George Miller Collection on Letterman, Part 1 of 6: 1981-1982

When Dave moved to L.A. in mid-1975 to begin his career in stand-up comedy, among his closest contemporaries there were Tom Dreesen, Johnny Dark, Jay Leno, and George Miller. The trajectory to national exposure would always begin with an appearance on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

Among these five, Tom Dreesen was the first to make the cut, debuting on Carson December 9, 1975, after being bumped twice shortly before. He had a reliable and safe act that garnered more time on the show throughout the rest of the '70s.

George Miller was next, his first stand-up on Carson May 19, 1976. Jay Leno followed 10 months later on March 3, 1977. Dave finally debuted on the show over a year and a half later, November 24, 1978.

(Johnny Dark's only Tonight Show appearance occurred on August 27, 1981, with Bill Cosby guest-hosting.)

At the time, Johnny was most impressed with George's debut appearance. By his fourth spot, George was invited for the first time to home-base and chat with Johnny.

Throughout 1976 and then the first 7 months of 1977, George and later Jay were appearing on the show with Johnny every two months, each time earning home-base chat followups. But then soon after, both began appearing with guest hosts.

Something soured between Jay and Johnny by the second half of 1977. Meanwhile, George's act had begun to get stale, regurgitating the same material from earlier appearances. He was showing up less frequently, and by August 1980 he had lost his home-base followup status.

Meanwhile Dave's stature ignited with Johnny: he got to home base after his debut stand-up, and he began guest-hosting the show four months later.

So what does all this tell us? Both George and Jay started out strong, gaining Johnny's praise and encouragement, but both burned out, Jay much sooner than George. Maybe Dave learned from their experiences. Or maybe Johnny felt a kinship with another midwesterner in Dave (George: Seattle; Jay: Boston). Who knows, but something clicked with Johnny and Dave that didn't with Jay and George.

While George was on the outs with Johnny by the early '80s, he could rely on Dave for frequent guest spots throughout Dave's Late Night run (1982-93) and then dependably during Dave's Late Show era before he passed (1993-2002).

By the late '80s, after having established his now-go-to spots with Dave, George's infrequent Tonight Show appearances were met with strong audience support. His act had become tighter with newer material and a confidence lacking in his mid-'70s appearances.

But George's home was with his friend Dave. Here are all of his appearances on Dave's shows, in six parts, beginning with Dave's remembrances of his good friend after George's death in early March 2003.

1. March 31, 2003. Dave's eulogy, along with George's second Tonight Show appearance from July 20, 1976.
George had passed away on March 5. Dave was unable to attend his funeral due to a bout with shingles, so this was the first time Dave was able to address his friend's legacy.

2. April 1981. Looking for Fun. A tour of George Miller's studio apartment in L.A.
Thanks to Merrill Markoe for her blessing in having this clip included.

Late Night:
1982:
3. February 3, 1982. In his room, 1
All of the "Reports from George Miller's Room" on Late Night were actually videotaped in writer/segment producer Gerard Mulligan's apartment in NYC. Some of these segments were written by Merrill.
4. February 15, 1982. In his room, 2
5. February 24, 1982. In his room, 3
6. March 9, 1982. In his room, 4
George preferred these remote segments, but Merrill told him that she could no longer spend the time writing more material for him. So he abandoned the idea and began appearing on the show in person.
7. March 23, 1982. First appearance in the Late Night studio with Dave.
All of his studio appearances in 1982 were at home-base with no stand-ups preceding them.
8. April 30, 1982.
9. June 23, 1982.
10. July 9, 1982.
11. September 1, 1982.
12. October 14, 1982.
13. December 20, 1982.