Nobody makes me laugh more than Chris Elliott and I have no idea why. I love the "please, whatever you do, don't come to the island" bit. The exchange between Chris and Letterman is priceless. I miss Late Night. There's nothing like it.

After all these years this still holds up. I'm laughing my ass off.

Nobody makes me laugh more than Chris Elliott. Thank you for this compilation. It is wonderful to re-watch these great memories of my early 30s!

@jude999

3 ай бұрын

He and Chris Farley are the only ones who can make me laugh.

I also love the feigned tension, disdain, and animosity that Paul Schaefer projects as "Marlon" refers to him as Ringo. Comedy gold.

@dongiller

5 жыл бұрын

Shaffer; Paul Shaffer.

@philtll

4 жыл бұрын

@Christopher Marlowe shut the fuck up, douchebag

@shokojimhollingsworth3940

4 жыл бұрын

You can see Paul is having a tough time keeping a straight face, but his job was to look annoyed and insulted by Chris, no matter what character Chris was doing 😂

@luispin144

3 жыл бұрын

Lol...true...Paul wasn't too amused by Chris ...hilarious

@maitreyas.4902

3 жыл бұрын

Paul was always awesome.

"A royal jab! I've just been slain by Sir Joke-a-lot". Another classic lol.

"I beg you now on my hands and knees to kill me with all your might" Who could come up with a line like that other than Chris Elliott? I'm so grateful that I saw so much of this when it originally aired, never knowing what was going to happen next. Don Geller deserves all praise for these incredible collections.

"May I be so bold as to interrupt your late-night cavalcade of giggles..."

Chris Elliott is certainly one of the greatest things to happen to the Letterman show as well as television overall. Hard to explain why he is so enjoyable, exactly, but his brand of quirky humor is just AWESOME!

@MkeKen67

3 жыл бұрын

Doesn't hurt that Chris Elliott is the son of Bob Elliott of comedy duo Bob & Ray.

@HolmanHal

6 ай бұрын

@@MkeKen67 Indeed. Bob Elliott & Ray Goulding were THE best comedy duo ever despite not gaining the wider public exposure they deserved. All the more reason to appreciate their subtle, low-key, hilarious humor on radio, TV and occasionally in-person.

I never get tired of watching all of Chris Elliot's characters, especially Brando. Chris was pure genius!

@sheppygawdog1954

Жыл бұрын

Especially because from 1980 to 1989 Brando had become a recluse. When Brando came on Connie Chung, it became clear how stunningly accurate Chris' portrayal actually was. So much so I thought he was doing a parody of the parody for the first few minutes. I wonder what Chung thought, because she was quite friendly with Letterman. She was a “friend of the show” if not actually a friend of Dave. She asked Connie about Dave and he responded with an infamous ape-like face.

@lockandloadlikehell

Жыл бұрын

​@@sheppygawdog1954 WAT

Chris's impression of an idea of what Marlon Brando might be like is delightful. From the outfits to his vernacular way of speech. Funny

40 years later and this is just as hilarious as when I first watched it. Chris Elliott is a comic genius and any time one of his running characters made an appearance was the highlight of the show.

Elliott as Brando continuously calling poor Paul "Ringo" is the most Brando thing ever.

@LeeKav

3 жыл бұрын

The cut-away to Paul's deadpan irritated expression kills me every time.

@MrThermostatic

3 жыл бұрын

@@LeeKav He's trying to portray Brando attempting to be hip to pop culture by calling him Ringo just because he's a musician.

@partickthistled594

7 ай бұрын

I get the impression Paul didn't like the bit which makes it even funnier for me.

@AlbertoVO5

7 ай бұрын

@@MrThermostaticyeah. We get it.

"I'm giving your audience a choice. They can laugh - or they can just sit there and just be baffled".

@mitchellyoung8561

4 жыл бұрын

ROTFLMAO at that. Meta before it was 'a thing'

@axeman6598

3 жыл бұрын

I couldn't have said it any better.......Stellar.

@walterdennon4342

3 жыл бұрын

Hey Fosbury. I like your high jump style.

