The One Time Sinatra Hosted The Tonight Show
On December 14, 2014
- TV History
Ultra Rare…Frank Sinatra Guest Hosts ‘Tonight’…A One Time Event
As far as I can tell, this Monday night in 1977 was the first and only time Sinatra guest hosted the show. Guests that night were George Burns, Carol O’Connor and Don Rickles which is quite a lineup.
Sinatra had actually retired in 1971, but after a couple of restless years, came back in 1973 with an album and TV special which were both titled ‘Old Blue Eyes Is Back’. Thanks to Geoffrey DeVoe for sharing this. Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee
ONe feature of Carson’s hosting that Jimmy Fallon could learn from (The rest of them too) is that Carson kept everybody on the couch, and there was bantering that drew you into the show. Everybody today gets somebody in just for pushing a movie or a book. It used to be Don Rickles, Bob Hope and Richard Benjamin were all with Johnny and talking about all kinds of interesting things. Now it’s just cookie cutter interviewing with little entertaining interaction.
December 14, 1995, ‘Frank Sinatra: 80 Years My Way’, a one hour ABC special ran with huge ratings. Here’s the promo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeLm1ccMEk4