Tomorrow (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Tomorrow was an American late-night television talk show
hosted by Tom Snyder
. The show aired on NBC
from 1973
to 1982
and featured many prominent guests, including Paul McCartney
, "Weird Al" Yankovic
(in his first televised appearance), Ayn Rand
, John Lennon
(in his last televised interview), Jerry Garcia
, the Grateful Dead
, Ken Kesey
, Charles Manson
, The Clash
, Johnny Rotten, and U2
(in their first American television appearance). Los Angeles news anchor Kelly Lange
, a good friend of Snyder, was the regular substitute guest host.
in hand, alternating between asking hard-hitting questions and offering personal observations that made the interview closer to a genuine conversation. Making the show work financially became a challenge for NBC due to extremely low prices for commercial spots that a program at 1 a.m. could command. Since, according to Snyder, a 30-second spot on the show brought in only US$3,000, the network's primary concern initially was cutting production and distribution costs. As satellite transmission
was still not in use, the show was sent from coast to coast over telephone lines and it reportedly took NBC the entire first year of Tomorrow broadcasting before they succeeded in getting lower telephone line usage tariffs.
Unique and often revealing one-on-one exchanges were the program's staple. Notable interviews included those with author Harlan Ellison
, actor and writer Sterling Hayden
and author-philosopher Ayn Rand
. A one-on-one program with David Brenner
as the sole guest revealed that Snyder and Brenner worked together on several documentaries. In a 1979 interview the author and activist James Baldwin
explained why he first left the country to live in Europe.
, Tomorrow aired what eventually became its most talked about and enduring moment: John Lennon
appeared in what would turn out to be his final televised interview. Since Lennon faced deportation proceedings from America at the time over his 1968 misdemeanor conviction for cannabis possession in London, after the first part of the interview during which Snyder covered the regular topics, Lennon's legal representative - immigration attorney Leon Wildes - joined him on the panel to discuss the details of the case, as the famous musician directed his message at the American public in an appeal of sorts to be allowed to remain in the United States. Following Lennon's murder on 8 December 1980
, the interview was replayed in its entirety the next night on Tomorrow, and soon even released on home video
where it became a cult favourite. Introducing the five-year-old interview about to be replayed, Snyder referred to it as "not terrific, not terribly entertaining or enlightening, containing no historical information or anything new, but having little bits of stuff and substance of a man who was part of change, a revolution if you will, in popular music during the 1960s". Asked about the Lennon interview years later, Snyder reiterated that it was not a great one in his view and that it would have long since lapsed into obscurity had Lennon not been shot.
NBC occasionally used Tomorrow to plug various holes in its late-night schedule. Snyder did a special Saturday show with Jerry Lewis
as the only guest in October 1975 because the originally scheduled program (new sketch show called Saturday Night Live
), which was supposed to premiere that night was not ready to air. Lewis was interviewed for one hour and fifteen minutes, before Snyder brought out then unknown youngsters Gilda Radner
, Laraine Newman
, Jane Curtin
, Billy Crystal
, Chevy Chase
, Garrett Morris
, and John Belushi
for the last fifteen minutes of the show so that the national audience can meet them for the first time.
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 Aykroyd
's impersonation of Snyder on Saturday Night Live
. His seemingly mismatched jet black eyebrows and grey hair were also lampooned on SNL. Being the subject of SNL satire greatly raised Snyder's profile; many viewers knew the impression before knowing the man's own work. Snyder was, as well, the inspiration for the cartoon "Tom Morrow", which appeared in Playboy
in the late 1970s
.
Snyder would let his flamboyant side take over from time to time such as a 1978 show when he had on one of NBC's West Coast staff announcer
s, Donald Rickles
, one day after interviewing the same-named comedian
Don Rickles
. During the course of their segment, Snyder and Rickles (the announcer) spent ten minutes playing the then-new electronic board game
, Simon
.
The show's guests supplied the program with plenty of bizarre moments such as a 1979
appearance by Chicago shock-jock Steve Dahl
.
