SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

US late-night talk/variety show. In this episode (3 minute sketch) Carson, dressed in Renaissance garb, imagines Shakespeare as written for television and plays Hamlet, reciting, "To be or not to be" and "Alas, Poor Yorick" soliloquies, but Shakespeare’s words turn out to be aggressive product placements for series of commercials: "sleep no more" inspires a plug for Sominex; "The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks/That flesh is heir to" leads to an ad for Aamco; "ay, there’s the rub," turns out to be a set-up for promotion of Mentholatum Deep Heat Rub." Yorick, in turn, is warned not to leave Denmark without his American Express Card. [Cited in Carson’s entry in American Icons: An Encyclopedia of the People, Places, and Things that Have Shaped Our Culture, edited by Dennis and Susan Hall (Westport, CT: Greenwood 2006).

Series

Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Film

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Transmission details

1982 at 23:00 (Channel: NBC)

Duration

60 mins

Credits

Cast

Johnny Carson

Additional Details

Production type

Sitcoms/Variety

Plays

Hamlet

Subjects

Media studies

Keywords

advertising; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); television advertising

Notes

Notes

The Shakespeare item is contained in the DVD THE ULTIMATE JOHNNY CARSON COLLECTION from amazon.com.

History

The Shakespeare item was broadcast October 2 1982 in a 20th anniversary compilation show. The original tx date is not known but believed to be between 1977-1981.

Production Company

Name

Carson Productions