Tomorrow (also known as
The Tomorrow Show and, after
1980The year 1980 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1980.For the American TV schedule, see: 1980-81 American network television schedule.-Events:...
,
Tomorrow Coast to Coast) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
late-night television
talk showA talk show or chat show is a television or radio program where one person or group of people come together to discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host...
hosted by
Tom SnyderThomas James "Tom" Snyder was an American television personality, news anchor and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and The Late Late Show, on the CBS Television Network in the 1990s.Snyder was also...
. The show aired on
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
from
1973The year 1973 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1973.-Events:*January 4 - The record breaking, long running comedy series in the UK and the world "Last of the Summer Wine" starts as a 30 minute pilot on BBC1's Comedy Playhouse show....
to
1982The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...
and featured many prominent guests, including
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
,
"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, actor, comedian, and satirist. Yankovic is known in particular for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
(in his first televised appearance),
Ayn RandAyn Rand , was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her best-selling novels and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
,
John LennonJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...
(in his last televised interview),
Jerry GarciaJerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his work with the band the Grateful Dead...
, the
Grateful DeadThe Grateful Dead were an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, jazz, psychedelia, and space rock—and for live performances of long musical...
,
Ken KeseyKenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s...
,
Charles MansonCharles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi -commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders, carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
,
The ClashThe Clash were an English rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk rock. Along with punk, they experimented with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly...
, Johnny Rotten, and
U2U2 are a rock band that formed in Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr...
(in their first American television appearance). Los Angeles news anchor
Kelly LangeKelly Lange is an accomplished U.S. journalist,most notable for being the first woman to be nightly news anchor in Los Angeles. NBC News refers to Lange as the first woman to anchor a nightly newscast at an NBC owned station...
, a good friend of Snyder, was the regular substitute guest host.
It was a talk show unlike the usual late-night fare, with Snyder conducting one-on-one interviews sans audience,
cigaretteA cigarette is a product consumed through smoking and manufactured out of cured and finely cut tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often combined with other additives, then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder...
in hand, alternating between asking hard-hitting questions and offering personal observations that made the interview closer to a conversation.
Snyder was a veteran newsman, but often communicated like a comedian doing a standup routine, and seemed to like getting the off-camera technical crew to laugh.
When not grilling guests, Snyder would often joke around with off-stage crewmen, often breaking out in the distinctively hearty laugh that was the basis of
Dan AykroydDaniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Canadian-American comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist...
's impersonation of Snyder on
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
. His seemingly mismatched jet black eyebrows and grey hair were also lampooned on
SNL. Snyder was, as well, the inspiration for the cartoon "Tom Morrow", which appeared in
PlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine, founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with a presence in nearly every medium. Playboy is one of the world's best...
in the late
1970sThe 1970s was the decade that ran from January 1, 1970, to December 31, 1979.In the Western world, social progressive values that began in the 1960s, such as increasing political awareness and political and economic liberty of women, continued to grow...
.
The title card on Snyder's show had dovetailed "Tom" and "Tomorrow", by highlighting "Tom" in a different color.
The show was scheduled at 1:00 a.m. immediately following
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992....
. It was originally broadcast from the NBC studios in
Burbank, CABurbank is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The estimated population in 2007 was 107,921.Burbank is located in two distinct areas, with its downtown, civic center and key neighborhoods nestled on the slopes and foothills that rise to the Verdugo Mountains, and other areas...
, but moved to
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in December
1974The year 1974 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1974.For the American TV schedule, see: 1974-75 American network television schedule.-Events:...
when Snyder took on additional anchor duties for
NBC NewsNBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. Its current president is Steve Capus.-Caravan era:The first American television newscast in history was made by NBC News on February 21, 1940, anchored by Lowell Thomas and airing weeknights at 6:45 pm. In 1948, NBC teamed up with...
. In June
1977The year 1977 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1977.For the American TV schedule, see: 1977-78 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, the show returned to Burbank until
1979The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, when Snyder headed back to New York. On September 16, 1980, when
The Tonight Show was shortened to sixty minutes,
Tomorrow was scheduled at 12:30 a.m. and lengthened to ninety minutes.
