaders) should have paid attention to—a very early hand held self contained color TV camera and video recorder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2TMl0AxGeY
All I can remember of Tom Snyder is Dan Aykroid’s over the top impression of him on SNL.
To me, Tom Snyder seemed to have been influenced by Ed Murrow. I say this with a blot of ignorance thrown on top of the statement, as I barely remember Murrow.