The same year, perhaps the most outrageous interview seen on Snyder's show occurred on Halloween
1979
, when the rock band Kiss
appeared to promote their album, Dynasty. During that 25-minute interview, the conversation degenerated into a somewhat chaotic exchange between Snyder and a very drunk Ace Frehley
, who picked up Snyder's teddy bear
, 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 Simmons
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.
Another run-in Snyder had with petulant rock stars occurred on 27 June 1980
in a cigarette smoke-filled appearance of Public Image Ltd.
's John Lydon
(aka Johnny Rotten) and Keith Levene
, whose thoroughly uncooperative twelve-minute interview on the show acquired a long-term notoriety. Snyder called it "one dumb moment of television", but TV Guide
listed it among the 10 greatest rock and roll moments in the history of television.
The title card on Snyder's show had dovetailed "Tom" and "Tomorrow", by highlighting "Tom" in a different color.
as co-host. Snyder resented all three changes repeating his often stated discomfort with doing "big television", instead preferring the intimate setting that allows real conversations as well as sincere and genuine personal moments to take place. He also felt live audiences turn up at TV shows for specific reasons such as winning prizes or getting uproarious laughs, and since Tomorrow provided neither, he thought them entirely unnecessary on his program.
Additionally, as a consequence of Johnny Carson
's legal battle with NBC over the terms of his contract that was settled out of court and led to powerful host finally succeeding in scaling The Tonight Show running time down to an hour (something that he petitioned NBC for years), Tomorrows starting time was moved half an hour earlier to 12:30 a.m. while its running time expanded to 90 minutes.
The first episode in the new time slot aired on 8 September 1980 with Snyder interviewing Rona Barrett as guest and announcing her arrival on the show from 27 October. Once Barrett joined, the show's name got changed to Tomorrow Coast to Coast. The program alternated between Snyder who was in New York City interviewing general interest guests and Barrett who was in Hollywood, filing entertainment reports.
The network wanted the show to attract younger viewers and thus started booking younger musical and entertainment acts for interviews followed by performances. These would on occasion cross over into bizarre territory such as a March 1981 appearance by the punk band, the Plasmatics
, during which lead singer Wendy O. Williams
sledgehammered a TV in the studio. The explosion disrupted a live broadcast of NBC Nightly News
with anchorman John Chancellor
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. "Weird Al" Yankovic
's first television appearance was on the show in April 1981
. Irish rock band U2
's first American television appearance took place on Tomorrow Coast to Coast in June 1981
.
In an effort to attract more viewers, NBC turned to spectacle television. On 12 June 1980 Snyder's prison interview with mass murderer Charles Manson
got aired. 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. Though it brought the show a huge ratings number, Snyder was never comfortable with the interview feeling that it "established absolutely nothing, other than what was already well known - that Manson is a nutcase".
Behind the scenes, and sometimes even in front of them, Snyder and Barrett never got on and a feud between the two erupted.
. On 9 November 1981, NBC and Carson's production company Carson Productions
announced the creation of Late Night with David Letterman, program set to premiere in early 1982 in the 12:30 a.m. time slot Monday through Thursday. NBC offered Snyder to move his show to 1:30 a.m., but he refused and got cancelled immediately.
The last first-run Tomorrow Coast to Coast show aired on 17 December 1981 with Snyder's old favourite Chevy Chase
as the final guest. Reruns aired until 28 January 1982.
David Letterman and Snyder already had a history together: a 1978
Tomorrow episode hosted by Snyder was almost exclusively devoted to a long interview with up-and-coming new comedy talents Letterman, Billy Crystal
and Merrill Markoe
. Two years later on 22 September 1980, Letterman (now the host of a morning programme
on NBC) appeared once more on Tomorrow (now in the new Coast to Coast format).