@kymberlynnethompson9306

3 жыл бұрын

Annoyed is more like it!

@kamuelalee

3 жыл бұрын

Chris Elliott is Marlon Brando

I watched David Letterman religiously, from his very first show, when he started out in the mornings, through his very last, and one of my very favorite bits that Chris Elliot did was Marlon Brando - esp when he did The Banana Dance!!🤣 Thank you so much for posting this!!

May I be so bold, I can't believe I just sat through an hour and 15 minutes of that, and I loved it!

@theseattlegreen1871

3 жыл бұрын

That's bananas!🍌🍌🍌

@scottsteel4230

3 жыл бұрын

Me too.

I love how there is over an hour of him doing this character on Letterman. Now that's commitment to a bit.

@EweCantHandletheTruth

3 жыл бұрын

What are you talking about? What character?

What was great about these bits was that NOBODY was thinking about Brando in the 80's, Marlon had become a recluse and your average everyday dude had not clue about what he looked liked, his mannerisms, his thoughts ect at this time. At least not the general public he hand't made a movie since basically apocalypse now in the late 70's' Somehow Chris Elliot and the Letterman writers nailed it.

@makinoahcelloduo9008

4 жыл бұрын

Rod I disagree. As a high school student some of my friends and I were huge fans of Apocalypse Now and The Godfather. I went out of my way to watch every Brando movie I could and often did imitations of him from The Wild One, Streetcar, and those two movies.

@rooseveltbrentwood9654

4 жыл бұрын

makinoah cello duo I couldn’t get thru streetcar, but on the waterfront was great

@cedricbeard4609

2 жыл бұрын

Marlon Brando was a lot more revered in the late 1980s. His reclusiveness and faded looks had his popularity at a crescendo. Films like The Freshman were hits because Brando’s popularity was more Jordan like back then, his performance in The Godfather was the ultimate come back (critically and commercially).

The greatest actor to ever live impersonating Marlon Brando

@jasonsabourin9547

3 жыл бұрын

EXACTLY!

@giovanna8187

3 жыл бұрын

@Brandon S Mmm ...No.

@scottsteel4230

3 жыл бұрын

ABSOLUTELY.

@MkeKen67

3 жыл бұрын

John Travolta has done a pretty good Brando on SNL.

Amazing. When this show was focused on comedy, it was untouchable and unique.

Nothing beats Letterman in the 80's.

@OhanaFilms

5 жыл бұрын

Yep. He invented everything good about the late night formula that is still copied by literally everyone.

@christopherramon-reid9841

5 жыл бұрын

I agree. Letterman really bought a lot of unique elements to late night television that no one today can touch.

@bensondeadfromtheneckup5057

5 жыл бұрын

Bob Jones you nailed it!

@andyboa8107

4 жыл бұрын

I watch Letterman only due to Elliot. This or Fugitive guy, the clown, guy under stairs etc. Otherwise I find Conan O'Brien funnier, Dick Cavett smarter.

@forgive7449

4 жыл бұрын

@@andyboa8107 may i be so bold as to disagree with you..... and with that aside. i will leave you

This is surely one of the most audacious impressions ever done on television. Why? Because it was created from pure fantasy since Brando had not DONE any interviews in recent times, crazy or otherwise. What is so hilarious as Chris commented as that a few years later he was in the news again and WAS actually doing some show interviews and Elliott's image wasn't far off!

I’d get down on my knees and beg for more programming like this today - like a dog! I was born as it aired and wish I’d seen it live

@lockandloadlikehell

Жыл бұрын

ATHF is coming back

Thank you Don. This is a wonderful distraction. Chris Elliott is a genius.

I waited for these every week. They struck my comedy nerve 100%... it's hilarious. Chris Elliot is the comic genius of my generation imo, he's the funniest guy to me and a genius. Notice in these Marlon appearances, his physical appearance deteriorated and he became more incoherent with each appearance...a brilliant touch by Chris.

