Cal Thomas: Final curtain call

Editor's note: The following text is a transcript of a podcast story. To listen to the story, click on the arrow beneath the headline above.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, July 24th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. News of trouble in the land of late-night television is really no surprise. Here’s WORLD commentator Cal Thomas.

CAL THOMAS: Stephen Colbert opened his July 18th show this way:

COLBERT: Before we start the show, I want to let you know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending the Late Show in May [BOOS]...

Critics of the decision are claiming politics is the reason. They are right, except it’s the show that’s been too political. During its 10-year run it has been a conduit for Democrats to attack President Trump and Republicans.

There are rumors within the entertainment industry that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show on ABC may also be headed for the door. Nothing heard yet about the future of Jimmy Fallon and the “Tonight Show.”

While Colbert’s show was the top-rated broadcast late show, it had few advertisers, a staff of 100, and Colbert was reportedly being paid more than $15 million dollars to do the program.

People of a certain age will recall the name Steve Allen, who invented the “Tonight Show” format on NBC.

STEVE ALLEN: [Applause] Thanks a million. Well you folks who are just joining us, I want to say we're glad to have you with us and I think we are going to give you 60 minutes that'll give you something to talk about there before we get off the air…

Steve was pure entertainment. He was followed by Jack Paar, who brought an intellectual depth to the show, along with his unique brand of humor.

JACK PARR: [APPLAUSE] Wow, what a nice crew, a nd away we go…

Johnny Carson and Jay Leno followed, avoiding partisan politics.

In a 1979 interview with Mike Wallace of “60 Minutes,” Carson was asked why he didn’t do politics on the show.

JOHNNY CARSON: Tell me the last time Jack Benny, Red Skelton, any comedian used his show to do serious issues. That’s not what I’m there for. Can’t they see that? It’s a real danger. Once you start that, you start to get that self-important feeling that what you say has great import … you could use that show as a forum to sway people and I don’t think you should as an entertainer.

That attitude is what kept Carson on NBC for nearly 30 years. He was beloved by viewers from both sides of the aisle. He occasionally had politicians as guests like Republicans Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and Democrats Bill Clinton and then-California Jerry Brown. But Carson let the politicians make their political points while he kept to the middle of the road.

RONALD REAGAN: If government would shut the doors and sneak away for about three weeks we'd never miss them…

JOHNNY CARSON: Anyone you had in mind particularly? [LAUGHTER]

I used to stay up late watching the monologues and some of the interviews, beginning with Allen and ending with Leno. It’s not worth it anymore. It’s the same with many of the award shows. It’s why ratings for the Oscars and Emmys have fallen. After a long day that usually includes exposure to politics in conversations, or on cable TV, I suspect many people are hungry for entertainment.

There is another reason why people are watching less late-night TV. We can access excerpts of the shows on YouTube and other platforms, while getting a good night’s sleep.

Despite overwhelming evidence that people are tired of politics replacing comedy, the left is determined to keep force-feeding us the same political gruel. This includes speeches from award winners, lecturing viewers. They are now suffering the consequences of their misguided decision.

On the day CBS announced cancellation of his show and the vacating of his time slot, Colbert denounced the network. He had been critical of CBS before when network owner Paramount agreed to a $16 million settlement with President Trump over a Bill Whitaker “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris before the election. Trump had claimed the interview was heavily and deceptively edited to make her sound better.

Colbert’s denunciations of his employer violate another truth: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

I’m Cal Thomas.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.