The two remained on good terms even after Letterman took over Snyder's 12:30 a.m. slot on NBC. Letterman often expressed his admiration for Snyder's style and would occasionally call-in to Snyder's radio show on ABC Radio and his television CNBC
talk show during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1995
Letterman handpicked Snyder to host a late night talk show following his Late Show on CBS - The Late Late Show
, produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, aired until 1999
.
and Pacific
time zones (Midnight Central
and Mountain
time), immediately following The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
. The program aired only four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, in order to accommodate the weekly shows The Midnight Special
(1973–81) and SCTV Network 90 (1981–82) in that time slot on Fridays. It was originally broadcast from the NBC studios in Burbank, California
, but relocated to New York in December 1974
when Snyder took on additional anchor duties for NBC News
and the network's flagship station, WNBC-TV. In June 1977
, the show returned to Burbank until 1979
, when Snyder once again began originating from 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
On September 16, 1980, when The Tonight Show was shortened to 60 minutes, Tomorrow was scheduled at 12:30 AM/11:30 PM and lengthened to 90 minutes, a format that lasted until its cancellation 16 months later. NBC affiliates began dropping the show, most notably Group W
-owned sister stations KYW-TV
in Philadelphia
and WBZ-TV
in Boston
, both of whom replaced the program with reruns of Hawaii Five-O
.
s: one in 1976
for Outstanding Achievement in Technical Direction and Electronic Camerawork and two in 1981
for Special Classification of Outstanding Program and Individual Achievement.
The Tomorrow Show – Tom Snyder's Electric Kool-Aid Talk Show
The Tomorrow Show – Punk & New Wave
The Tomorrow Show – John, Paul, Tom & Ringo
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
hosted by Tom Snyder
Tom Snyder
Thomas 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...
. The show aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
from 1973
1973 in television
The 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 1982
1982 in television
The 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 McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known 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 Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
, John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
(in his last televised interview), Jerry Garcia
Jerry Garcia
Jerome John "Jerry" Garcia was an American musician best known for his lead guitar work, singing and songwriting with the band the Grateful Dead...
, the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was 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, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, Ken Kesey
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. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
, Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles 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 found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, Johnny Rotten, and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
(in their first American television appearance). Los Angeles news anchor Kelly Lange
Kelly Lange
Kelly Lange is an American journalist, most notable for being the first woman to be a nightly news anchor in Los Angeles...
, a good friend of Snyder, was the regular substitute guest host.
History and format overview
In fall 1973 NBC's decision to launch a nightly program after the Tonight Show was prompted by a ban on tobacco ads that resulted in revenue loss for the network. The thinking was that extending the broadcast day by one hour could help recover some of that income.Debut
Established as more of an intimate talk show, Tomorrow differed from the usual late-night fare, with host Tom Snyder conducting one-on-one interviews sans audience, cigaretteCigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...
in hand, alternating between asking hard-hitting questions and offering personal observations that made the interview closer to a genuine conversation. Making the show work financially became a challenge for NBC due to extremely low prices for commercial spots that a program at 1 a.m. could command. Since, according to Snyder, a 30-second spot on the show brought in only US$3,000, the network's primary concern initially was cutting production and distribution costs. As satellite transmission
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
was still not in use, the show was sent from coast to coast over telephone lines and it reportedly took NBC the entire first year of Tomorrow broadcasting before they succeeded in getting lower telephone line usage tariffs.
Unique and often revealing one-on-one exchanges were the program's staple. Notable interviews included those with author Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
, actor and writer Sterling Hayden
Sterling Hayden
Sterling 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-philosopher Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
. A one-on-one program with David Brenner
David Brenner
David Brenner is an American standup comedian, actor, author, and filmmaker.-Career:Born and raised in poor areas of Philadelphia, Brenner found comedy a major source of relief from the daily trials and tribulations he faced in his youth. His neighborhood has been one of the top-ranked crime...
as the sole guest revealed that Snyder and Brenner worked together on several documentaries. In a 1979 interview the author and activist James Baldwin
James Baldwin
James Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist and civil rights activist.James Baldwin may also refer to:-Writers:*James Baldwin , American educator, writer and administrator...
explained why he first left the country to live in Europe.
The John Lennon interview
On 28 April 19751975 in television
The 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:...
, Tomorrow aired what eventually became its most talked about and enduring moment: John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
appeared in what would turn out to be his final televised interview. Since Lennon faced deportation proceedings from America at the time over his 1968 misdemeanor conviction for cannabis possession in London, after the first part of the interview during which Snyder covered the regular topics, Lennon's legal representative - immigration attorney Leon Wildes - joined him on the panel to discuss the details of the case, as the famous musician directed his message at the American public in an appeal of sorts to be allowed to remain in the United States. Following Lennon's murder on 8 December 1980
1980 in television
The 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:...
