Don't Pet Sweaty Things: Tom Snyder, 1935-2007

Radio and television personality Tom Snyder died of complications arising from his battle with leukemia Sunday, according to reports in Monday's news. Snyder is most remembered as the host of NBC's "The Tommorrow Show," which this writer is unfortunately too young to have viewed. Luckily, I did have the chance to see his return to television in 1995 when he began a few year stint as the host of the "The Late, Late Show," and instantly I was captured.

Snyder ran a show different from most on during those hours. There was no live studio audience. He would sit in front of a backdrop of Los Angeles and just talk to the camera, which would pan in so close that the viewer could clearly see Tom had been a smoker for quite a number of years. The discussion ranged from the news to the latest Hollywood gossip, from the earth-shattering to the trivial. But whatever it was, Snyder covered it in such a way that you felt as if you were having a conversation with your best friend. He was funy, serious, mischevious, intelligent, and just what a great entertainer should be.

What also set him apart from many of the monkeys on late night was that he could also fucking interview. What some (cough...Jay Leno...cough) don't understand is that in order to really make an interview worthwhile to watch is that you have to listen to the answers which come our of your subject's mouth. It sounds basic but so many people just don't do this. Fortunately, Snyder did. He also demonstrated his genius by having the person sit a couple of feet away with nothing in between them. The setting was certainly more intimate, and the results were terrific. His rewardwas to score some big ones: John Lennon, Charles Manson, and Johnny Rotten.

He didn't last long on national t.v. in the 1990's, just 3-4 years. His product was as distinctive as his laugh, but it was probably also his undoing. In a time where people want to think less and less about what they consume through their eyeballs, Snyder's show no doubt commanded too much from Joe Schmoe. Too bad. CBS replaced him with Craig Kilborn and a traditional late-night set. Blech. Oh well, maybe one of his old, smoldering butts will burn the place down.

"Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air."