Publisher Description
Ever since Johnny Carson first popularized the late-night talk show in 1962 with The Tonight Show, the eleven p.m. to two a.m. comedy time slot on network television has remained an indelible part of our national culture. More than six popular late-night shows air every night of the week, and with recent major shake-ups in the industry, late-night television has never been more relevant to our public consciousness than it is today. Jon Macks, a veteran writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, takes us behind the scenes of this world for an in-depth, colorful look at what really makes these hosts the arbiters of public opinion.
From the opening monologue—what's funny, what's dangerous, what's untouchable—to the best vs. worst guests, Macks covers the landscape of late-night comedy and punctuates the narrative with hysterical personal anecdotes, shining the spotlight on some of the very best late-night jokes. With an insider's expertise and a laugh-out-loud voice, Macks explains how late-night TV redefines the news and events of any given day, reshapes public opinion, and even creates our national zeitgeist.
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“Heller confidently tells the story of Macks and his life in the late-night bubble with the skill of a comedian. The jokes are funny enough, but Heller makes them sound even better. His behind-the-scenes accounts are priceless. Macks…compares and contrasts all the late-night impresarios from Steve Allen to Seth Meyers and has a ton of fascinating anecdotes. This is an audiobook you can’t stop listening to. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
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AudioFile
About Jon Macks
Jon Macks is the author of several books, including How to Be Funny: The One and Only Practical Guide for Every Occasion, Situation, and Disaster (No Kidding) and Fuhgeddaboutit: How to Badda Boom, Badda Bing and Find Your Inner Mobster. He was the top writer for the Tonight Show with Jay Leno for all twenty-two years Jay was on the air. He has also written for the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards, the Golden Globes, the Tony Awards, and for some of the nation’s top comedians, politicians, corporate leaders, and sports commentators. Among the stars he writes for are Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Hugh Jackman, Terry Bradshaw, and Chris Rock. Macks lives in Los Angeles.
About Johnny Heller
Johnny Heller, winner of numerous Earphones and Audie Awards, was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. He has been a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award winner from 2008 through 2013 and he has been named a top voice of 2008 and 2009 and selected as one of the Top 50 Narrators of the Twentieth Century by AudioFile magazine.