, the interview was replayed in its entirety the next night on Tomorrow, and soon even released on home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
where it became a cult favourite. Introducing the five-year-old interview about to be replayed, Snyder referred to it as "not terrific, not terribly entertaining or enlightening, containing no historical information or anything new, but having little bits of stuff and substance of a man who was part of change, a revolution if you will, in popular music during the 1960s". Asked about the Lennon interview years later, Snyder reiterated that it was not a great one in his view and that it would have long since lapsed into obscurity had Lennon not been shot.
NBC occasionally used Tomorrow to plug various holes in its late-night schedule. Snyder did a special Saturday show with Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
as the only guest in October 1975 because the originally scheduled program (new sketch show called Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
), which was supposed to premiere that night was not ready to air. Lewis was interviewed for one hour and fifteen minutes, before Snyder brought out then unknown youngsters Gilda Radner
Gilda Radner
Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...
, Laraine Newman
Laraine Newman
Laraine Newman is an American comedienne, actress, and writer, and was part of the original Saturday Night Live cast.-Personal life:...
, Jane Curtin
Jane Curtin
Jane Therese Curtin is an American actress and comedienne. She is commonly referred to as Queen of the Deadpan.First coming to prominence as an original cast member on Saturday Night Live in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series on the 1980s...
, Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal
William 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 critical and box office successes...
, Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
, Garrett Morris
Garrett Morris
Garrett Gonzalez Morris is an American comedian and actor from New Orleans. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980.-Early life and career:...
, and John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
for the last fifteen minutes of the show so that the national audience can meet them for the first time.
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 Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd
Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...
's impersonation of Snyder on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. His seemingly mismatched jet black eyebrows and grey hair were also lampooned on SNL. Being the subject of SNL satire greatly raised Snyder's profile; many viewers knew the impression before knowing the man's own work. Snyder was, as well, the inspiration for the cartoon "Tom Morrow", which appeared in Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago 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...
in the late 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
.
Snyder would let his flamboyant side take over from time to time such as a 1978 show when he had on one of NBC's West Coast staff announcer
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
s, Donald Rickles
Donald Rickles (announcer)
Donald 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 comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain 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 Rickles
Don Rickles
Donald Jay "Don" Rickles is an American stand-up 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 game
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
, Simon
Simon (game)
Simon is an electronic game of 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. It...
.
The show's guests supplied the program with plenty of bizarre moments such as a 1979
1979 in television
The 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 Dahl
Steve Dahl
Steven Robert Dahl has been an American radio personality and humorist for more than thirty years. He is currently podcasting, and releases the podcasts for download daily from his own website as well as the iTunes store...
.
The same year, perhaps the most outrageous interview seen on Snyder's show occurred on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
1979
1979 in television
The 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 Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
appeared to promote their album, Dynasty. During that 25-minute interview, the conversation degenerated into a somewhat chaotic exchange between Snyder and a very drunk Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
, who picked up Snyder's teddy bear
Teddy bear
The teddy bear is a stuffed toy bear. They are usually stuffed with soft, white cotton and have smooth and soft fur. It is an enduring form of a stuffed animal in many countries, often serving the purpose of entertaining children. In recent times, some teddy bears have become collector's items...
, 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 Simmons
Gene Simmons
Gene Simmons is an Israeli-American entrepreneur, singer-songwriter, actor, and rock bassist. Known as "The Demon", he is the bassist/vocalist of Kiss, a hard rock band he co-founded in the early 1970s.-Early life:...
revealed on his website that he felt "betrayed" by the other band members during this interview. Shortly thereafter, drummer Peter Criss
Peter Criss
George Peter John Criscuola , better known as Peter Criss, is an American drummer and singer, best known as the original drummer for the rock band Kiss...
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.
Another run-in Snyder had with petulant rock stars occurred on 27 June 1980
1980 in television
The 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:...
in a cigarette smoke-filled appearance of Public Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd are an English post-punk band formed by vocalist John Lydon , guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble, with frequent subsequent personnel changes. Lydon is the sole constant member of the band....
