Tom Snyder of 'Tomorrow Show' Dies at 71

[Stinky The Clown]

Source: WaPo (and elsewhere)

The Associated Press
Monday, July 30, 2007; 9:29 AM

SAN FRANCISCO -- Talk show host Tom Snyder, whose smoke-filled interviews were a staple of late night television, has died after a struggle with leukemia. He was 71.

Snyder died Sunday in San Francisco from complications associated with leukemia, his longtime producer and friend Mike Horowicz told The Associated Press on Monday.

Known for his improvised, casual style and robust laughter, Snyder conducted a number of memorable interviews as host of NBC's "The Tomorrow Show." Among his guests were John Lennon, Charles Manson and Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols.

snip

His catch phrase for the show was: "Fire up a colortini, sit back, relax, and watch the pictures, now, as they fly through the air." Snyder smoked throughout his show, the cigarette cloud swirling around him during interviews.

snip

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/30/AR2007073000450.html

---

I liked Tom. I liked his show.

I remember when he had a whole host of Watergate personalities on. He was entertaining *and* informative.

***cough*** ...... and smoky.

[NYCGirl]

1. I loved Tom Snyder, and so did Olbermann. He's going to be sad tonight. NT

[Tuesday_Morning]

26. Some fun tom highlights here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EiSEbyhAR0k

[2008]

35. Thank you! This should be a separate thread (nt)

[Faygo Kid]

2. Dan Aykroyd did a great take-off on Snyder. Tom will be missed.

He was a genuine character, and a kind of talk show host that in the era of Faux News no longer exists.

[Kolesar]

6. So, Mr. Jagger, did you ever want to say "Hey, you, ....get off of my cloud!" to somebody?

In the SNL sketch with Mick Jagger as weekly host.

[IndianaGreen]

39. Aykroid had Snyder down pat on SNL, including Snyder's trademark laugh

Snyder had a good show. He had a long battle with leukimia.

RIP Tom!

[quiet.american]

3. Me, too. It was the end of an era when his show was gone....

.... and Dan Ackroyd's impressions of him on SNL were absolutely hilarious.

[Lochloosa]

4. I can still hear that laugh.

Goodbye Tom :toast:

[Demit]

5. LOL! Me, too. First thing I thought of when I saw the headline. nt

[AngryOldDem]

7. He was my idol as a teen -- sad news

Whenever I could, I always watched Tomorrow. Never missed it. That laugh, those cigarettes, that cloud of smoke, and the always-excellent conversation.

And the close, from Annie: "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow...you're always a day away."

RIP, Mr. Snyder.

[DarbyUSMC]

8. I was wondering about him the other day. I liked his late, late show and

remember when Jon Stewart substituted for him while Tom was on vacation. I had only known Jon as a comedian and thought that he would be a good replacement were Tom to retire. That didn't come to pass but Jon certainly found his own niche. Sorry to see Tom leave the planet. Though he hasn't been around much since leaving that show, I'll miss him.

[frazzled]

9. I'll fire up a colortini for him ...

Wow. Tom Snyder was an absolute obsession with me during my years in grad school. Never missed a show. I especially remember his interview with Little Richard. He was a true original who's been missed in broadcasting for a long time.

I hope we get to see some reruns of the programs just for old time's sake.

[Stinky The Clown]

14. Some of his reruns would, in fact, be for little more than old time's sake .......

..... but many of them would be of some historical value. Not only did he have guests like Little Richard, he had, for example, pretty much all the Watergate characters on. He had lots and lots of significant and substantial guests and he engaged them all and got them to talk.

And you're very right ....... he **been** missed since he left the air.

[MilesColtrane]

10. ...a true original...

...muscled out by the network suits before his time.

Watching Tom every night was like listening to your smart, slightly random uncle in Burbank rant about the day's news.

Real people like Tom Snyder obviously had no place in coporate broadcasting. The fact that he was such a large and genuine personality made his replacement - that jag off, Craig Kilborn - seem all the smaller by comparison.

The old, dark, smoky bar up in heaven just got a little more interesting.

Have a cold one on me pal.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. Craig Kilborn ........

...... self-absorbed boor and waste of skin.

Your description of Tom is very apt and spot on ...... The operative word is 'genuine'. At least that's he always seemed to come across. I can't believe anyone can come across on teevee in a format like his as anything but who they are. I like who Tom was.

[Old and In the Way]

11. Always an intelligent interview....he and Dick Cavett had great

interviews, in depth and probing; not the superficial shit that people like Larry King conduct.

Cheers to a life well lived!

[disndat]

12. Tom made popular

the saying, "it's not over till the fat lady sings." I missed him so much when he was removed from the air, although, I think Letterman tried to keep him on, for a while, in the spot after his "late Night" show.

[zalinda]

15. It's a sad day indeed

He was the only reason I ever stayed up late to watch TV.

zalinda

[Raejeanowl]

16. Legendary

I hope someone qualified comes along to give this man his proper turn in broadcasting history by writing the definitive biography; I don't know if Tom ever got around to putting his own memories down on paper and I always wished he had.