Elliot was genius, and Dave recognized it. You can tell Dave was genuinely amused by Chris' comedy. Elliot was also a superb writer for Late night.

@davidames1746

2 жыл бұрын

Elliot's Dad may have been a genius. Chris Elliot is sporadic funny. And these sequences are not well thought out. And YOU don;t know that Letterman thought this guy ws a genius. He may have put him on in deference to his father, and hoping for the best.

@wolfcola8797

2 жыл бұрын

This is old are you guys dead yet?

@guitarista67

Жыл бұрын

@@davidames1746 Great use of your time arguing about this, dumbass.

@petesmitt

Жыл бұрын

@@davidames1746 Chris started with the show as a production assistant in 1982; Chris demonstrated his talent as a writer that got him four Emmy awards, as well as his comedic ability doing skits, while on the show throughout the 80's; nothing to do with his father.

@PanzerBuyer

Жыл бұрын

I agree 100%.

May I be so bold? The last sketch where he asks "Are you an assassin?" still has me rolling. Great reference wrought hilarious. "I brought something from the McDonald's restaurant."😂😂😂

Dave being fascinated by Chris's banal process and need to explain the characters is the best part of these bits

Absolute comic genius, to use all the different aspects of Brando's 'back story' at the time for comic effect, some of it is very subtle it can go over folks' heads...

I still remember how great it was hearing the Superman theme and watching Chris/Marlon making his entrance. It always looked like the Letterman staff loved it too.

So, Chris is less than 30 years old when he's doing this and Letterman is barely 40. It's impossible and incredible.

To me, this was the acme of Chris’ comedy. I remember laughing so hard as a teenager watching these skits that I couldn’t breathe. Just brilliant self-consciously stupid hilarity. Humor deconstruction at its best. Playing the theme of “Superman”, Brando’s worst film performance, was a nice touch.The Garfield mugs bit is my favorite. “For I am not God.”

@guyjohnson259

Жыл бұрын

"worst film performance"???? are you kidding? he may have dialed it in on his terms but that performance was iconic, with just the perfect amount of gravitas.

@foobarmaximus3506

Жыл бұрын

blah

@lockandloadlikehell

Жыл бұрын

​@@guyjohnson259 Marlon Brando was Superman ?

@lockandloadlikehell

Жыл бұрын

​@@foobarmaximus3506 oh YOU

@HolmanHal

6 ай бұрын

@@lockandloadlikehell No.

The little cowboy outfit for Ringo was hilarious. And Kukla pulling the sleigh was insanely funny.

Chris Elliott as Marlon Brando NEVER GETS OLD. When I'm on my deathbed should that ever happen, I'm gonna request this set of clips and Abbott and Costello playing the radio and wanting to dance despite the landlords objections and getting ready for their vacation on a LOOP until I pass on to the great beyond

@TheMonolake

7 ай бұрын

Well said

I searched for Don Giller and Chris Elliott in hopes that it would cheer me up. Five hours later and I want to start all over again.

“How do you get Ringo to clam-up?” LMAO

@scottsteel4230

3 жыл бұрын

RINGO😆😆😆😆😆

This is some of the best late night television ever. Kimmel and Fallon and all the rest look like little school kids next to this genius.

@mdeodar

6 ай бұрын

Makes Colbert a little school girl...

@franklubbock8400

5 ай бұрын

Kimmel was obsessed with letterman’s show at the time.

@nigelmarshallkenyonabbott8684

5 ай бұрын

Colbert was nothing but a tool for anti-Republican jabs, especially when Trump was president. Boring comedy (?) no matter which side of the political aisle it came from

I had forgotten about his Brando schtick. Very funny. "He got me with another witty jab!.. and with that I will leave." lol

Someone on another one of these had the comment that the smaller studio made a difference too in the feel of Letterman in the 80s. That's a good point I never thought of the room being super important to a late night show. I like how intimate this feels, kinda thrown together but not really.

@Redhotlugnut

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, but I do remember Dave mentioning in an interview to Brokaw that he wanted to to 'really good shows' when he went to CBS. So for us fans that loved the 80's vibe, the CBS shows that had a lot of applause over the we were left rather disappointed in the change. Thank goodness for Don Giller though.

