Plot
Frank Sinatra/David Janssen/Olivia Newton-John/Ray Johnson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
- Frank Sinatra performs and is interviewed; David Janssen (Two-Minute Warning (1976)); Olivia Newton-John (A Special Olivia Newton-John (1976)) performs and is interviewed; Ray Johnson discusses his time in prison.
- This is Frank Sinatra's first appearance on the Tonight Show. There is no comedy segment. Instead, Sinatra performs "I Write the Songs" (with the title changed to "I Sing the Songs", and some other lyric changes). During his interview he talks about how well things are going in his life, including his recent marriage, and about resuming his singing career after a two-year semi-retirement. He tells how he got Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis talking after a 20-year separation, at Lewis' recent telethon, and talks about taping an upcoming special tribute to John Wayne. Asked what romantic music he prefers, he mentions the classical pieces "Daphnis and Chloe" and Debussy's "Sunken Cathedral". When asked the high points of his career, he lists the Academy Award for "From Here to Eternity", his role in "The Man with the Golden Arm", and performing in small clubs where he is close to the audience. Don Rickles then walks on, tells various jokes about Sinatra and Johnny, and recalls how he first met Sinatra years ago. Sinatra then performs "Where or When" before leaving for a recording session. David Janssen talks about recently being in Japan to make a corporate film, and then discusses his new film "Two-Minute Warning"; a clip from the film is shown. Olivia Newton-John performs "Every Face Tells a Story", and discusses her upcoming TV special with Elliott Gould. Finally Ray Johnson, an ex-con who now works in security, discusses serving 25 years in prison for armed robbery, at facilities including San Quentin and Folsom. He recalls doing five years in solitary after being the only prisoner ever to escape from maximum security at Folsom, using a 19th-century storm drain that had been forgotten, and describes one of his crimes, in which he had friends ship him in a crate to a high-security facility. He then talks about his current work in crime prevention.—lenab9011
- Johnny has a rare visit from Sinatra, who has never been on before. Rickles teases him with lots of Italian mob references and gives him two big sloppy kisses. Sinatra relates a time when he set him up for an insult. David Janssen trades quips with Rickles.—WesternOne
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