Of course, not all forays into late night television succeed, and among the more spectacular failures is The Chevy Chase Show. Scheduled to take advantage of Carson’s retirement and the upheaval across the networks, Fox signed Chase for $3 million dollars, and cancelled the show after just five weeks.

The opening of the first show is uncomfortable viewing, not least because of Chase’s clear unease with his format, but also because of that giant, cavernous stage.

There’s not much to find on YouTube, but here’s the second part of his first interview with Goldie Hawn …

The Chevy Chase Show

Clips from Late Night with David Letterman seem to be few and far between online, so it’s nice to see this one. It’s interesting to note Dave’s attitude to the monologue here, clearly not interested; something he changed with his move to 11.30pm.

David Letterman

There’s a veritable treasure trove of classic talk show moments on YouTube. Not only the Carson archives, but now also hundreds of interviews from The Merv Griffin Show. Hopefully you can ignore the annoying captions, and enjoy the moments.

Here’s a young Richard Pryor making quite an entrance, and then later, he gets to meet his comedy hero Jerry Lewis. It must have been quite something to have seen your idol laughing at something you just said.

Richard Pryor

I like this sketch from The Kids In The Hall a great deal; one line in particular always makes me laugh out loud, not least because of Dave Foley’s pitch perfect delivery.

The Kids In The Hall

I’ve had this stuck in my head all day …

The Kids In The Hall