I have a memory of Robert Culp once guest hosting the Tonight Show which I can’t confirm via Internet research. Unfortunately I don’t have complete confidence in my memory. His IMDB resume doesn’t show it, but then it also doesn’t contain his 1981 appearance as a guest when Bill Cosby was guest host, an appearance I HAVE verified. I figure, if I did see him guest host the Tonight Show, it had to have been in the early seventies. I “discovered” the Tonight Show in 1970 (when it was still coming from New York) and watched it almost every week night through the fall of 1974. After that I only saw it sporadically. I also think it more likely that Mr. Culp would have hosted in the early seventies, rather than later, because his celebrity cachet was greater then. Does anyone else remember him doing the guest host thing? This was the period when I was deeply into I Spy via syndication and I remember being quite disappointed with his hosting appearance because he was so serious and very unlike Kelly Robinson.
Bill Cosby of course guest hosted many times. I remember him doing it in his “Groucho” period when he had the big mustache and cigar. If you head over to “Johnny Carson: The Official Tonight Show Website”:
http://www.johnnycarson.com/carson/home.jsp
you can navigate under “did you know” and then “guest search” to a search engine for Tonight Show appearances.
http://www.johnnycarson.com/carson/search.jsp
Entering Robert Culp produces a single entry for 24 August 1981 with this information:
• Original Airdate: 08-24-1981
• Host: BILL COSBY
• Announcer: DOC SEVERINSEN
• Conductor: TOMMY NEWSOM
• Director: ROBERT OSTBERG
• Guests: CULP, ROBERT
• MANDRELL, IRLENE
• LEONARD, SUGAR RAY
•
• Writers: TOM FINNIGAN RAY SILLER KEVIN MULHOLLAND ROBERT SMITH
• Monologue: Being married for 18 years, the royal wedding, royalty being chosen by God, wives 'obeying' their husbands, who the boss in a marriage is, going shopping, and fighting with his wife.
• Material: NO MATERIAL
• Topics: SUGAR RAY LEONARD - They discuss: His upcoming fight with Thomas Hearns, the difference between the fighters, then demonstrates a move in boxing, the Duran fight, and who talks to him between rounds. IRLENE MANDRELL - They discuss: Women and makeup, the upcoming Leonard/Hearns fight, their weight, the MANDRELL SHOW, her parents, modeling, and drum playing. ROBERT CULP - They discuss: Winning three Emmys for Best Actor all three years on I SPY, having gold comedy records, the 12 days they had off the entire three years that I SPY filmed, how he got sick drinking milk from a cow in Mexico, and Bill's passion for Chinese noodles
That discussion between Cosby and Culp sounds really fun. If you type Bill Cosby’s name into the search engine, a ton of appearances show up between 1970 and 1992. The fact that Robert Culp’s supposed appearance as host doesn’t show up is a little worrisome, but I don’t imagine the data base is complete. (I know that Bill Cosby appeared on the show before 1970—the most significant one being the time he was seen by Rob Reiner who raved about him to his father which indirectly led to the I Spy gig—and none of those appearances are in the data base.)
I hope I didn’t hallucinate the whole thing during my sleep deprived college days, or while nodding off in some mind numbing meeting, so I would be very appreciative if someone came forth with a corroborating memory.
Jimmy
