The Sit-In On The Tonight Show

For 30 years, Americans went to bed with Johnny Carson, widely considered the greatest host of the Tonight Show. Many people nostalgically remember when late-night talk shows were less political and ask, ‘why can’t it be like when Johnny Carson was the host?’. Late-night talk shows seem politicized. Republican, viewers favored Jay Leno;  Democrats primarily watched David Letterman. Johnny Carson kept his politics to himself. Most of his viewers did not know he was a liberal Democrat. But for one fantastic week in February in 1968, Johnny Carson’s passionate liberalism led him to turn over the Tonight Show to Harry Belafonte. That unprecedented week is known as the Sit-In On The Tonight Show.

Harry Belafonte and Dr. King

Harry Belafonte was an extraordinarily popular singer who had a string of best-selling albums featuring calypso, folk, and Caribbean music. Belafonte, like a number of prominent celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Jackie Robinson, Sidney Poitier, and Tony Bennett, bravely marched, spoke out, and raised money for the Civil Rights Movement. However, Harry Belafonte did all of that and was deeply involved in strategizing and planning major events with Dr. King. The two men became close friends. Coretta King said, “Whenever we got into trouble or when tragedy struck, Harry has always come to our aid, his generous heart wide open” After the assassination of Dr. King, Harry Belafonte served as the executor of King’s estate. 

The Sit-In On The Tonight Show

Starting on Feb 5, 1968, Belafonte hosted the Tonight Show for the week. He began each program with a song rather than a monologue. The guest list for that week was a Who’s Who of top entertainers.

Of his 25 guests that week, 15 were people of color. The vast audience heard performances by such notable talents as Aretha Franklin, Lena Horne, and Bill Cosby. It was not unusual for such performers to appear on late-night television. What made the week so extraordinary was that Belafonte interviewed them and asked probing and interesting questions about their experiences. His other guests, including Paul Newman, Sidney Poitier, and the Smothers Brothers, engaged in conversations about race and culture. 

The Sit-In On The Tonight Show was very entertaining. The Tonight Show was never better with performers like Petula Clark, Dionne Warwick, and Robert Goulet. But Belafonte produced an unparalleled mix of popular culture and serious conversation. Vietnam, the racial situation, and questions about poverty were mixed in with tremendous musical performances and great comic bits. Perhaps most significantly, the Tonight Show welcomed  Dr. Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy as guests for the first time.

The conversations were unlike anything most Americans had ever heard. Bobby Kennedy discussed the justice of poverty in America. Dr. King had the opportunity to talk about the civil rights movement’s goals. For many Americans, the Sit-In On The Tonight Show was their first opportunity to hear Dr. Martin Luther King junior interviewed in-depth and his views on social justice.

Harry Belafonte’s intelligence, deep commitment to social justice, and widespread appeal as a popular singer made him, perhaps, the only African-American performer who could have hosted such an extraordinary week. Norman Lear, the great TV producer, said, “He was an ambassador in both directions—to his own people and the Caucasian community. There wasn’t anyone else like him. It is rare to this day.”

The ratings for the week of the “sit-in” were phenomenal. Bellafonte took out an ad thanking Carson and later appeared as a guest of the appreciative Carson’s, calling The Sit-In On The Tonight Show a fantastic experience.

By 1968, the phrase “sit-in” had a powerful political meaning. To protest rules that prevented African-Americans from eating at popular lunch counters in 1960, African-American college students in  Greensboro protested by sitting at the counter and refusing to move until they were served. The sit-in movement quickly spread throughout the South.

When Harry Belafonte thanked Johnny Carson for supporting his one-of-a-kind week of hosting the Tonight Show as a “sit-in,” he meant the shows were more than entertainment. They were a form of protest over how television routinely squelched the voices and talents of minority people. 

Where Can We See Clips?

NBC only preserved the videotapes of two of the episodes. Click here to see a few minutes of the episode with Robert Kennedy, and click here to see two minutes of the episode with Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. The Peacock network has a fascinating documentary on The Sit-In On The Tonight Show. You can click here to see more about it.