I was a long-time viewer of and a big fan of “The Tonight Show” (back when I could stay awake past 9 PM.) I remember watching Steve Allen’s and Jack Paar’s years, but I particularly liked the show hosted by Johnny Carson. In my opinion, there was never a late-night host that came close to Johnny Carson in doing interviews, interacting with guests, and doing skits with his sidekick Ed McMahon.

According to Wikipedia:

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise that aired on NBC from October 1, 1962, to May 22, 1992.

Buddy Hackett was a frequent guest on the “Tonight Show,” and one of my favorites.

Wikipedia’s article about Hackett includes

Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. His best remembered roles include Marcellus Washburn in The Music Man (1962), Benjy Benjamin in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963), Tennessee Steinmetz in The Love Bug (1968), and the voice of Scuttle in The Little Mermaid (1989).

That article goes on to say:

Hackett was one of two children born into a Jewish family living in Brooklyn, New York. His mother Anna (née Geller) worked in the garment trades while his father Philip Hacker was a furniture upholsterer and part-time inventor. Hackett grew up across from Public School 103 on 54th Street and 14th Avenue in Borough Park, Brooklyn, and was active in varsity football and drama club at New Utrecht High School. Hackett suffered from Bell’s palsy as a child, the lingering effects of which contributed to his distinctive slurred speech and facial expression.

While still a student, Hackett worked as a “tummler” (Yiddish for “tumult maker”) entertaining guests in the Catskills Borscht Belt resorts. While there, he began performing stand-up comedy in the resort nightclubs as “Butch Hacker.” He appeared first at the Golden Hotel in Hurleyville, New York, claiming later he did not get one single laugh. Following his graduation from high school in 1942, Hackett enlisted in the United States Army and served during World War II for three years in an anti-aircraft battery.

I recently ran across a clip of one of Hackett’s appearances on “YouTube” and here is a link to it. I think you will enjoy it too.

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