's John Lydon
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
(aka Johnny Rotten) and Keith Levene
Keith Levene
Keith Levene is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was an early member of The Clash, but is best known as being a founding member of Public Image Limited, along with John Lydon....
, whose thoroughly uncooperative twelve-minute interview on the show acquired a long-term notoriety. Snyder called it "one dumb moment of television", but TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
listed it among the 10 greatest rock and roll moments in the history of television.
The title card on Snyder's show had dovetailed "Tom" and "Tomorrow", by highlighting "Tom" in a different color.
Retooling the format: Tomorrow Coast to Coast
By late summer 1980 NBC decided to turn Tomorrow into a more typical entertainment talk show by taping it in front of a live studio audience, including live musical performances, and announcing the addition of gossip reporter Rona BarrettRona Barrett
Rona 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.-Career and personal life:As a teenager, Barrett overcame a degenerative...
as co-host. Snyder resented all three changes repeating his often stated discomfort with doing "big television", instead preferring the intimate setting that allows real conversations as well as sincere and genuine personal moments to take place. He also felt live audiences turn up at TV shows for specific reasons such as winning prizes or getting uproarious laughs, and since Tomorrow provided neither, he thought them entirely unnecessary on his program.
Additionally, as a consequence of Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
's legal battle with NBC over the terms of his contract that was settled out of court and led to powerful host finally succeeding in scaling The Tonight Show running time down to an hour (something that he petitioned NBC for years), Tomorrows starting time was moved half an hour earlier to 12:30 a.m. while its running time expanded to 90 minutes.
The first episode in the new time slot aired on 8 September 1980 with Snyder interviewing Rona Barrett as guest and announcing her arrival on the show from 27 October. Once Barrett joined, the show's name got changed to Tomorrow Coast to Coast. The program alternated between Snyder who was in New York City interviewing general interest guests and Barrett who was in Hollywood, filing entertainment reports.
The network wanted the show to attract younger viewers and thus started booking younger musical and entertainment acts for interviews followed by performances. These would on occasion cross over into bizarre territory such as a March 1981 appearance by the punk band, the Plasmatics
Plasmatics
The Plasmatics were an American heavy metal and punk band formed by Yale University art school graduate Rod Swenson with Wendy O. Williams. The band was a controversial group known for wild live shows that broke countless taboos...
, during which lead singer Wendy O. Williams
Wendy O. Williams
Wendy Orlean Williams , better known as Wendy O. Williams, was the lead singer for the American punk band the Plasmatics, as well as a solo artist...
sledgehammered a TV in the studio. The explosion disrupted a live broadcast of NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
with anchorman John Chancellor
John Chancellor
John William Chancellor was a well-known American journalist who spent most of his career with NBC News...
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. "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known 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 1981
1981 in television
The 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 :...
. Irish rock band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's first American television appearance took place on Tomorrow Coast to Coast in June 1981
1981 in television
The 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 :...
.
In an effort to attract more viewers, NBC turned to spectacle television. On 12 June 1980 Snyder's prison interview with mass murderer Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles 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 found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
got aired. 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. Though it brought the show a huge ratings number, Snyder was never comfortable with the interview feeling that it "established absolutely nothing, other than what was already well known - that Manson is a nutcase".
Behind the scenes, and sometimes even in front of them, Snyder and Barrett never got on and a feud between the two erupted.
Cancellation
The show lasted for barely over a year in new format as NBC cancelled it to make way for the up-and-coming young comedian David LettermanDavid Letterman
David 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 on NBC...
. On 9 November 1981, NBC and Carson's production company Carson Productions
Carson Productions
Carson Productions is a television production company established by Johnny Carson in 1980 to primarily produce The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from 1980 to 1992 and Late Night with David Letterman from 1982 to 1993....
announced the creation of Late Night with David Letterman, program set to premiere in early 1982 in the 12:30 a.m. time slot Monday through Thursday. NBC offered Snyder to move his show to 1:30 a.m., but he refused and got cancelled immediately.
The last first-run Tomorrow Coast to Coast show aired on 17 December 1981 with Snyder's old favourite Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
as the final guest. Reruns aired until 28 January 1982.
David Letterman and Snyder already had a history together: a 1978
1978 in television
The 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 Crystal
Billy Crystal
William 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 critical and box office successes...
and Merrill Markoe
Merrill Markoe
Merrill 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...
