This article is headlined, "New Book Reveals Johnny Carson's Least Favorite Tonight Show Guest: Bob Hope." The headline doesn't really reflect the article, which just says that Johnny tired of having Bob's carefully-scripted, plug-my-special guest appearances. I suspect Johnny's actual "least favorite" guest would be someone who was rude and/or boring — something Hope never was — and who only appeared once.
But I'm not surprised that Mr. Carson got a bit fed up with Mr. Hope. Then again, I was on the Tonight Show set once when Bob visited and I did see them seem to get along.
As I've mentioned here before many times, there was a period in the seventies when I used to hang around the NBC Studios in Burbank and drop in on rehearsals or tapings of The Dean Martin Show, The Flip Wilson Show, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the occasional Bob Hope special and other programs, including The Tonight Show, if it was in town. When I started my Burbankian lurking, Carson was still based in New York and visiting "Hollywood" two or three times a year for two or three weeks at a time.
Hope used Stage 1 or Stage 3, apparently depending on what other shows needed which facility at the moment. Laugh-In was usually on Stage 3, which is where Mr. Leno did his Tonight Show for much of its run. Johnny taped in Stage 1 and Hope would use that for his monologues. In a posting here a few years ago, I wrote the following…
About thirty seconds before Johnny introduced him, Hope strode into Stage 1 with the inevitable entourage. He was still reviewing a piece of paper with a couple of jokes on it as the band struck up his theme song. Then he handed the page to an aide, walked out to tumultuous applause, and sat down next to Carson, who expertly fed him the questions that elicited the just-studied jokes. The segment went about as well as such segments ever do, and my overall admiration was not so much at the wit but at the sheer expertise in the delivery. Bob and Johnny were both utterly in control and things went precisely the way both wanted them to.
At the first commercial break, Hope stepped out and told Johnny's studio audience that they were so good, he had decided to ask them to stick around after The Tonight Show was finished so that he could use them to tape the monologue for his special. The crowd almost gasped with delight. Hope explained that the rest of the special had been recorded a week or two back but he always did the monologue at the last minute so it could be more topical. He also explained that the stage we were in — Stage 1 — was his design. The steep rake was because when he was performing, he liked to be able to look up and see as many laughing faces as possible.
Sure enough, not one person budged from their seats as the Carson show concluded. A different curtain was flown in for Bob to perform in front of, and he took a few minutes to run through his cue cards with Barney McNulty. When all was in readiness, Hope stepped into position and did the monologue three times. The first time through, everyone laughed a lot. The second time through, they laughed a little less. And the third time through, they laughed more than the second time, because Hope began screwing with the wording and muttering things like, "We'll cut that one."
Johnny Carson was just off-camera throughout and at one point in the middle of the third take, Bob stepped over to him and whispered something that I suspect was very dirty, and Carson got hysterical. Then Hope thanked everyone for sticking around — like they'd all done him a favor —and he and the entourage disappeared. Again, my overwhelming impression was of efficiency more than inspiration. The following Monday night, what aired was most of the first take with maybe five jokes cut, and perhaps one or two inserted from Take Two.
I do remember a couple of times when Hope was a guest and Carson made him work for his plug. One time, he had to do a stand-up routine. Another time, Johnny insisted Bob do a little dance routine. Hope was a pretty good hoofer. Johnny acted like it was a big joke, forcing Bob to do more than just sit in the guest chair and talk about his special…but I suspect there was something behind it.
The most interesting thing in the article is when Carson is quoted as telling associates, when Bob was getting on in years and becoming a parody of himself, "If I ever end up like that, guys, I want you to shoot me." If you have ever wondered why Johnny quit when he did and got off the stage, it probably has a lot to do with that…and not just Hope but also Berle, Groucho and a few others.