Rodney Dangerfield Roasted Johnny Carson to His Face

Wednesday 6 February 1980. Rodney Dangerfield, fifty-eight, five months before Caddyshack, tells Johnny Carson he ended up with a desk job. Eight seconds later he has nothing left to say. We've now watched three of his nights on this couch, and they all stall at the same place: about nine minutes in. In 1976 he ran out and Carson handed him a topic. In 1979 Carson cut to a commercial right on a laugh. In 1980 Carson reaches for the next guest. Our argument: the jokes are Rodney's, but Carson decides when the segment ends. Our counts, on a transcript of each tape (a pause of 2.5 seconds or more after a line): standing up, 3.9 laughs a minute in 1976, 4.0 in 1979, 4.8 in 1980; on the couch, 2.5, 3.4 and 3.3. Sources: the rights holder's upload on the Johnny Carson channel, 6 February 1980 (   • Full Appearance - Rodney Dangerfield Has L...  ); the 1976 and 1979 nights from our previous episode (   • Johnny Carson Couldn't Stop Laughing at Ro...  ). Wikipedia on Rodney Dangerfield and on Caddyshack. Every quote is said on the tape. Chapters 0:00 A desk job 0:17 Minute nine 0:36 February 1980: the act 3:09 The couch 8:06 Three nights, one clock Sources Every clip is real; every airdate is from the rights holder's own publication, a catalogue or a newspaper listing; every read is attributed to the person who made it. One link per source. • Johnny Carson (official), 6 February 1980 —    • Full Appearance - Rodney Dangerfield Has L...   • Wikipedia, Rodney Dangerfield — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_... The clips • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Eight clips from one tape, the rights holder's own upload of 6 February 1980 (11:16), with our commentary between them. Every window was set on the word timings of a transcript of the tape. About the pictures There are no generated pictures in this episode. Every frame is the rights holder's own tape; between the clips we stop it on a real frame and draw on it (circles, labels, the date), and the bar charts are our own count. Captions are added. The thumbnail is a frame from the tape, upscaled. The narration is synthesised.