Awards and nominations
The show was nominated for three
Emmy AwardThe Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards , Grammy Awards and Tony Awards .They are presented in various...
s: one in
1976The year 1976 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1976.-Global television events:*The Olympics, broadcast from Montreal, Canada, draw an estimated one billion viewers worldwide....
for Outstanding Achievement in Technical Direction and Electronic Camerawork and two in
1981The year 1981 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1981.For the American TV schedule, see: 1981-82 American network television schedule.-Events:...
for Special Classification of Outstanding Program and Individual Achievement.
Notable interviews
Unique one-on-one exchanges were common to the program, notably with author
Harlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. He has written in many genres, but principally science fiction.His published works include over 1000 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, and a wide range of criticism covering not only literature, but film, television, and print media...
, actor and writer
Sterling HaydenSterling Hayden was an American actor and author. For most of his career as a leading man, he specialized in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became noted as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr...
, and author and philosopher
Ayn RandAyn Rand , was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her best-selling novels and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
. A one-on-one program with
David BrennerDavid Brenner is an American standup comedian, actor, author, and filmmaker. On February 3, 2009, on The Howard Stern show, Brenner admitted that he would turn 73 on February 4, 2009, after a career during which he had lied about his age since the 1960s.Born and raised in poor areas of...
as the sole guest revealed that Snyder and Brenner worked together on several documentaries.
Peak moments with Snyder on
Tomorrow included
John LennonJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...
's final televised interview, in April
1975The year 1975 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1975.For the American TV schedule, see: 1975-76 United States network television schedule.-Events:...
(replayed in December
1980The year 1980 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1980.For the American TV schedule, see: 1980-81 American network television schedule.-Events:...
as a tribute to Lennon, and later released on
home videoHome video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or hired for home entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into the current DVD/Blu-ray Disc age...
), and Irish rock band
U2U2 are a rock band that formed in Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr...
's first American television appearance in June
1981The year 1981 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1981.For the American TV schedule, see: 1981-82 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. Also memorable was the
1980The year 1980 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1980.For the American TV schedule, see: 1980-81 American network television schedule.-Events:...
cigarette smoke-filled appearance of
Public Image Ltd.Public Image Ltd. are an English musical group formed in 1978 by vocalist John Lydon, guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble....
's
John LydonJohn Joseph Lydon , also known as Johnny Rotten, is a British rock musician and lyricist, best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock group Sex Pistols during the 1970s and 2000s, and also as the vocalist of post punk group Public Image Ltd in the 1980s and 1990s.Lydon became notorious in the...
(aka Johnny Rotten) and
Keith LeveneKeith Levene is an English guitarist and songwriter, best known as a member of Public Image Limited.-Biography:...
, whose thoroughly uncooperative twelve-minute appearance on the show acquired a long-term notoriety.
"Weird Al" YankovicAlfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, actor, comedian, and satirist. Yankovic is known in particular for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
's first television appearance was on the show in April
1981The year 1981 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1981.For the American TV schedule, see: 1981-82 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. Another memorable moment came on a 1978 show when he had on one of NBC's West Coast staff
announcerAn announcer is a voice actor who works in television, radio or film, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in television commercials or a guest on a talk show....
s,
Donald RicklesDonald Newton Rickles was an American radio and television announcer, news anchor, and actor.Born in Portland, Oregon, Rickles began his announcing career at the age of 11 at KBPS in Portland. Later he was chief announcer for KUSC-FM in Los Angeles, California...
, one day after interviewing the same-named
comedianA comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain members of an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Don RicklesDonald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American comedian and actor. A frequent guest on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Rickles has acted in comedic and dramatic roles, but is best known as an insult comic...
. During the course of their segment, Snyder and Rickles (the announcer) spent ten minutes playing the then-new electronic
board gameA board game is a game in which counters or pieces that are placed on, removed from, or moved across a "board"...
