Booze Flows on Tonight Show
May 1 -- How does Jay Leno get some of his guests to open up? By plying them with booze, the Los Angeles Times reveals.
One source tells the Times that stars today tend to be too stiff and over-prepared, so alcohol is one way of getting them to loosen up. Hence, last fall, the big-chinned host requested that there be alcoholic beverages on hand, especially for his female guests.
"Spontaneity is something we're always trying to achieve and never able to," says one Tonight Show source, who talked only on condition of anonymity. "So maybe [alcohol] does fuel a little spontaneity."
One reported partaker was Charlize Theron, who complimented the show's margaritas, but Gary Oldman, an Alcoholics Anonymous member, turned down the offer for a drink, the paper reports.
Reps for The Tonight Show acknowledged to the Times that guests are offered alcoholic drinks but said that the "bar" in question is only a minimally stocked "bar cart." The rep also added that the show provides transportation for its guests, so presumably there's no danger of any drinking and driving incidents.
Backstage booze was once a staple on talkers like Dean Martin's 1960s-era show, but alcoholic beverages gradually disappeared from most green rooms, to be replaced by herbal tea. One notable exception to the teetotaling talk show was the short-lived Joan Rivers Show in the 1980s, which "had a better bar than Ma Maison," recalls Vince Calandra Sr., a talent executive. "It was like a party. I never saw acts drink that much."
The Tonight Show isn't hosting the only open talk show bar today, as various publicists acknowledged to the Times. ABC's Politically Incorrect has alcohol for guests, but no bar or bartender, while CBS's The Late Show With David Letterman offers just cookies and water backstage but has drinks on hand for certain, unidentified guests. The audience for Comedy Central's The Man Show is plied with — but of course — cups of beer, while MTV's Spring Break is alcohol-free, according to a network spokeswoman.
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