Caught this on a local nostalgia cable channel, not recalling having seen it back in the day. It's not a significant segment for Johnny except for a strange pre-taped comedy bit he introduces with endless caveats and warnings, an interesting commentary on self-censorship or lack thereof.
After railing against Dick Clark for latter (in his TV producer role) copying other shows shamelessly -in particular the then-fresh "Funniest Home Videos" phenomenon, Carson introduces tongue-in-cheek examples of that anti-art form supposedly revolving around members of his crew and office staff. The over-the-top one in question has a femme member of his team showing off her newborn baby, and then an accelerating slapstick comedy of escalating violence and mayhem befalls the poor child, as Johnny keeps reminding us gentle viewers that it is not a real baby during the guts of the segment. The fake kid is hit a country mile by a golfer at the tee and ends up squished to a paper-thin cutout by a steam roller, eventually baked into a cake (New Orleans style) only to end up back in the mama's arms -the real baby back on screen - covered in cake crumbs and batter.
Growing up I enjoyed the breakthrough antics of Steve Allen, Johnny's predecessor (along with the wonderful Jack Paar), who delighted in staging crazy stunts on both The Tonight Show and his later innovative Westinghouse syndicated series. He's the true pioneer in this freewheeling art form, still copied in the 21st Century by Letterman and the current lineup of younger talents, but it was interesting to see Carson indulging in Steve's goofball content.
After railing against Dick Clark for latter (in his TV producer role) copying other shows shamelessly -in particular the then-fresh "Funniest Home Videos" phenomenon, Carson introduces tongue-in-cheek examples of that anti-art form supposedly revolving around members of his crew and office staff. The over-the-top one in question has a femme member of his team showing off her newborn baby, and then an accelerating slapstick comedy of escalating violence and mayhem befalls the poor child, as Johnny keeps reminding us gentle viewers that it is not a real baby during the guts of the segment. The fake kid is hit a country mile by a golfer at the tee and ends up squished to a paper-thin cutout by a steam roller, eventually baked into a cake (New Orleans style) only to end up back in the mama's arms -the real baby back on screen - covered in cake crumbs and batter.
Growing up I enjoyed the breakthrough antics of Steve Allen, Johnny's predecessor (along with the wonderful Jack Paar), who delighted in staging crazy stunts on both The Tonight Show and his later innovative Westinghouse syndicated series. He's the true pioneer in this freewheeling art form, still copied in the 21st Century by Letterman and the current lineup of younger talents, but it was interesting to see Carson indulging in Steve's goofball content.