@lordofthemound3890

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I could never get into the atmosphere of Late Show. The room was too big, the acoustics different, and there was something “off” about Dave being up on a stage above the crowd instead of below them (as was the case at Late Night).

@Milesco

Жыл бұрын

@@Redhotlugnut _"the CBS shows that had a lot of applause over the we were left rather disappointed..."_ Did you leave out a word or two?

@Redhotlugnut

Жыл бұрын

@@Milesco It made sense when I was typing it. The CBS shows (I went on Nov 15 2004) pushed the (clap and 'hey/yay/) sounds rather than an organic response. It always felt so fake after than. The production was better at CBS but that didn't convert to it being a funnier show. Lol, I'm gonna go back and watch Chris Elliot do his impression of Paul.

@Milesco

Жыл бұрын

@@Redhotlugnut Thanks for the clarification. 🙂

I haven't seen these since they aired, but to this day, thanks to Chris/Marlon, I still randomly say 'BANANAS" and shrug at inopportune times

One of my favorite comedy bits ever. Perfectly strange, awkward and hilarious. Chris was comedy gold whenever he was on the show. And Paul Shaffer never appeared to be a fan. Lol

@jjm2389

5 жыл бұрын

Bill Fletcher , I think Paul being pissed was part of the schtick.

@throwingsparks

5 жыл бұрын

I don't think Paul was digging it, especially being called "Ringo"

@palacerevolution2000

4 жыл бұрын

@@throwingsparks Yes I was wondering about that too. Paul seemed like he was genuinely pissed. But it s brilliant character that Chris did. Like Andy Kaufman, he took it way into the nether regions. It's like his own Tony Clifton.

@lipby

2 жыл бұрын

@@throwingsparks You know they rehearse this stuff, right?

I love how hard Chris Elliott keeps using the song Alley Cat throughout hos career…not just in this recurring bit, but also in his show Get A Life, where he had a giant stack of 45s of Alley Cat and would occasionally wear one out from playing it too much. I kind of got obsessed with that bit, and i have bought every 45 of that song every time i find one. I probably have 4 or 5 of them.. I dream of having Chris sign at least one of them some day.

@moxica93

Жыл бұрын

They also played it in Cabin Boy when he was dancing on the deck...

Dave in his prime years. A totally goofy show which I watched throughout college.

Thank you for posting this!....i cut the cable and its the best decision i have made in entertainment

Thank you Don Giller! I have most of these buried on VHS tapes somewhere. These segments were my favorite, a perfect distillation of what made Late Night so brilliant. BANANAS!

Don, thank you so much for the amazing job on this. Much appreciated.

@dongiller

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Brian!

I gotta be responsible for about 200 views, I pick up something new every time, thanks again Don.

@Stinky95030

5 жыл бұрын

me too, i live in ca --- so i watch this on most nights! hahahaha i love it

I watched this during my sophomore year in college. We always caught Dave even if it was on a black and white !

It's not easy to make Dave laugh this much.

i cannot stop watching these clips.... chris Elliot is a genius

Brilliant concept and performance, Chris!!

Completely under appreciated in its era, now clearly genius and better than anything else from that time period.

What a great edit. Such awesome memories. Thank you.

It's the little things, like he KitKat bar has had a bite taken out of it...

"And now, if there's nothing else, I'd like to go to my daughter's wedding."

I enjoyed Chris back then and more even now.

My favorite part of this is the dead silence from the audience after Elliott tries landing a zinger.

@jdbarret1

6 жыл бұрын

I don't know how they're not laughing at how bad they are... They're intentionally bad. I was dying after each zing

@nigelfarage4119

5 жыл бұрын

@@jdbarret1 There's a little Crispin Glover and Andy Kaufman in Chris Elliot....Morons aren;t deep enough to understand

@nigelfarage4119

5 жыл бұрын

Gene Krupa......Shake your cans!

