Tag: RIP

Comedian David Brenner’s 1971 Debut on “The Tonight Show”

Brenner Tonight Show
Comedian David Brenner passed away on March 15, 2014 from cancer at the age of 78. For anyone who grew up watching Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, Brenner will always be associated with the show for his many appearances there.

Brenner, who was born on February 4, 1936 in Philadelphia, first appeared on national TV on the show on January 8, 1971. You may watch his debut appearance in the video below, which is still funny after all these years. At the end, Johnny calls Brenner back out to shake his hand.

Brenner made an impact in a number of ways. Before his successful career as a comedian, he was a writer, director, and producer of a large number of documentaries. In addition to his work on The Tonight Show and other shows, he wrote books and hosted four HBO specials. One of those HBO specials — Back with a Vengeance — ran in 2000, almost thirty years after his national TV debut. [2016 Update: Unfortunately, the video for the special is no longer available on YouTube.]

After the 1971 first Tonight Show appearance, a reporter asked Brenner what he wanted to do with his career. He responded, “I want to make as many people laugh, as heartily as they can, for as long as I can.”

After he died, Brenner’s website (which no longer exists as of 2024) noted that Brenner’s last act will be to bring smiles to people’s faces. His tombstone will read: If this is supposed to be a joke — then I don’t get it!” Reportedly, that language ended up on the flip side of the tombstone, with the front reading, “He lived, he died, but man did he live!”

What is your favorite David Brenner joke? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    What is your favorite memory of Sid Caesar? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    TCM Remembers Entertainers We Lost in 2013

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    Long before I fully understood the sentiments in Ray Price’s classic recording of Kristofferson’s “For the Good Times” and back when “lay your head upon my pillow” seemed racy, I already knew all the words.

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