the Late Late Tom Snyder
July 30, 2007 9:01 AM   Subscribe

 
Here's a better link.

I always liked him for his interviews, though his eyebrows had a life of their own.
posted by krinklyfig at 9:07 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by kjh at 9:17 AM on July 30, 2007


This is a sad day.

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(I'd love to see some of those interviews mentioned in the wikipedia bio.)
posted by purephase at 9:22 AM on July 30, 2007


Thanks Krinklyfig, sysadmins can you fix that please?
posted by doctor_negative at 9:22 AM on July 30, 2007


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Here's an interview he did with the Clash in '81.
posted by octothorpe at 9:24 AM on July 30, 2007 [2 favorites]


I remember this interview with Charles Manson; it was something else.

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posted by TedW at 9:26 AM on July 30, 2007 [1 favorite]


Here's Snyder's interview with The Clash. He was excellent at letting his subjects' personalities show as strong as possible but reining it all in.
posted by Mayor Curley at 9:32 AM on July 30, 2007


That's too bad - he had an incredible voice.
posted by holycola at 9:33 AM on July 30, 2007


Tom Snyder interviews KISS in 1979: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.
posted by amyms at 9:44 AM on July 30, 2007


I always liked the way he seemed genuinely amused in a friendly way.
posted by srboisvert at 9:47 AM on July 30, 2007


I loved his voice and his personality.

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posted by gyc at 9:52 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by davebush at 9:57 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by fletchmuy at 10:13 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by Rock Steady at 10:17 AM on July 30, 2007


Watching Johnny Carson and then Tom was the golden age of the late shows.
posted by JohnR at 10:17 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by SassHat at 10:19 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by Smart Dalek at 10:22 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by MarshallPoe at 10:28 AM on July 30, 2007


I always enjoyed Dan Aykroyd's impersonation of Tom Snyder. Rest in peace.

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posted by Sailormom at 10:34 AM on July 30, 2007


The Howard Stern interview is classic. Tom hated Stern from the outset and Stern returned the sentiment. When the interview was finally over, Synder threw up his hands and stormed off camera, leaving HS with a quizzical look on his face.
posted by zorro astor at 10:46 AM on July 30, 2007 [1 favorite]


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posted by PHINC at 10:46 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by 10sball at 11:03 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by Astro Zombie at 11:09 AM on July 30, 2007 [1 favorite]



Iggy with Tom from 1980. I watched alot of this show... loved Tom's reaction of complete suprise and delight with what guests came up with.
posted by readery at 11:14 AM on July 30, 2007


One of my favorite Snyder anecdotes, related on his show one night..

Snyder said that when he was promoting the first episode of the then new Late Late. a reporter asked who he wanted for his first interview. He responded, "Well.. you know how it is. You start off wanting God, then it ends up you're lucky if you can get Suzanne Somers." The day after that interview hit the stands, Tom said, he got a fax. "It was from Suzanne. It was only two words and the second word was 'you.'" And then Tom just laughed his ass off.

And, of course, Tom's guest the night he told this anecdote... was none other than Suzanne Somers.
posted by Clay201 at 11:17 AM on July 30, 2007 [2 favorites]


I loved his show on cable, can't remember if it was CNBC or MSNBC, when I was in high school. Low-key, engaging, just always pleasant and entertaining. And he had a sense of humor about how things went in his previous incarnation at NBC, when I think he was rumored to be a bit of a prima donna. Alas.
posted by ibmcginty at 11:36 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by Joey Michaels at 11:44 AM on July 30, 2007


I almost died laughing when I heard he'd been named the host of the Late Late Show, recalling that Letterman had told Larry Sanders he was hiring him for the time slot just to yank his chain (but Sanders misunderstood and hired him to follow his own show.)

I wish I could see more of him anchoring the news. What few clips I've seen of those years depict a very conversational style.
posted by evilcolonel at 11:45 AM on July 30, 2007


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posted by ZachsMind at 11:47 AM on July 30, 2007


My favorite Snyder guests were Harlan Ellison, James Woods and Robert Blake (before he got all shooty). All highly entertaining interviews...wish there were some clips online.
posted by Tim McDonough at 12:11 PM on July 30, 2007


When I got laid off from my first job back in 1981, I got into the habit of staying up late and Tom Snyder's Tomorrow Show became part of my nightly routine. I remember being severely ticked off when it was announced that Snyder was going off the air in favor of some guy named Letterman. I tuned in to Dave's first few shows, expecting to hate him, but I was quickly hooked.