. Two years later on 22 September 1980, Letterman (now the host of a morning programme
The David Letterman Show
The David Letterman Show was a live morning NBC talk show hosted by David Letterman from June 23 to October 24, 1980. The show originally ran for 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward.-Background:...
on NBC) appeared once more on Tomorrow (now in the new Coast to Coast format).
The two remained on good terms even after Letterman took over Snyder's 12:30 a.m. slot on NBC. Letterman often expressed his admiration for Snyder's style and would occasionally call-in to Snyder's radio show on ABC Radio and his television CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
talk show during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1995
1995 in television
The 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:-Debuts:-1950s:...
Letterman handpicked Snyder to host a late night talk show following his Late Show on CBS - The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show (CBS TV series)
The 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...
, produced by Letterman's Worldwide Pants Incorporated, aired until 1999
1999 in television
The 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:-Debuts:-Miniseries:...
.
Scheduling
The show was scheduled at 1:00 AM in the EasternEastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
and Pacific
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
time zones (Midnight Central
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
and Mountain
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
time), immediately following The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
. The program aired only four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, in order to accommodate the weekly shows The Midnight Special
The Midnight Special (TV series)
The Midnight Special is an American musical variety series that aired on NBC during the 1970s and early 1980s, created and produced by Burt Sugarman. It premiered as a special on August 19, 1972, then began its run as a regular series on February 2, 1973; its last episode was on May 1, 1981...
(1973–81) and SCTV Network 90 (1981–82) in that time slot on Fridays. It was originally broadcast from the NBC studios in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, but relocated to New York in December 1974
1974 in television
The 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 News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
and the network's flagship station, WNBC-TV. In June 1977
1977 in television
The 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 1979
1979 in television
The 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 once again began originating from 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
On September 16, 1980, when The Tonight Show was shortened to 60 minutes, Tomorrow was scheduled at 12:30 AM/11:30 PM and lengthened to 90 minutes, a format that lasted until its cancellation 16 months later. NBC affiliates began dropping the show, most notably Group W
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
-owned sister stations KYW-TV
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
and WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, both of whom replaced the program with reruns of Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
.
Awards and nominations
The show was nominated for three Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An 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 and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
s: one in 1976
1976 in television
The 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 1981
1981 in television
The 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.
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 KeseyKen 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. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
- Timothy LearyTimothy LearyTimothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
- Tom WolfeTom WolfeThomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
The Tomorrow Show – Punk & New Wave
- Elvis CostelloElvis CostelloElvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, 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/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
- The JamThe JamThe Jam were an English punk rock/New Wave/mod revival band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were formed in Woking, Surrey. While they shared the "angry young men" outlook and fast tempos of their punk rock contemporaries, The Jam wore smartly tailored suits rather than ripped...
- Joan JettJoan JettJoan 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 Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
- John LydonJohn LydonJohn Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
- The Plasmatics
- Iggy PopIggy PopIggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
- The Ramones
- Patti SmithPatti SmithPatricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
- Paul Weller
The Tomorrow Show – John, Paul, Tom & Ringo
- Part 1
- John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
- Leon Wildes (Lennon's immigration attorney)
- Lisa Robinson (journalist)
- Jack DouglasJack Douglas (record producer)Jack Douglas is an 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 attend the...
- John Lennon
- Part 2
- Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
- Linda McCartneyLinda McCartneyLinda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
- Denny LaineDenny LaineDenny Laine is an English songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, guitarist, and lead singer of The Moody Blues' 1965 debut album "The Magnificent Moodies"; and, later, best known for his role as co-founder of Wings...
- Laurence JuberLaurence JuberLaurence Juber is an English-born guitarist who currently lives in California. Born 12 November 1952 in Stepney, East London, he was raised and went to school in North London...
- Paul McCartney
- Part 3
- Ringo StarrRingo StarrRichard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
- Barbara BachBarbara BachBarbara Bach is an American actress and model known as the Bond girl from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me . She is married to former Beatle Ringo Starr.-Early life:...
- Angie DickinsonAngie DickinsonAngie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
- Ringo Starr