Carson's Comedy Classics was a stripped 1/2 hour syndicated

Television syndication

In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

 television show that was first released to U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 television stations in 1983. The series is narrated by Ed McMahon

Ed McMahon

Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. was an American comedian, game show host and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick and announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995...

, who, as a voiceover, introduces the program and each of the segments.

The program was made from segments and sketches taken from the first 20 years of 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....

(1962-1982). Carson's full tenure on the program, which originally aired on the 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...

 Television Network, was from 1962-1992.

When Carson would have his annual Tonight Show Anniversary Show in prime time on NBC, the anniversary shows were mainly flashback clip shows, and it was usually the same vintage sketches which got the showcase on the shows (examples being Ed Ames

Ed Ames

Ed Ames is an American popular singer and actor. He is best known for his pop and adult contemporary hits of the 1960s like "When the Snow is on the Roses" and the perennial "My Cup Runneth Over." He was part of a popular 1950s singing group called The Ames Brothers.-Early life:Born in Malden,...

' classic miffed Tomahawk throw from 1965, Carson and Jack Webb

Jack Webb

John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet...

 doing a sketch about Copper Clappers from 1968, and John Twomey

John Twomey

John Twomey is a manualist who appeared on NBC's The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson in 1972. He is credited with bringing manualism to the public stage, as his performance of "Stars and Stripes Forever" was seen by millions of people and was included in the Best of Johnny Carson collection...

 playing "Stars and Stripes Forever" with his hands from 1974; later anniversary shows would feature stand-up comedians, new sketches and clips from the previous year of Tonight Shows), but Carson's Comedy Classics show that there were many classic sketches and segments that have never been seen since the original airing that had at least still existed by 1982-1983 (when the show was put into production), and many of the sketches and segments in Carson's Comedy Classics have never been released on DVD either. Another note about the anniversary shows is that the popularity of them were probably the catalyst which spearheaded the creation of Carson's Comedy Classics, which is essentially a classic clip show edited down to a half an hour.

Each segment was carefully edited to avoid any reference to "The Tonight Show" or "NBC". Recurring segments were classic Carnac the Magnificent

Carnac the Magnificent

Carnac the Magnificent was a recurring comedic role played by Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. One of Carson's most well known characters, Carnac was a "mystic from the east" who could psychically "divine" unseen answers to unknown questions...

, Aunt Blabby, Floyd R. Turbo

Floyd R. Turbo

Floyd R. Turbo was a recurring comedic character on The Tonight Show, portrayed by host Johnny Carson from 1977 until his departure from the program in 1992....

, Stump The Band, Tea Time Movie and other sketches as well as vintage and memorable bits with animal trainers Jim Fowler

Jim Fowler

Jim Fowler is a professional zoologist and was host of the Emmy Award-winning television show Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom....

 and Joan Embery

Joan Embery

Joan Embery is an animal and environmental advocate. A Trustee of the , a professional Fellow of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and a member of the Advisory Board of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine's , she founded the American Association of Zoo Keepers...

 and the animals they brought on The Tonight Show

The Tonight Show

The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...

. There are also moments where there are segments where Carson would do an activity, like learning karate (he broke a plywood board with his head on one episode), or gymnastics, volleyball, and even trying to start a campfire in a race to do so spearheaded by some boy scouts. Many clips also showcase celebrities with Carson, usually in sketches; George C. Scott

George C. Scott

George Campbell Scott was an American stage and film actor, director and producer. He was best known for his stage work, as well as his portrayal of General George S. Patton in the film Patton, and as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's Dr...

, Juliet Prowse, Bob Hope

Bob Hope

Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...

 and 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....

 among others. The Tonight Show stock regulars who were unknowns but may have had a few lines here and there in certain sketches were referred to as The Carson Comedy Players in the opening credits of Carson's Comedy Classics (longtime Tonight Show stalwart Carol Wayne

Carol Wayne

Carol Wayne was an American television and film actress. She was best known for her many appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as the Matinée Lady.-Early life:...

 also appears in many Tea Time Movie sketches). And of course, Ed McMahon, who was Carson's sidekick and announcer, and stayed with Johnny for Carson's entire Tonight Show run (1962-1992), is prominently featured in Carsons Comedy Classics. McMahon also narrates the opening credits on the program as well. Final credits in each episode give mention to the staff of The Tonight Show and the producers and staff of Carson's Comedy Classics separately.

The programs themselves have no real running order to them, and thus could be broadcast in any order they chose by the station, usually late in the evening.

The program was produced and directed by Kenneth J. Koerner. It was Executive Produced by 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....

 and syndicated by Columbia Pictures Television

Sony Pictures Television

Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...

.

Other appearances

On October 1, 1996, the former Family Channel

ABC Family

ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...

 aired reruns of the show during its late-afternoon/early-evening and midnight time slots until September 27, 1997. Family Channel censored certain segments that contained racial, sexually lewd or "gay" jokes. This would often be noticeable when scenes "flip". This would happen mostly during the 'Carnac' segments when certain questions or "curses" would be censored by Family Channel.

In Australia, the show aired on the Nine Network

Nine Network

The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

 throughout the 1980s and 1990s in various timeslots. Since then, reruns have aired on FOX Classics

FOX Classics

Fox Classics is an Australian cable and satellite channel that specializes in showing classic movies and television series from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and some content from the 80s and 90s.-History:...

.

In 2008, the Chicago-based TV station Me-Too (WMEU-CA

WMEU-CA

WMEU-CA is a class A station in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting, which also owns sister stations WCIU-TV and WWME-CA. The station is an extension of WWME's classic programming format, and brands as "MeToo"...

) began to air the show late at night. As of January 1, 2009, the station no longer airs the show.

Since the summer of 2009, ReelzChannel has aired reruns of the show during its 8:00 to 9:00 Monday thru Friday morning block [Source at Examiner.com: "Johnny Carson Now Reigns Supreme on Reelz Channel"]. Reruns have also aired on Comcast

Comcast

Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...

's Video on Demand.

Pop culture

In The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious

Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious

"Simpsoncalifragilisticexpialacious", also known as "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpialacious", is the thirteenth episode of The Simpsons eighth season and originally aired February 7, 1997. After Marge becomes stressed, the Simpsons hire a new nanny, a Mary Poppins parody, Shary Bobbins , who tries to...

", Krusty the Clown hosted a similarly named program, Krusty's Komedy Klassics, live at the Apollo Theater

Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...

.