The Les Crane Show

In the mid-'60s I was a true addict for TV talk shows, watching virtually all the famous ones (Tonight Show, Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Joey Bishop) and most of the political ones: Alan Burke, David Susskind, Joe Pyne, Lou Gordon (of "I was brainwashed" statement by Gov. Geroge Romney fame) and locally in Cleveland, Don Robertson, not to mention Woody Woodbury's unique series where he avoided the "blue" (naughty) comedy material of his comedy LPs/nightclub act that made him famous. But one of the most unique shows was on late night with actor Les Crane hosting, doing interviews and plenty of comedy.

Crane was extremely handsome - I typed him alongside the newsman/interviewer soon-after: Tom Snyder as a screen presence in this genre, and his lively show was less serious than most. But what made it memorable was his use of the "shotgun mic", a microphone that was mounted on a rod making it look like a weapon. Crane masterfully used it to point at the audience to interview people frequently, a distinctive feature making his show different from most, which generally adhered to the corny host behind desk plus guests on a couch.

The closest thing to Crane's format was Johnny Carson entertainingly going out into his Tonight Show audience, mic in hand, to play Stump the Band. But no one to my surprise ever followed up Les's skilled use of technology (shotgun mic) to integrate the studio audience into the show.