The careers of so many stand up comedians were made on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson so we were ecstatic to find this clip with first time appearances by Steve Martin, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Garry Shandling and Eddie Murphy. To top it off, it sounds as if they left Carson’s microphone on and you can actually hear him reacting to their comedy.
1. Steve Martin 1973 – Classic Steve Martin with a banjo and bunny ears
2. David Letterman 1979 – A toned down version of today but same smooth style
3. Jay Leno 1977 – Still has the same mannerisms 20 years later, but hopefully not the same awful green suit
4. Garry Shandling 1981 – Shandling shows why he caught a break with his observational storytelling
5. Eddie Murphy 1982 – Eddie added some much needed flavor to The Tonight Show and could sell us anything with that charm and delivery
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