,
SimonSimon is an electronic game of rhythm and memory skill invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison, with the software programming being done by Lenny Cope and manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley. Simon was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and became an immediate success...
.
Another notorious segment was a 1981 prison interview with mass murderer
Charles MansonCharles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi -commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was convicted of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders, carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
. Manson was by turns quietly mesmerizing and disturbingly manic, suddenly getting a wild look in his eyes and spouting wild notions at Snyder before temporarily returning to a calm demeanor.
Bizarre moments included a
1979The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...
appearance by Chicago shock-jock
Steve DahlStephen Robert Dahl has been an American radio personality for over thirty years. He was most recently on the air at WJMK , in Chicago, Illinois. Before WJMK, Dahl broadcast with Chicago stations WCKG, WDAI, WLUP, WMVP and WLS...
, and a March 1981 appearance by the punk band, The Plasmatics, during which lead singer
Wendy O. WilliamsWendy Orlean Williams , better known as Wendy O. Williams, was the lead singer for the American punk band the Plasmatics, whose stage theatrics included blowing up equipment, near nudity and chain-sawing guitars....
sledgehammered a TV in the studio. The explosion disrupted a live broadcast of
NBC Nightly NewsNBC Nightly News is the daily evening news program for NBC News and broadcasts from the GE Building, Rockefeller Center in New York City. It has been known by this name since August 3, 1970. Currently, weekday broadcasts are anchored by Brian Williams, and weekend editions of the show are anchored...
being produced in a studio two floors above. Snyder himself referred to this occurrence on a May 1981 followup appearance in which the Plasmatics blew up a car.
Perhaps the most outrageous interview seen on Snyder's show occurred on
HalloweenHalloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Gaelic pagan festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones...
1979The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, when the rock band
KISSKiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in December 1972. Easily identified by its members' trademark face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid and late-1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
appeared to promote their album,
DynastyDynasty is a studio album by the American hard rock band Kiss. The album, and its subsequent tour, were billed as the "Return of Kiss." The band as a full unit had not released a studio album since 1977 and had not toured since the Spring of 1978...
. During that 25-minute "interview", the conversation degenerated into a somewhat chaotic exchange between Snyder and a very drunk
Ace FrehleyPaul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American guitarist best known as an original member and lead guitarist for the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of "The Spaceman" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
, who picked up Snyder's
teddy bearThe teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. It is an enduring, traditional form of a stuffed animal, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items.- History :...
, put the wristlets from his costume on the bear, and laughed,
"the only Spacebear in captivity! I've got him — he's captured!" When Snyder asked Ace if his costume was that of some sort of spaceman, Frehley quipped,
"No, actually I'm a plumber." Snyder shot back,
"Well, I've got a piece of pipe backstage I'd like to have you work on." The inebriated Frehley replied
"Tell me about it!" and clapped his hands and cackled hysterically at the exchange. Years later,
Gene SimmonsGene Simmons is an Israeli American rock bassist, vocalist, and actor. He is best known as "The Demon", the blood-spitting, fire-breathing, and tongue-wagging bassist and one of the lead vocalists in the hard rock band Kiss, an act he co-founded in the early 1970s...
revealed on his website that he felt "betrayed" by the other band members during this interview. Shortly thereafter, drummer Peter Criss officially left the band and subsequently appeared on the show, making Snyder the first host to have a member of KISS appearing without makeup in public.
Tomorrow Coast to Coast
Following a disastrous experiment with turning
Tomorrow into a more typical talk show — renaming it
Tomorrow Coast to Coast and adding a live audience and co-host,
Rona BarrettRona Barrett is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She currently runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizens in need....
(all of which Snyder resented) — the show was cancelled in
1982The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, to make way for the up-and-coming young comedian,
David LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman...
.
David Letterman and Snyder had a long history together: a
1978The year 1978 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1978.For the American TV schedule, see: 1978-79 American network television schedule.-Events:...