RIP Tom
posted by Oriole Adams at 12:15 PM on July 30, 2007


BUmmer. His show was the first place I ever saw U2. Back in the late 1970's.
posted by mmahaffie at 12:23 PM on July 30, 2007


Quite a few years ago I worked at a gourmet shop on Second Avenue in NYC. It was the busy Christmas season, and Tom Snyder was in, perusing the cheese. Suddenly a shoplifter picked up a salami, shoved it under his sweatshirt, and ran out of the store. Ritchie, the manager of the shop, took off after the shoplifter and managed to tackle him a block away. When Ritchie returned triumphantly, holding the salami aloft, I said, "Wow! What did you SAY to the guy when you tackled him?" Tom Snyder, who had been watching the proceedings with amusement, said, "What the hell ELSE would you say to the guy but 'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SALAMI?!'"

He'll be missed.
posted by Wylie Kyoto at 12:40 PM on July 30, 2007 [1 favorite]


My favorite Snyder guests were Harlan Ellison [...]

Hell, yes. I made a point of tuning in to see his Ellison interviews (and Ellison is explicitly mentioned in a couple of the obit-bios I've seen today) and got subsequentlyturned on to Snyder's style and genius. Just some incredble conversation. Insightful, boisterous, just damn good TV.
posted by solid-one-love at 12:55 PM on July 30, 2007


Fire up the colortinis and watch the pictures as they fly through the air.
posted by Saucy Intruder at 1:20 PM on July 30, 2007 [1 favorite]


He also gave Weird Al his Network TV Debut. Obviously.
posted by wendell at 1:37 PM on July 30, 2007


He was a legend. Here's the archive of Colortini. (Although most of the links will go to the hair dye site now.)
posted by dejah420 at 1:49 PM on July 30, 2007


I saw him on lower 5th ave (just above the park) once in NYC. The thing that was odd was that it was early sunday morning, and we were the only two people on the street. No cars even. I just nodded as he passed me and he gave me a smile, but I have always regretted that I didn't say more.

I remember seeing Wendy O Williams destroy a car on his show when I was a kid. Tom was the best.
posted by vronsky at 1:54 PM on July 30, 2007


fans might enjoy these dvds


Tom Snyder's Electric Kool-Aid Talk Show

Punk & New Wave
posted by vronsky at 2:04 PM on July 30, 2007


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I'll have a colortini in his honor.
posted by Soliloquy at 2:14 PM on July 30, 2007




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posted by spasm at 3:10 PM on July 30, 2007


I was shocked to learn of his death when someone mentioned it in the Bergman thread earlier.

I don't recall that much about his later show, but oh, that Tomorrow Show. Just Tom, his cigarette and a guest in a darkish studio. Although for some reason(!) I recall such in-the-field forays as his visit to a nudist colony. The arching eyebrows got a workout there.

And amen to whoever invoked Tom and Carson in the same breath. They ain't making 'em like that anymore.
posted by NorthernLite at 3:29 PM on July 30, 2007


I remember Synder being displeased at something that a cameraman or sound technician or teleprompter operator did, and ripping him a new one on the air, on national TV.

That's when I lost all respect for the man.
posted by Daddio at 3:59 PM on July 30, 2007


AFAIK, to amplify what TedW said, Tom Snyder was the only Major TV Personality who could interview Charlie Manson more or less like any other of his interviewees, unlike Geraldo who did nothing but grandstand. (Too bad neither could get Charlie to make a lick of sense; THIS raving loon was a murderous guru?)
posted by davy at 4:09 PM on July 30, 2007 [1 favorite]


I made a point of tuning in to see his Ellison interviews

Thirded. I think a few recordings of those episodes are about the only things I still have on VHS. I remember one episode where Ellison was wondering why those watermark symbols were always on the lower corners of the TV on cable stations and what they were for, and Snyder pointed out that it makes it easy to find channels if you travel since not all markets will have the same channel in the same place. I don't know if that's the actually reason, but ever since then any time it's come up that's the one I've used.
posted by Cyrano at 4:16 PM on July 30, 2007


