Behind the Curtain: An Insider's View of Jay Leno's Tonight Show

( 7 )

Overview

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno comes alive in this book by insider Dave Berg, who spent eighteen years as Leno's co-producer. Leno's penchant for topicality and Berg's news background successfully combined to add a political sensibility and relevancy to the monologue and guest bookings unique to late-night television. Through a revealing personal narrative full of never-before-told anecdotes about Leno and his guests, Berg divulges intimate information about himself and Leno along with the trade secrets that led ...
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Behind the Curtain: An Insider's View of Jay Leno's Tonight Show

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More About This Book

Overview

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno comes alive in this book by insider Dave Berg, who spent eighteen years as Leno's co-producer. Leno's penchant for topicality and Berg's news background successfully combined to add a political sensibility and relevancy to the monologue and guest bookings unique to late-night television. Through a revealing personal narrative full of never-before-told anecdotes about Leno and his guests, Berg divulges intimate information about himself and Leno along with the trade secrets that led to Leno's phenomenal two-decade reign in the ratings.
With an uncanny ability to read America's pulse better than any of his competitors, Leno and his team recast the format of The Tonight Show. They made calculated changes to its structure and presentation, adding segments such as "Jaywalking" and "Headlines" and even dropping the number of guests from four to three to extend Leno's monologue. Berg insightfully tells the story of how they did it.
Weaving what happened on the stage with what went on behind the scenes, the narrative features the show's most legendary moments, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger's shocking political announcement, Hugh Grant's game-changing mea culpa, and the historic booking of Barack Obama as the first sitting president ever to appear on a late-night program.
A highly entertaining and revealing look at an iconic show and the man who contributed to its legacy, Behind the Curtain: An Insider's View of Jay Leno's Tonight Show invites you to take the ultimate VIP backstage tour.

Dave Berg was co-producer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Jay Leno Show and also appeared in numerous comedy sketches. A producer for The O'Reilly Factor, he served as a writer for NBC News and as the Los Angeles bureau chief for CNBC. Berg has written for USA Today, Huffington Post, Reader's Digest, National Review, Christianity Today, Washington Times, Daily Caller, and Crisis Magazine. He has a BA in political science from Northwestern University and MS in journalism from Kansas State University. Berg lives with his wife, Mary, in Los Angeles, California.

Jay Leno was the popular host of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC, where he led the late-night ratings for more than two decades. Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2014, Leno made his first appearance on The Tonight Show as a stand-up comic in 1977 and became a guest host for Johnny Carson in 1987. An avid car collector and philanthropist, he lives in Los Angeles, California, with his wife, Mavis.

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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781455619962
  • Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company, Incorporated
  • Publication date: 7/22/2014
  • Pages: 272
  • Sales rank: 30267
  • Product dimensions: 5.70 (w) x 8.60 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Dave Berg has a BA in political science from Northwestern University and an MS in journalism from Kansas State University. He has served as a writer and co-producer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Jay Leno Show, The O'Reilly Factor, and NBC News. A former reporter, anchor, executive producer, and bureau chief for local and network news, he has written for numerous publications, including Reader's Digest, National Review, Christianity Today, The Washington Times, The Daily Caller, and Crisis Magazine. He lives with his wife, Mary, in Valencia, California.
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 7 )
Rating Distribution

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Sort by: Showing all of 7 Customer Reviews

  • Posted Wed Jun 25 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Great read!!!

    Great read!!!

    4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Tue Jun 24 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    So disappointed

    I was looking forward to a nice juicy read about the real stuff behind the curtain. Not only is this poorly written, ill-constructed and tedius--it's just not interesting. Surely there are some great stories and a great ghost writer out there that could create a far more entertaining and engaging read

    4 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Sat Jul 12 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Great Read

    I'm a person who likes nonfiction that reads like storytelling/conversation. This book is like sitting around table with Dave Berg as he tells, amuses, enlightens, entertains, and
    spellbinds with one episode after another. I learned a lot, too, about the TV industry and personalities that intrigued and tickled my mind. You won't be disappointed with this read. Thanks Dave for sharing your experiences in such a delightful way.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Wed Jul 09 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    I Also Recommend:

    Unbecoming Travolta: A Memoir of Mania and Multiple Personalities
    Coreyography: A Memoir
    Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys?
    The Funny Thing Is...

    Dave Berg has written an engaging book that shines a light on wh

    Dave Berg has written an engaging book that shines a light on what it was really like behind the scenes of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. His stories are infectious and his delivery witty.

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted Wed Jul 09 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    Just like Jay Leno's Tonight Show itself, this book is Fast, Edg

    Just like Jay Leno's Tonight Show itself, this book is Fast, Edgy, Interesting and Honest.  I applaud Dave Berg for his style of focusing in on 
    all that made the most interesting guests so unique, while never stooping so low as to trash someone.  Jay Leno comes alive and is once 
    again in the spotlight where he belongs.  After reading this, I have to ask that the curtain be opened one more time in order to give a
    standing ovation to all who worked so hard to bring the Tonight Show into our homes for so many years.  Bravo!!!

    2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted Mon Oct 06 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    CLAN MEETING! DEPUTY CHOOSING.

    "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey- screw this, I'm too lazy. Glosseh, you're stand in deputy. Organize patrols and sh<_>it. Bye."

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted Wed Jul 30 00:00:00 EDT 2014

    This book brought me right back to the early days of when Jay fi

    This book brought me right back to the early days of when Jay first took over Tonight from Johnny Carson. Jay truly blazed a trail by adding politicians to the late night landscape and other non-traditional guests at the time. The story about Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter and his secret to conceiving a boy still cracks me up when I think about it. This book highlights the creativity, wisdom and strategy it took to keep the right guests visiting the show and driving it to the #1 spot in the ratings all those years. It’s also clear that if Jay was the hardest working person in show business – and I believe he was and probably still is – then his staff and crew were there right behind him.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
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