Best Of Johnny Carson,The

Before he became the king of late-nite TV, Johnny Carson hosted a self-named summer replacement series. Ten examples of that half-hour program are here, as well as samples of Johnny's quiz show, his morning program and the very early (1953) "Carson's Cellar."

NOTABLES--

"The Johnny Carson Show" aired Thursday nights at 8:30 on CBS from 6/30/55 to 3/1/56. The quiz show, "Who Do You Trust?" ran on ABC-TV from 1957 to '63; based on his performance here, Johnny was hired by NBC to replace Jack Paar on "The Tonight Show."

"Bobby Darin and Friends" was a pilot for a variety series the network rejected. It was written by Bud Yorkin and Norman Lear ("All in the Family").

"Shower of Stars" aired once a month on CBS-TV. The most frequent host was Jack Benny.

"The Milton Berle Show" was the Berle variety series that came after "The Texaco Star Theater."

"The Colgate Comedy Hour" had a long run (with rotating hosts) on NBC-TV in the 1950s.

For more vintage TV programming, try the 150 episodes on MILL CREEK's ESSENTIAL FAMILY TELEVISION.

CONTENTS of "Best of Johnny Carson and Friends":

DISC ONE--
THE JOHNNY CARSON SHOW:
Dillinger The Mental Wizard
Ed Sullivan Impersonation
Evolution of Dance
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Life in the 80's
James Arness
Jack Albertson
Dimitri Tomlin
Stay-at-Home Husband
Eva Gabor
Dorothy Shay
CARSON'S CELLAR (one episode)
THE JOHNNY CARSON MORNING SHOW (one episode)

DISC TWO--
WHO DO YOU TRUST? - Johnny Carson/Ed McMahon (two episodes)
THE JACK BENNY PROGRAM (10/22/63) - Johnny Carson/Barbara Wooddell
BOBBY DARIN AND FRIENDS (TV-1961) - Jimmy Durante/Joanie Summers/Bob Hope
FRANK SINATRA TIMEX SPECIAL ("Bing Crosby and Dean Martin Present High Hopes") (TV-1959) - Mitzi Gaynor/Jimmy Durante
TIMEX ALL STAR COMEDY SHOW (TV-1962) - Johnny Carson/Mel Brooks/Carl Reiner/Buddy Hackett/Joyce Brothers/Kaye Stevens
CAESAR'S HOUR (two episodes) - Sid Caesar/Howard Morris/Carl Reiner

DISC THREE--
THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR (Two episodes hosted by Martin & Lewis) - #1- Jack Benny; #2- Burt Lancaster
THE MARTHA RAYE SHOW (1/23/54) - Edward G. Robinson/Cesar Romero/Rocky Graziano/Don Pardo
SHOWER OF STARS (5 episodes, hosted by Jack Benny) - #1- Liberace/Jayne Mansfield; #2- Nanette Fabray/Johnny Ray; #3- Tony Martin/Vivian Vance/William Frawley #4- ?; #5- ?
STARS IN THE EYE - Jack Benny/Lucille Ball

DISC FOUR--
THE MILTON BERLE SHOW:
Danny Thomas
Frank Sinatra
Gertrude Berg/Andrew Sisters
Jackie Cooper/Vic Damone
Peter Lawford/Carol Channing
Ronald Reagan/Dolores Grey
Zsa Zsa Gabor

This boxed set has 23 hours of classic tv. Not a bad price for that much. I disagree with one of the posters. If you read the back of the set it tells you exactly what programs are included, so you know Johnny is not on all the shows. Mills Creek may not be putting out digitally perfect cds, but you can't beat the price. If you like old tv you will love this inexpensive set. I have the Ozzie and Harriet set by Mills Creek and it's a great bargain too.

I'm not a Johnny Carson fan in the slighest but I love this set!! This is an awesome collection of super rare variety shows from the 1950's and 1960's, a potpourri of pioneering tv stars in 35 episodes of various programs! You get 16 very early Carson shows with such guests as James Arness and Eva Gabor, seven episodes of The Milton Berle show with guests including Ronald Reagan, The Andrews Sisters, Carol Channing, and Frank Sinatra; The Frank Sinatra Timex special with Dean Martin and Bing Crosby; a Jack Benny program; Bobby Darin special; two episodes of Sid Caesar's Hour, The Martha Raye Show with Edward G. Robinson, Two Dean Martin/Jerry Lewis Colgate Comedy Hours, three episodes of Shower of Stars with Jayne Mansfield, Vivian Vance, Jack Benny, Tony Martin, Liberace, and a super rare 1952 special Stars in Their Eye featuring Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, and nearly all of the CBS stars of the era!! Many of these programs I would have gladly paid $10 each for - and here you can get all 35 in one package for around $10!! This may well be the best bargain on the market for lovers of vintage television seeking rare programs.

These are early television programs, often filmed on kinescopes rather than film so don't expect perfection in picture quality but it's generally very good indeed and certainly at that price you can't complain (although of course there will always be those who find something to complain about.) I would have preferred for it to have been sold more as an all-star set rather than concentrating on Carson but then he does dominate the collection in episodes and has a higher profile today than many of the late greats to be found here. I just love this set and often wonder if my deceased relatives saw these shows back when they first aired; certainly it's wonderful in recreating a wonderful era of show business long since vanished.