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posted by Skygazer at 4:46 PM on July 30, 2007


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he was very cool--and very adult, to my eyes and ears back then. He was like the nightime, dark version of Bill Boggs.
posted by amberglow at 5:22 PM on July 30, 2007


the only things I still have on VHS. I remember one episode where Ellison was wondering why those watermark symbols were always on the lower corners of the TV on cable stations and what they were for, and Snyder pointed out that it makes it easy to find channels if you travel since not all markets will have the same channel in the same place. I don't know if that's the actually reason, but ever since then any time it's come up that's the one I've used.

I thought those only really became prominent because of VHS and copying. Before that they weren't on every show all the time i don't think--and they were more local station things and not network.
posted by amberglow at 5:26 PM on July 30, 2007


Before that they weren't on every show all the time i don't think--and they were more local station things and not network.

I thought they were mostly a cable thing. I don't really recall seeing them until the early 90's, which would have been beyond the VHS WILL RUIN US ALL!!!1! point, I think. The one Ellison was talking about, I think, was the Saturn one the Sci-Fi channel used. I just did a quick Tivo sweep of a few cable channels that I know used to have them but didn't see any. Anyhoo, it was just a shared Snyder memory, not a statement of fact ;)

Tim McDonough and solid-one-love, Harlan just posted about it on his forum if you're interested.
posted by Cyrano at 5:51 PM on July 30, 2007


And just to be perfectly clear, I think.
posted by Cyrano at 5:52 PM on July 30, 2007


item writes "I'm not saying good riddance, but notice what this sentence doesn't end with"

Well, it's not a preposition.

[NOT PRESCRIPTIVIST]
posted by krinklyfig at 6:15 PM on July 30, 2007


I loved him on the Late Late Show. The only interviews that have stuck with him are the ones with Blake and Snoop. I used to really think that one day I'd tune in and he would have Robert Blake and an audience full of blue-haired old ladies.

He could be strange but I'd still watch him anyday over Jimmy Kimmel or Jay Leno.
posted by who squared at 6:47 PM on July 30, 2007


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posted by brandz at 6:52 PM on July 30, 2007


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posted by geekyguy at 8:15 PM on July 30, 2007


I didn't see Tomorrow, but I loved his post-Letterman slot on CBS. Amazing how interesting a good interview could be. Too bad I had to wait until 12:37 am to start watching it.

I seem to recall him saying one night that he didn't mind being made fun of, but Ackroyd's version of his laugh was just wrong, and THAT was what annoyed him about it.

RIP, Tom. May your Colortini bar always be well-stocked.
posted by pmurray63 at 8:29 PM on July 30, 2007


Jesus, item, way to shit on someone's obituary thread. You know what Thumper says - if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say nothing at all. Fucking wanking hipsters - give the guy a little respect, will you? He just died, fer chrissake!

I for one will miss him.

* - because that's what a colortini would be in heaven, I imagine.
posted by rmm at 11:11 PM on July 30, 2007


Nuff respect to Mr. Snyder. One of the only things worth watching on TV IMHO.
posted by stinkycheese at 10:34 AM on July 31, 2007


"I seem to recall him saying one night that he didn't mind being made fun of, but Ackroyd's version of his laugh was just wrong, and THAT was what annoyed him about it."

I remember that! And I wish I knew where and when I saw that cuz I'd like to see it again. I recall thinking what utterly delicious gaul Tom had, to simultaneously understand how impersonation is a sincere form of flattery while also criticising the person 'complimenting' him. It was apparent that Snyder wasn't being stupid, he was just playing stupid. He was turning the joke at his expense into another much dryer joke and I loved him for it. From a critical comedic perspective, It's like Dan Ackroyd offered him a beer and he turned it into a martini. That's style.

I wish there were proof somewhere, like a photograph or something, where Ackroyd and Snyder had a drink together all smiles and everything. I like to think they woulda gotten along. Two consummate grandstanding blowhards that I will always have immense respect for.

...God. I rue the day we have to pass out the periods for Danny.
posted by ZachsMind at 4:52 PM on July 31, 2007


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