I never stopped hurting for him when NBC replaced him with David Letterman back in the 80s. When he declared on the cover of TV Guide how he was a stranger to failure, and then things began falling apart. He thought he'd made enemies in the corporate ranks, and he was probably right. There was a time I seriously thought that he was a potential successor to either Carson or Cronkite; that's how versatile he was. So much bombastically larger than life, the consummate news professional, and still a regular guy.

My heart is just a little too full of sadness to talk much, knowing that beautiful, unmistakable voice, that LAUGH, has been silenced.

[Lindsey]

17. I really loved his show. I used to watch it when I was in high school

almost every night. I loved him and his guests. I didn't know he intereviewed John Lennon. I'd love it if one of the cable channels would do some repeats of some of his best shows - an appropriate tribute to a stand-up kind of guy. I've missed him over the years.

[orleans]

18. how sad....we loved his show and him

i'd be out with friends and come home just in time to sit down with my mom to watch his show--for awhile i think it might have been an hour and a half long.

talk about an end to an era.

[TomInTib]

19. Here is my post for Tom.

I can hear his voice as I type this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=210x19751

Damn, I am gonna miss him.

[acmavm]

20. His talk show was interesting, informative, entertaining, and

it also happened to be educational in a way that others never will be. Not quite Nightline, not the Tonight Show. Combined the best of both.

edit: Only guy who could come close was Dick Cavett

[Archae]

21. I enjoyed Tom Snyder a lot.

When he was on TV, he had some wild guests at times, like when Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmatics were on and she blew up a car.
At the end of that show, Tom did an imitation of a used-car salesman, in front of the demolished car. :rofl:

But Tom used to also have a radio talk show at night, and I was a frequent caller.
(I even got to ask Danny DeVito a question!)

But once, I razzed Tom a little bit about if his name was really Tom Schneider, since he was from Milwaukee, like me. :D

[Penndems]

22. Highlights from "The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiSEbyhAR0k

********************************************************************************

An interviewer who truly wasn't afraid to ask the tough questions, and an outstanding interviewer. RIP, Tom.

*Sigh* . . . another aspect of my younger days, gone. :( :cry:

[progressoid]

25. Thanks for the link - I remember the U2 interview.

[Penndems]

36. His unique style of interviewing will be sorely missed

Tom Snyder had everybody from rock stars to heads of state squirming in the hot seat. He was unpredictable, humorous, intelligent and angry - but certainly not dull!

[zonkers]

23. Snyder was goofy, real and ultimately iconic. I believe he owed a lot to David Suskind in terms of

the format. I watched him growing up, late at night on a mini-black and white TV smuggled into my bedroom. About 5 years ago, I used to see him with his dog at a nearby dog park. Seemed like an awful nice, regular type guy.

[The Doctor.]

24. He had a lousy sense of comedic timing, but I loved watching him.

I remember he filled in for Charlie Rose a few times too.

[Rick Myers]

27. Tom was one of the reasons I ended up in broadcasting

I'm losing all my heroes. Youth slipping away...

Godspeed, Tom...

[virgdem]

28. I heard this sad news...

on the radio just as I was waking up this morning. My first thought was "damn, I'm gonna miss him." What a great guy, loved both the Tomorrow Show and the Late, Late Show. I was very sad when that last show ended in March 1999. I would stay up late just to watch him and I loved his guests and interviews. Television talk shows will never be the same without his wit and distinctive personality. RIP, Tom, we will all miss the hell out of you.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

29. Rest in peace, Tom...

:cry:

[aquart]

30. I watched his show. RIP, Tom.

[melody]

31. Tom Snyder was a big part of TV for Californians when I was a kid

He was funny, articulate if arrogant, and even though I disagreed with him a lot, you at least got the idea there was a thinking person in the suit.

[cui bono]

32. Great stories about him on live now ktlk.com by colleague Kelly Lange.

I remember going to my neighbor's and watching the reruns of his interviews with John Lennon the night Lennon was shot.

RIP Tom.

[Raine]

33. I used to watch him locally here in Los Angeles

always liked him, 71 is to young to die. R-I-P Tom :-(

[doubleplusgood]

34. on KNBC in L.A. in the early 70's

He used to co-anchor the KNBC evening news in L.A. with Tom Brokaw. Bryant Gumbel did the sports & Pat Sajak did the weather, as I recall.

[Raine]

38. Yup that was it and

I think Kelly Lange was on there too.

[Lochloosa]

37. One more kick for Tom

[silverojo]

40. I remember when he had the Village People on

I can't remember exactly what his verbal faux pas was (maybe he made a mistake in introducing each of the Village People by name). But he was sitting in his chair after they'd performed, and the show was going in to a commercial, when Tom glanced over...starting laughing, and said, "One of the Village People just gave ol' Tom the finger!"

He took it very well, and that really summed up Tom Snyder. He will definitely be missed.

[defendandprotect]

41. Snyder was part of the little bit that was REAL about TV . . . he tried to tell truth -- !!!