When we left off, Dave Garroway had filled in on ABC’s Nightlife, one of a series of substitutes for Les Crane. Garroway had been a hit with the critics, who praised the wit and intelligence he brought to a show that had been known more for bombast and controversy, and urged ABC to make more permanent arrangements for Garroway on Nightlife.
ABC listened…to a point. In June ABC made an announcement about the future of Nightlife. Les Crane would get a four-week shot as host. Joining him in supporting roles would be comedian Nipsey Russell…and Dave Garroway, who would get a nightly feature in which he could talk about whatever was on his mind. “Garroway’s unique slant on life and his marvelous talent for spotting the unusually un-noticed wonders around us have been sorely missed in television,” producer Dwight Hemion said. It would mean a regular gig for Garroway, but to some it was still a disappointment. “I wish they’d give him the entire show,” columnist Dorothy Stanich wrote.
When Crane’s Nightlife came back, his supporting cast seemed to draw more favorable attention than Crane himself. Kay Gardella said Crane was fortunate to have the talents of Russell and Garroway “to boost him in his undeveloped areas – comedy and knowledge. Garroway’s concern over the tilting Empire State Building gave the program just the right slant.1 Now all he and Nipsey have to do is make certain Crane stays upright until he’s back in the ABC saddle for good.” Nadine Subotnik believed neither Russell, “a good comedian and an intelligent gentleman,” and Garroway, “a long-time easy talker,” were being used too wisely. “Crane still doesn’t have the easy and low-key approach that wears best in the late and long hours.”
The one sour note about Garroway came from Gee Mitchell, who said the show “really wasn’t very good. Les Crane didn’t come on quite so strong, so that’s good.” Mitchell liked Nipsey Russell and found him genuinely funny2, but found Garroway tedious. “We could have done without Dave Garroway’s inane bit about buildings falling down…move over Oscar Levant.”
As the weeks went on it appeared things were looking good. Three weeks in ABC granted an extension to Crane, as well as to Russell and Garroway. To columnist Cindy Adams, Garroway expressed happiness. “I worried about it a week before,” he said, “but I really needed it. Maybe I never knew there was that much ham in me. It’s just that when I’m facing a camera I relax. It’s the only time I can completely. I feel no more fears of any sort….I’m calm because that camera is my friend.”
And then – as happened so often in Garroway’s later years – the bottom fell out. Rumors had circulated that Nightlife would move to Los Angeles. In August, the rumors got confirmation. The move would make it easier to get guests from among the Hollywood set, and it would distinguish the show from the New York-based Johnny Carson show.
But it would make the move without Dave Garroway. “I’ve got too many kids in the fire here, so to speak,” he told the press. Garroway said he had proposed being an East Coast correspondent for the Los Angeles-based version, but had heard nothing back. Hemion floated an idea about flying Garroway in from New York on an occasional basis, “but there’s nothing firm yet.” And while Garroway would contribute a few pieces to Nightlife after the move, for the most part the program went on without him.
After the dust had settled, Garroway claimed he had been eased out of the gig. “The deal was that I was to be a regular guest for as many as one to five times a week,” he said. “I was on five times in one week, then three, then two, and finally once a week for the past two weeks. Now? I don’t know….I guess I came to network television in the morning, and I’m going out at night.” His interviewer asked if it was the end of the line. “It sort of appears that way, doesn’t it?” Garroway said. “I haven’t worked on network television for four years, and it doesn’t look like I have anything to look forward to.”
It would take time, but other opportunities would come his way.
- It’s a long story that I’m saving for the book, but Garroway liked to talk about a “devastation computer” he developed that anyone could make by folding and cutting a piece of paper, then holding it up to your eye to determine if you would be in the safe area if a tall building fell over.
- Absolutely. Nipsey Russell was awesomeness. I’ll fight anybody who says otherwise.