The hosts that made us laugh
On January 11, 1999, Jon Stewart transformed the world of late-night talk shows when he took over “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central. The show was such a runaway success that it launched talk shows for four of its correspondents and changed the way late-night hosts talk about politics. In 2019, there are almost as many talk shows that look like Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show” as there are shows that look like Johnny Carson’s “Tonight Show.” So in honor of Stewart’s 20-year anniversary, let’s look at the 20 funniest talk show hosts of all time — and one who was the absolute worst.
David Letterman
Letterman didn’t invent the late-night talk show, but he may have come the closest to elevating to art. He took a sardonic approach to the trappings of the talk show itself, unimpressed by celebrity and often ending up openly hostile to his guests. Letterman’s sketches were often brilliantly stupid, particularly Stupid Pet Tricks, various POV camera bits, from tiger to monkey, to any of Chris Elliott’s bizarre characters. He made the theater crew and his own mother part of the show, turned Rupert Jee’s Hello Deli into a tourist destination and influenced the subsequent generation of late-night hosts even more than Johnny Carson. You can see Letterman’s influence on Jimmy Kimmel’s show in particular, but you can even see it in how often things are presented in a list of 10.
Johnny Carson
Here’s Johnny! Still the king of late-night television, Johnny Carson manned the desk of “The Tonight Show” for 30 years, alongside announcer Ed McMahon. Carson had recurring characters like the clairvoyant punster Carnac the Magnificent and old lady Aunt Blabby, but he really shone with his monologues and improvising in weird moments, like when he got a lesson in throwing a tomahawk. And he was a tough interviewer — Robert Blake called it “facing the death squad,” and that’s Robert Blake saying that — with Carson only laughing when genuinely amused, unlike some of the subsequent “Tonight Show” hosts.
Conan O’Brien
At his best, Conan O’Brien is a great sketch comedian who happens to host a late-night show. The strength of the show has always been in the bizarre sketches, devices and characters: The lever that played clips from “Walker, Texas Ranger” when it was pulled, Pimpbot 5000, countless two- and three-man scenes with Andy Richter and bandleader Max Weinberg. Over the years, Conan’s monologues steadily improved, and he no longer needed sidekicks for support, especially when he’s playing 1864 baseball.
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