The last time I checked, in the USA we're allowed to say or write stupid things, as long as lives aren't threatened or otherwise homicidal or injurious actions are not encouraged. Unfortunately, with the uproar surrounding ABC-TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel and his absurd comment this week regarding MAGA having a close relationship with the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the political right has paid homage to a very deep lesson from the howling leftist media which it (rightfully) despises so much.
While President Trump and his associates claim victory in the suspension of Kimmel from his nightly show -- and wishing the same fate for competing talk shows on other networks -- one wonders what happened to that thick skin traditionally enveloping conservative bodies, the attitude that says say what you will because words are words and they bounce off harmlessly like raindrops while making either valid or invalid points of view?
We understand also that Sinclair and Nexstar Broadcasting are in merger discussions, as are other broadcasters, and that there may be some desire here to please Trump and the FCC, who will be key players in the success of any such major corporate maneuver.
Me? I haven't watched a late-night TV talk show since the days of Johnny Carson, David Letterman and Jay Leno. These were the days when late-night TV was fun as well as educational. My favorite, however, was Tom Snyder on NBC, who invited the most outrageous guests and topics available.
Early in his career Snyder attempted a generally unsuccessful shot at acting, listed as Thomas Snyder, and if you're a fan of the fifties TV western, The Rifleman there is one episode where Snyder briefly shows up for mere seconds with several other actors as they sit upon horses in town. Don't blink or you'll miss the scene.
Yes, Snyder was a publicity hog, screwed up now and then with various news reporting ventures, but he was fun to watch. After he lost his Tomorrow TV show on NBC, he briefly hosted a syndicated call-in radio show out of L.A. and I was fortunate to have called in one night where I had the opportunity to speak with a Jackie Gleason historian -- who, strangely, seemed oblivious to the well-known fact that Gleason had owned one of the largest libraries of books regarding UFOs and the paranormal in the world.
But I do go on, don't I? I brought all of this up to lead in to another instance where ABC-TV banished a late-night host -- this time, forever. His name was Les Crane, once a popular DJ and once the husband of famed actress Tina Louise (who is still with us). During his popularity in the 1960s ad seventies Crane released a well-received LP record album entitled, Desiderata.
At a time when ABC was experimenting with the late-night format and making decisions on its future they joined with Crane to produce and offer national viewers a show with a studio audience in an attempt to compete with Carson and others who resided comfortably in the late hours of TV. Crane's show took off and enjoyed a fan base for a brief few weeks, though like its eventual successors beating NBC big time was a dream not to come true.
You can read all about the Crane show and its downfall on my earlier postings via this link: https://robert-barrow.blogspot.com/2007/05/tv-show-destroyed-by-ufos-part-1.html but my main point is that I believe Les Crane was canceled by ABC primarily because, during a caustic interview he conducted with the then-director of the UFO organization NICAP in the sixties, he also invited a skeptical -- no, make that a debunking -- astronomer to join in the emotionally charged "massacre" of Keyhoe's attempt to indict the Air Force re UFO information censorship. The national TV audience saw this as ganging up on Keyhoe and they were outraged. While NICAP suddenly received tons of new interest by the public, the standing of Crane's already fading show quickly deflated and cancellation was its fate.**
At the time, I was pleased about ABC's action, but felt bad because I did like Les Crane (an Air Force veteran like myself) and his talented career, and if this happened today I would feel differently because there really is room for everybody to speak -- even Jimmy Kimmel. So please, political right: Don't be like the radical left by wanting to censor what you don't like. Did you learn nothing while Biden was in charge? Respond boldly instead, and don't shoot the messenger for his stupid message.
** Once I started this blog years ago, I was surprised to get an e-mail from a member of Les Crane's family, inquiring about where to find my article. Whether there was merely some interest on the family's part or whether they suspected I was smearing Crane's name I do not know, but even after offering to give the person space to respond to my article I never heard anything more.
