Many in 1986, including top executives at NBC, thought it was possible that Johnny Carson would retire after reaching his 25th anniversary on October 1, 1987, as it was such a logical cut-off point.
In spring 1986, a confidential memo between top NBC executives listing about 10 possible successors in the event of Carson's retirement the next year was leaked.
In addition, Rivers noted numerous snubs from NBC executives over the years, such as not being invited to the annual Carson party until recently, and taking the fall for a controversial joke that management approved during rehearsal.
That station's previous owners, the Christian Broadcasting Network, objected to the show's content and refused to clear it.
Her guests were Howie Mandel, Pee-Wee Herman, then-fledgling comedian Chris Rock, Wendy O. Williams, and show stage manager Michelle Aller as her alter-ego Mavis Vegas Davis.
[4][5] Soon afterward the program was renamed The Late Show and featured rotating guest hosts including Suzanne Somers, Richard Belzer, and Robert Townsend.
On April 16, 1987, a meeting was held between Howard Stern and management of WNYW, Fox's flagship television station.
[7] They featured rock guitarist Leslie West of Mountain fame as band leader and Steve Rossi as announcer and singer.
During the monologue of his final appearance as host, Hall stated that the reason he had agreed to only do 13 weeks was because that was as long as he was able to stay, as he had plans "to do other things.
Guests tended to be third-string actors, with performances by lesser-known bands such as The Williams Brothers (Los Angeles) and The Amazing Pink Things (Seattle).
One noteworthy guest during Hall's era was Bob Barker, then in his fifteenth year as host of the game show The Price is Right.
The show came back with a new group of guest hosts, including comedians Jeff Joseph and John Mulrooney; Daniel Rosen took over as announcer, while Jack Mack and the Heart Attack became the new house band.
Ultimately, none of the tryout hosts would work out, and the network turned to Seattle TV personality Ross Shafer to take over The Late Show in April.
By the time Shafer began hosting, ratings were so low that the show could only attract newsmakers and human interest-style guests; this led to a format change in the summer to focus on tabloid and ripped-from-the-headlines stories.