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| ] for ]'s ] in the ], '''Tom Snyder''' (born ], ] in ]) was raised Roman Catholic and educated by the Jesuits, and gained national fame as the host of '']'', which aired late-nights after '']'' on ] from ]–]. It was a talk-show unlike the usual late-night fare, with Snyder asking hard-hitting questions without pulling punches. When not grilling guests, Tom would often joke around with off-stage crewmen, often breaking out in a distinctive staccato laugh that was the basis of ]'s impersonation of Snyder on '']''. | ] for ]'s ] in the ], '''Tom Snyder''' (born ], ] in ]) was raised Roman Catholic and educated by the Jesuits, and gained national fame as the host of '']'', which aired late-nights after '']'' on ] from ]–]. It was a talk-show unlike the usual late-night fare, with Snyder asking hard-hitting questions without pulling punches. When not grilling guests, Tom would often joke around with off-stage crewmen, often breaking out in a distinctive staccato laugh that was the basis of ]'s impersonation of Snyder on '']''. | ||
| Peak moments with Snyder on ''The Tomorrow Show'' included ]'s final televised interview, in ] ] (replayed in ] ] as a tribute to Lennon, and later released on ]), and ]'s first American television appearence in ] ]. The show was cancelled in 1982 to make room for up-and-coming young comedian ], following a disastrous experiment with turning ''Tomorrow'' into a more typical talk show, adding a live audience and a co-host, ], whom Snyder detested. | Peak moments with Snyder on ''The Tomorrow Show'' included ]'s final televised interview, in ] ] (replayed in ] ] as a tribute to Lennon, and later released on ]), and ]'s first American television appearence in ] ]. The show was cancelled in 1982 to make room for up-and-coming young comedian ], following a disastrous experiment with turning ''Tomorrow'' into a more typical talk show, adding a live audience and a co-host, ], whom Snyder detested. | ||
Revision as of 07:06, 1 October 2005
Newscaster for New York's WNBC-TV in the 1970s, Tom Snyder (born May 12, 1936 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) was raised Roman Catholic and educated by the Jesuits, and gained national fame as the host of The Tomorrow Show, which aired late-nights after The Tonight Show on NBC from 1973–82. It was a talk-show unlike the usual late-night fare, with Snyder asking hard-hitting questions without pulling punches. When not grilling guests, Tom would often joke around with off-stage crewmen, often breaking out in a distinctive staccato laugh that was the basis of Dan Aykroyd's impersonation of Snyder on Saturday Night Live.
Peak moments with Snyder on The Tomorrow Show included John Lennon's final televised interview, in April 1975 (replayed in December 1980 as a tribute to Lennon, and later released on home video), and U2's first American television appearence in June 1981. The show was cancelled in 1982 to make room for up-and-coming young comedian David Letterman, following a disastrous experiment with turning Tomorrow into a more typical talk show, adding a live audience and a co-host, Rona Barrett, whom Snyder detested.
An older, slightly more mellow Tom returned to virtually the same format on ABC Radio in the late 1980s, then to television on CNBC in the early '90s, adding the opportunity for viewers to call in with their own questions for his guests. Meanwhile, Letterman had moved on to CBS and was given control of creating a new program to follow his at 12:35 am; Letterman—who had idolized Snyder for years—hired Snyder in 1995 as host of The Late Late Show. (The idea had actually begun as a running joke on Letterman's show, that Snyder would soon follow him on the air as he'd once followed Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show, and the unlikely idea caught on.) This show aired live on the East Coast and was simulcast to other time zones on radio to allow everyone a chance to call in. (Snyder's CNBC show was taken over, largely unchanged in format, by Charles Grodin.) Snyder left The Late Late Show in 1999, which was then reformatted for new host Craig Kilborn.
Tom posted regular messages on his own website, colortini.com, during the early 2000s. A "colortini," according to Tom in the CNBC era, was the drink you should enjoy while watching the show ("Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."). For the CBS show, he redubbed the mythical drink a "simultini." In April, 2005, Snyder revealed that he is battling chronic lymphocytic leukemia, but that his doctors had told him it is "treatable".
On July 28th 2005 Tom annouced he was deleting his website after 6 years, saying, "The novelty of communicating this way has worn off." And on August 1st 2005 colortini.com was abruptly taken offline. The front page was replaced with "Colortini is gone. Thanks for the Memories."
| Preceded byNone | Host of The Late Late Show 1995 – 1999 |
Succeeded byCraig Kilborn |