Tomorrow episode hosted by Snyder was almost exclusively devoted to a long interview with up-and-coming new comedy talents Letterman,
Billy CrystalWilliam Edward "Billy" Crystal is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian, and film director. He gained prominence in the 1970s for playing Jodie Dallas on the ABC sitcom Soap and became a Hollywood film star during the late 1980s and 1990s, appearing in the box office successes When Harry...
and
Merrill MarkoeMerrill Markoe is an author, an Emmy Award-winning television writer and a sometime standup comedienne.-Career:Markoe attended the University of California, Berkeley, receiving a B.A. in Art in 1970 and an M.A. in 1972...
.
Because of this, some have speculated that Letterman simply wanted to give Snyder another chance in the late night arena. That led to
The Late Late ShowThe Late Late Show is an American late-night television talk and variety show on CBS hosted by Craig Ferguson since 2005. It immediately follows Late Show with David Letterman and is produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated. It originates from CBS Television City and is shot in High...
, which Snyder hosted from
1995The year 1995 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1995.For the American TV schedule, see: 1995-96 United States network television schedule.-Events:...
to
1999The year 1999 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1999.For the American TV schedule, see: 1999-00 United States network television schedule.-Events:...
.
DVD releases
Three DVD compilations of footage of
Tomorrow have been released to date:
The Tomorrow Show - Tom Snyder's Electric Kool-Aid Talk Show
- The Grateful Dead
- Ken Kesey
Kenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s...
- Timothy Leary
Dr. Timothy Francis Leary was an American writer, psychologist, futurist, advocate of psychedelic drug research, and one of the first people whose remains have been sent into space. An icon of 1960s counterculture, Leary is most famous as a proponent of the therapeutic, spiritual and emotional...
- Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly Wolfe, Jr. , known as Tom Wolfe, is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
The Tomorrow Show - Punk & New Wave
- Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres...
- The Jam
The Jam were an English rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore neatly tailored suits rather than ripped clothes and incorporated a number of mainstream 1960s rock...
- Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock N' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard charts from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
- John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known as Johnny Rotten, is a British rock musician and lyricist, best known as the lead vocalist of the punk rock group Sex Pistols during the 1970s and 2000s, and also as the vocalist of post punk group Public Image Ltd in the 1980s and 1990s.Lydon became notorious in the...
- The Plasmatics
- Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is a songwriter, and occasional actor. Although he has had only limited mainstream commercial success, Iggy Pop is considered an influential innovator of punk rock, hard rock, and other related styles...
- The Ramones
- Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer–songwriter, poet and visual artist who was a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses. Called the "Godmother of Punk", she integrated the beat poetry performance style with three-chord rock...
- Paul Weller
The Tomorrow Show - John, Paul, Tom & Ringo
- Part 1
- John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...
- Leon Wildes (Lennon's immigration attorney)
- Lisa Robinson (journalist)
- Jack Douglas
Jack Douglas is an influential American record producer. He was born in New York City. Starting out as folk musician and performer, he worked on Robert Kennedy's senatorial campaign as a song-writer. Douglas then moved to England and joined a succession of bands before returning to New York to...
- Part 2
- Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
- Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman, heiress to the Lindner Department Store fortune.She married Paul McCartney of The Beatles on March 12 1969, and was a member of Wings...
- Denny Laine
Denny Laine is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his roles as former guitarist and lead singer of The Moody Blues and, later, co-founder of Wings. Laine was the only musician in Wings, along with Paul and Linda McCartney, who did not quit...
- Laurence Juber
Laurence Juber is an English-born guitarist living in California. Born 12 November 1952 in Stepney, East London, he was raised and went to school in North London...
- Part 3
- Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE , better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the rock group The Beatles. When The Beatles formed in 1960, Starr belonged to another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes....
- Barbara Bach
Barbara Bach is an American actress and model best-known as the Bond girl from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me . She is married to musician Ringo Starr, former drummer of The Beatles.-Early life:...
- Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is a Golden Globe-winning American actress who has appeared in more than 50 films and starred on television as Sergeant Leann "Pepper" Anderson in the successful 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:...