The 2005 issue #2 of EMMY magazine (http://www.emmys.tv)
is all about late-night talk shows. 1 article nominates
both DD & Bonnie Hunt as best late-night talk-show guests:
===> pages 70-73:
'fess and impress
Through poetry or lunacy, the best late-night guests reveal
something of themselves. And they always come prepared.
by David Bushman & Arthur Smith
What makes a great late-night talk-show guest? An informal
survey of late-night veterans -- both on camera and off --
suggests an ideal guest is thoughtful, witty, spontaneous,
prepared, substantial, eloquent, loquacious, amiable,
controversial.
Or not. The key, it seems, is chemistry with the host
and, unfortunately for talent bookers, this quality is
impossible to predict -- and almost as hard to define.
"It's a mysterious thing," says veteran talk-show host
Dick Cavett, "but you know it the minute they start
talking. When it happens, you sit back and say,
'This is going to be a wonderful ride.'"
[snip rest of article]
[sidebar 1]:
Great Guests' Hall of Fame
Who do late-night insiders consider ideal guests? Prepared,
engaging, provocative performers with an innate understanding
of the requirements of the genre. Like the following:
Jonathan Winters
Peter Ustinov
Charles Grodin
Tony Randall
Steve Martin
Bill Cosby
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Martin Short
Tom Hanks
Penn & Teller
[sidebar 2]:
Future Hall of Famers
BONNIE HUNT: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY has dubbed Hunt "the best
talk-show guest in America." In fact, her relaxed, sunny
manner and lightning-quick improv skills so impressed
David Letterman that he produced two of her sitcoms.
Highlights of her segments invariably reveal wry tales of
her eccentric family -- and good-natured shots at Dave.
AMY SEDARIS [...]
JIM CARREY [...]
DAVID DUCHOVNY: His incouciant erudition and deadpan charm
lend an unusual edge to his segments on talk shows, as he
plays his clean-cut image against a subtly naughty and often
bizarre sense of humor. One of his best performances was
his recurring role as himself on the fictional LARRY SANDERS
SHOW, in which his ambiguous homo***ual attraction to Sanders
lent an excruciatingly funny tension to their interactions.
His ludicrous-yet-touching Johnny Volcano character on Bonnie
Hunt's fictional talk show LIFE WITH BONNIE similarly stole
the show. After a recent real-life appearance on THE LATE
LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON, VARIETY's Brian Lowry suggested
Duchovny "should contemplate becoming a professional guest."
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