‘THE SIT-IN’ DOC REMEMBERS WHEN CARSON TURNED ‘TONIGHT SHOW’ OVER TO HARRY BELAFONTE
It’s February of 1968. Harry Belafonte is seated behind a desk, the Rev. Martin Luther King is in the chair next to Belafonte, and Paul Newman is on the sofa, to Dr. King’s right.
“Dr. King,” says Belafonte, “how old are you?”
“I’m 39 years old,” comes the reply. “In fact, I was 39 just three weeks ago.”
Newman: “What’s the date?” Dr. King: “The 15th of January.” “You’re a young fella …, ” says Newman.
Polite small talk among three legends — but it’s a goosebump moment, because we know what’s coming. We know Dr. King will never see his 40th birthday. We know he will be assassinated just two months after that conversation, and Jan. 15 will be a date when the nation remembers this great American.
The above exchange took place on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,” on Feb. 8, 1968, during one of the most extraordinary weeks of late-night talk shows in television history. As we learn in the Peacock documentary “The Sit-In,” as America was in the midst in one of the most tumultuous periods in its history, at the height of the Tet Offensive and with social protests dominating the newscasts, Johnny Carson wanted to give a platform to politicians and entertainers of color — but he also thought his middle-of-the-road, largely apolitical style wouldn’t be the right fit. So, Carson approached the great entertainer-activist Harry Belafonte about hosting a week’s worth of shows out of the NBC Studios in New York City, with Belafonte choosing the guests.
Fifteen of the 25 guests that week were persons of color. Belafonte would open with a song and then welcome guests ranging from comedians (Bill Cosby, Nipsey Russell, the Smothers Brothers) to musical performers (Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick) to Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King — neither of whom would survive the year.
Even the now 93-year-old Belafonte seems taken aback when he’s handed a list of guests that week. “Oh my God, I had all these people?” he says with a smile.
Sadly, only two of the episodes still exist on video. (Until the early 1970s, NBC regularly reused the cumbersome tapes used to record programs.) There’s audio of two other episodes — but with only a limited amount of video footage available, director Yoruba Richen expands the scope to include scene-setting news footage of the protests of the time; background information on the “Banana Boat Song” singer’s career, and interviews with Dionne Warwick, Buffy St. Marie and Petula Clark, as well as Whoopi Goldberg and Questlove, who talk about how cool it was that for one week in 1968, “The Tonight Show” became a “sit-in,” as Belafonte described it in a full-page ad he took out to thank his guests and the “Tonight Show” staffers.
We learn all kinds of illuminating factoids, e.g., Paul Newman had never done a TV talk show until the invitation came from Belafonte, and when an NBC executive heard Dr. King had been booked, he said, “He’s not going to get into that civil rights stuff, is he?”
Actually, there’s a great moment when King tells an anecdote about his flight from Washington, D.C., to New York experiencing mechanical difficulties. He gets a big laugh with the punchline.
But there’s also this. After Dr. King talks about the next great movement being about helping the poor in America regardless of race, Belafonte asks, “Do you fear for your life?”
Dr. King: “We have lived with this, a number of years now, since Montgomery, Alabama, in 1956. If we moved around worrying about it, it would immobilize me, so I’ve come to … [take] the whole matter philosophically. I’m more concerned about doing something for humanity and what I consider the will of God than longevity. It isn’t how long you live; the important thing is how well you live.”
Dear Abby: My wife and I were married 30 years when we ran into an old girlfriend (and ex-fiancee) of mine at a function. I spent a good part of the evening dancing with her and ignoring my wife. My wife says I was “indecent” with the girlfriend, and it hurt her badly.
It was 20 years ago, but my wife lets me hear about it every day. I can’t take it any longer. She refuses to get help or forgive me. Our marriage has gone downhill ever since. What do you recommend I do to make it up to her? I’ve tried a few things, to no avail. Past Isn’t in the Past
Dear Past: Your performance at that function must have been deeply humiliating to your wife. Was your regrettable behavior with your ex-fiancee a one-time thing or has it happened since?
You stated this happened 20 years ago and you have attempted to make amends to no avail. Unless there’s more to this story than you have written, it appears your wife enjoys carrying a grudge and punishing you — which is, in my opinion, worse than what you did.
Please quit allowing her to continue to punish you. Get counseling if you need to, and offer her the option of counseling again. Understand that if she refuses, you have important decisions to make about your future. Discuss with your therapist what emotionally healthy options there may be for you, but don’t continue to settle for the status quo.
Dear Abby: My husband’s mother passed away recently after a long illness. She lived in another state. He couldn’t be there while she was sick or when she died because he was also ill. He carries a lot of guilt about it.
I saw a cellphone message from her before she died, saying she was dying and asking him to come help her. I deleted it
because hearing it would have put added stress on him and made him sicker. Now I feel guilty. Should I keep quiet or confess? He still is not well. Guilty Daughter-In-Law
Dear Guilty: You made a rational choice for a solid reason when you decided to delete the message instead of sharing it with your husband. If you feel you must “confess,” disclose it to your spiritual adviser or someone you can trust who is closer to you than I am. Personally, considering the state of your husband’s health, I think the choice you made was the correct one.
Dear Abby: I’ve been dating my widower boyfriend for four years, and for my
birthday this year he gave me an inexpensive tea kettle. (I don’t drink tea.) I had been hinting that I would love a piece of fine jewelry because I have never received anything like that from him. Should I say something? A pretty necklace or a bottle of my favorite cologne are things I would have preferred — something thoughtful and meaningful. I feel sad and unappreciated. Anonymous in Michigan
Dear Anonymous: You appear to be involved with someone who has little imagination or is frugal to a fault. Tell your widower boyfriend (of four years) how you felt about receiving a kettle for your birthday, because you hoped for something that showed he had given more thought to what you might prefer. Then, instead of hinting, educate him about the items on your wish list when your next birthday rolls around.
I SPENT A GOOD PART OF THE EVENING DANCING WITH HER AND IGNORING MY WIFE. MY WIFE SAYS I WAS “INDECENT” WITH THE GIRLFRIEND, AND IT HURT HER BADLY.