@nigelfarage4119

5 жыл бұрын

Theres also a little Danny Glover and Andy Warhol in Chris Elliot.

@RayValdezPhotography

4 жыл бұрын

@@nigelfarage4119 also a little Donald Glover and Andy Serkis in him as well.

So well written and smoothly delivered!

21:57 This line has stuck with me since it first aired 30 years ago.

@robertpryor7225

4 жыл бұрын

A mind is a terrible thing

I love that Dave keeps jokes in an old Sylvania lightbulb box... in the GE building.

@randall-king

Жыл бұрын

I noticed that, too. Came to see if anybody commented on it. I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed. That's too funny.

I love this man.

The banana dance gets me rolling all the time.

I haven't slept in 6 days! Why not? Your snoring keeps me up! And the audience? Crickets! Unbelievable.

The internet has ruined so much of our lives.....yet being able to watch this compilation is making me rethink my treatise

" Alright..that is not my salad dressing "

@MrJRYLANDER

3 жыл бұрын

ha! read this as the bit was happening... ment to b.... and with that, i will sit down now

wow - what Dave and Chris and that team brought to television... its like Monty Python - its so good you wonder how it ever got on tv in the first place and for sure you will never see its like again.

I've just been busting a gut watching Chris in these clips....thanks for posting!

The whole segment with the Kit Kat Bar was one of the funniest with the Foster Brooks comment.

Brings me back to the days when I would laugh my head off, and the studio audiences were quiet. Now it's the complete opposite.

Pure genius. Bananas!

The greatest character on David letterman!!!

Why the hell does the banana dance make me laugh so hard every time?

@johnspence8141

5 жыл бұрын

my god i forgot all about the banana dance. Saw it when it aired and couldn't wait to see it again. Cracked me up too. 40:16 49:25

@matthewanzelone

4 жыл бұрын

I STILL do the banana dance.

@smallworld1624

4 жыл бұрын

It always makes me laugh so hard that I forget that trying to reenact for the unfamiliar brings nothing but crickets.

@theflorgeormix

4 жыл бұрын

The inanity of it all.

@smallworld1624

4 жыл бұрын

John Spence I have now watched it so many times it’s practically unseemly.

This is beyond awesome.. Thank you so much for this..!

So this is where Alley Cat started. Bless you for compiling these sketches.

i'm like what the hell, i'll watch a couple... 48 minutes in and i'm committed, the skit kept getting better, the ringo jokes hade me dying, paul trying to act pissed but smiling, 47:44, looks like michael richards. seeing christopher reeve healthy is always sobering.

Thanks for this, Don. They don't make 'em like this anymore.

Chris Elliot as Brando was brilliant

@nigelfarage4119

5 жыл бұрын

I didnt like his other characters except Marv Albert

Don Giller you are doing the world a great justice with your compilations.

Chris Elliot was born in 1960, so he was 27 at this point. Genius.

That was so Bananas!! He has the Mike Douglass Merv Griffin years down when Marlon loved to be on the show for days on end.

That iconic opening tune brings back memories. Excellent collection and thanks for your hard work Don! Appreciate the *time* you have taken to assemble and upload them. You must have quite a collection of VCR tapes ... and a bear to go through. Cheers!

@dongiller

6 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Jeff! You can't imagine... :)

Best comedy ever!

Check out how subtle Chris Elliot is with his Brando expressions. He studied Brando minutely on the few talk show appearances he actually made. Best part is he doesn't do Vito Corleone at all-except for the grimaces and smiles on entrances and exits. This wouldn't play in 2020 obviously, but godamn, back in the 80's I saw Jackie Gleason yell at a band leader on a talk show, "Hey Ringo!"

When Chung interviewed Brando she asked him who he found funny and he said :Laurel and Hardy, then he asked her who she found funny and she said Letterman. Brando responded by making a pig face and grunting. So I guess he was aware of Chris' bit.

