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WITHIN THE FAMILY

And Now … H-e-e-e-e-re’s the Band!

By Alex Sachare '71

In our November issue, we asked whether any readers could identify this old photo of members of the Columbia band and cheerleaders appearing on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Well, if you print it, they will respond.

J. Donald Smith ’65, head manager of the CU Band in 1964–65, writes:

“It was a surprise birthday event for Johnny Carson in the fall of 1963. As I recall, someone from the Tonight Show called and asked for about a dozen or so band members for a surprise for Carson’s birthday, for which they would pay something like $250 to the band. We said that for $500, they could have the whole band, to which they agreed. A bus was sent to Columbia and some 30 of us rode down to the NBC studios. We announced our presence with the traditional cannon shot and entered the studio with ‘Who Owns New York?’ while Carson looked on quite bemused. About a half-dozen Rockettes entered in full regalia (whatever it was that season) while we played ‘Happy Birthday.’ Then we piled back into the bus to campus and headed for the nearest television set so we could watch ourselves when the show was broadcast. Those were the days!”

Stan Adelman ’67, who also served as head manager of the band, recalls:

“Yes, indeed, that was the Baby Blue Band (aka The Cleverest Band in the World) making a surprise birthday visit to Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show in my freshman year, back in the era of live TV. Johnny’s producer called us, said he wanted to surprise Carson for his birthday, and asked for the band to burst into the studio in the middle of his monologue. Carson had no clue. We marched in from the back of the studio playing ‘Roar, Lion, Roar’ and were on for what seemed like a full 10-minute segment, playing ‘Who Owns New York?’ and ‘Happy Birthday.’ After we marched off, one of the stagehands whispered to me, ‘Johnny doesn’t like surprises, he’s upset!’ Johnny’s body language would seem to bear that out. The recognizable faces in the photo are, to the best of my dimming memory (left to right) Barr Forman ’64 (trumpet), John Cregor ’67 (trumpet), John O’Dell ’67 (trombone), Alan Zendell ’64 (trombone), Carson, Jim Gordon ’67 (clarinet), me (trombone) and Tom Hauser ’67 (cheerleader).”

Dan Carlinsky ’65, who lists himself as adjunct manager emeritus of the band, identified some of the same people as Adelman, but believes that he, Bill Costanzo ’67 and Jeff Schneider ’67 also are in the photo. He writes:

“Your mystery photo memorializes the appearance of the CU Marching Band on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show in October 1963. The cake is indeed a birthday cake; Carson, who had hosted the show for barely a year, was turning 38. The band’s unheralded (and unrehearsed) appearance was preceded by Johnny’s sideclown, Ed McMahon, telling the audience that although it was the boss’ birthday, the staff had decided not to make a big deal about it, but merely to mark the occasion in a quiet, dignified way. That was the band’s cue to make a surprise entrance from the back of the hall, marching in (with the cheerleaders) to its most boisterous version of ‘Who Owns New York?’ The musical highlight of the event was a joint rendition of ‘Happy Birthday’ performed with the Tonight Show Band. They played in B-flat; we played in C.”

Peter Crain ’66 adds to the story:

“I am in that photo, the second head behind the cheerleader with the megaphone. I was a percussionist in the band, conducted by Elias Dann. Skitch Henderson, the trumpeter and leader of the studio band, knew about the antics of the Columbia Marching Band. We played and sang ‘Who Owns New York?’ our signature piece, apropos to Columbia University owning the land under Rockefeller Center, from where the TV program was broadcast. We were not a precision marching band, but we made up for this deficiency with cheeky, creative skits.”

And Richard L. Zucker ’66 contributes:

“I was one of the cheerleaders who appeared at the NBC studio for the occasion. I may have been the cheerleader blocked out by Tom Hauser ’67’s megaphone. This photo was taken when the cheerleaders were asking the audience to give us a J, give us an O, give us an H, etc. Definitely one of the highlights of my college career, right up there with the Core Curriculum.”

Among others who responded to our plea for information were Frank Safran ’58, Andrew Russakoff ’64, Stuart Berkman ’66, Frank Mirer ’66, John Gregor ’67, Martin Paris ’67, Albert Zonana ’67 and Roger Lehecka ’67. We thank one and all for their contributions.

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