@theflorgeormix

4 жыл бұрын

Agreed he would have known about this

@luispin144

3 жыл бұрын

Definitely....I saw the interview....Brando wasn't amused by Chris and Letterman's sketch about him...lol

@Trytocookthis

3 жыл бұрын

O.M.G. ! That's hilarious. LOL Thanks for that :)

@WillyRand

3 жыл бұрын

Brando knew Letterman was an insipid idiot.

@mickm5097

3 жыл бұрын

@@WillyRand Letterman was a groundbreaking late night host whose early shows are still imitated by many people who host comedic shows. He was also a really funny interviewer who was not impressed or intimidated by the fame of his guests. These bits haven't aged at all. How does your work resume stack up against that?

Love that "Wow" at :36 like they really thought Brando was dropping in (35:14 mocks Marlon's heavy reliance on cue cards right in front of him on his later movies).

I could tell by the third appearance - that wasn't the REAL Marlon Brando.

@bigpeeler

4 жыл бұрын

Good job.

@robertpryor7225

4 жыл бұрын

Wait, what?!

@jonhohensee3258

4 жыл бұрын

@@robertpryor7225 - Yep. I know...

@jonhohensee3258

4 жыл бұрын

@@bigpeeler - thaaaank you

@gato7908

4 жыл бұрын

What do you mean? 😞

Laughing so hard I’m crying...this is the best! 😅😂🤣❤️

When I saw this as a kid I didn’t know who Brando was but I still laughed.

If you squint while watching, it is Brando.

Chris Elliott was a true pioneer of ... something or other. Anti-comedy? Comedically ahead of his time, that's for damn sure.

@montemichelbleu

5 жыл бұрын

What happens when your Dad is 1/2 of the comedy team of Bob & Ray, who pioneered sketch/improv comedy.

@garthleadon8483

5 жыл бұрын

He has a hot daughter too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@georgeantonopoulos1597

Жыл бұрын

Chris reminds me so much of Andy Kaufman.

@dudestep

10 ай бұрын

So was Marlon Brando actually.

Fucking brilliant. You watch this and then compare it to the superfluous, boring, sterile scripted garbage we see today. Thank you so much for posting. I rarely laugh any more, but then I found this .

I’m covered with witty jabs. Get me some witch hazel, get these jabs off me.

hey Don Giller thank you for this video. It is brilliantly edited. Chris Elliott is hilarious as Brando. Especially the surprise at 13!!!! Awesome stuff. "Jacunta"

@dongiller

7 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much! This turned into more of a struggle than planned. I wanted to include the airdates within each clip, but when I did that, for some bizarre reason the beginnings and endings of each episode were getting cut off, all of them progressively more as each airdate was added. After around seven attempts with both iMovie and FCP, I gave up. This ended up becoming a 20-hour adventure in frustration. And I just remembered that I may ("may" being the operative word here) have some of these in better video quality on tapes I haven't yet catalogued. I should have first checked before preparing this but then I figured it was more important to get it out there sooner than far later.

@padraig29

7 жыл бұрын

Don Giller well congratulations on fantastic job, keep up the great work. Watching Letterman (full shows/short clips) is one of my favourite KZread activities. fingers crossed on your other tapes. cool stuff. "and with that I must leave you."

@padraig29

7 жыл бұрын

ACNC1 I'm sorry that was my bad ear. What?

@padraig29

7 жыл бұрын

No worries man I was watching the video saw your comment, and was just quoting Chris Elliott s' Brando. Charles Grodin vid would be awesome.

@dongiller

7 жыл бұрын

ACNC1 Other have asked for that as well. Many of those appearances haven't yet been digitized, but the project is in the In box.

This is a great collection!!! Awesome

I never had any idea how funny Chris Elliott was

@patreisinger

3 жыл бұрын

yeah same. this basically sets the template for early conan o'brien skits.

May I be so bold as to interrupt your little Late Night with Larry King Live that I was watching in the green room? 😂

Best times ever ..

Wow, I didn't realize that there were so many appearances as Marlon-Great job !

"First of all, I don't give a flaming horses ass about champagne … or your birthdaycard" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Banana Dance is the classic.

"I think you've been puffing on Ringo's peace pipe over here!"