40 Years of Presidents Appearing on Comedy TV Shows: Why it Never Hurt Them

When the press has to deal with a U.S. President, it's always wished that the incoming Commander-in-Chief will inherently possess a sophisticated sense of humor. Most Presidents have had one, other than a few exceptions. While we don't have definitive evidence of the earliest Presidents exhibiting any sense of humor while on the job or during troubled times, there is historical record that some starting in the early 20^th century had profound understanding of turning loose with guffaw-inducing comedy. Calvin Coolidge, for instance, was said to spring practical jokes on his long-suffering wife and everybody else in the White House whenever he had the chance. But he never exhibited this behavior to the press or during speeches.

Yes, long before the era when Barack Obama decided to go on "The Tonight Show" and be funny during a challenging time, the earliest forms of media (namely radio) kept Presidents in a fairly stoic light during speeches and other news fare.

It wasn't much different during the earliest days of TV when Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson utilized the medium to make themselves look appealing to the masses. After the mostly stark seriousness of Truman and Eisenhower, JFK had a true modern and sophisticated sense of humor (in fact, unsurprisingly naughty behind the scenes), but he never appeared with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show" to be a part of that late-night party. The same could be said for the beleaguered Lyndon Johnson who wasn't about to go on any show resembling a comedy during the impasse of the Vietnam War. In fact, not even a road-weary Presidential candidate dared go on a comedy show thinking it could win him votes.

That's why it's surprising that the dour and usually publicly serious Richard Nixon ultimately became the first Presidential candidate to appear on a comedy show--albeit for a mere three seconds. In the fall of 1968, the surreal and quick-cut show "Laugh-In" was the place to be if you wanted to be seen by the biggest audience in the land. It was the #1 TV show that season and was a created respite in the media to get away from the news that reported as many frustrating deaths daily in Vietnam as we've endured in recent years with the war in Iraq. The show was initially conducive to detracting anybody who wanted to be taken seriously.

Someone brilliant in Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign (a campaign that was done right for a change compared to his 1960 run) thought it a good idea to get Nixon on "Laugh-In" through the use of the show's blackout gags. For those like me who weren't born yet and saw the show later in reruns, you'd know they used three-second blackouts with every big-name celebrity you could name at the time--usually uttering a quick non-sequitur or just plain nonsense. One of the widely-repeated catchphrases that seemingly did make sense on the show was "Sock it to me!" and probably represented Nixon's essence to the core...if more so within another five years.

It wasn't lost on Nixon, though, that he was thought of as a stiff and figured that uttering that famous line for the equivalent of time suitable for a subliminal ad would be the smartest move he could make.

Ultimately, that blackout with Nixon became a classic and gets re-run in retrospectives all the time. Nixon lightening up also helped him win the Presidency that November, even though he never showed a comedic side again on TV other than one more quick gag on "Laugh-In" the following March while officially President. Arguably, Nixon may have contemplated appearing on a comedy show later had he not have maneuvered the country into near chaos during the Watergate scandal and almost ruining the ability of the President to be funny again...
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Because things became so dire, comedians had a field day poking fun at the drama of Nixon--then Gerald Ford on through until Ronald Reagan brought in a little more levity. Nevertheless, starting already with Ford, Presidents of the 70's and 80's decided it didn't hurt to do a little lightweight comedy on TV, no matter if it was brief. And the master of family comedy for decades on TV--or, specifically, NBC--was Bob Hope who so happened to be friends with every President from FDR to Clinton.

If perhaps critics thought Bob Hope's TV specials starting in the 70's were stale compared to his earlier TV output, he still was funny, attracted millions of loyal viewers and was the only comedian on TV who was able to convince Presidents to make short appearances on his shows. With Gerald Ford already getting ribbed and impersonated by Chevy Chase on "Saturday Night Live", Bob Hope was the only one able to rib Ford to his face while actually knowing the man and while playing golf together. During the mid 70's, Hope would sometimes show clips of the two playing golf and ribbing Ford's golf game. Ford would also do occasional taped messages on Hope's specials that were light on humor, yet still qualified as a President doing comedy during times the country needed it.

You seldom had a chance to see Jimmy Carter do comedy, though he appeared occasionally in taped segments for Bob Hope's specials. It's no secret Carter really didn't do comedy well and mostly kept that serious demeanor over his Presidency until Ronald Reagan made his public appearances quasi stand-up routines.

Yes, Reagan managed to turn a 1984 Presidential Debate into a comedy forum when he was caught on camera telling a daring joke about nuking Russia. Yet he, too, appeared on Bob Hope's specials in taped remarks, even though he likely would have enjoyed appearing in comedy sketches. His advisors perhaps advised him not to, despite doing just that when Governor of California years earlier. His appearances back then on shows such as "Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" show a politician unafraid of showing two sides of his personality.

Other than George Bush, Sr. appearing in more serious taped remarks on Bob Hope's final TV specials, only Bill Clinton took the plunge in appearing on a comedy show--at least while running for President. We all remember his appearance on Arsenio Hall. How many, though, remember when Clinton was Governor of Arkansas and appeared with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show" who ribbed Clinton for talking too long at the 1988 Democratic Convention? Clinton was uproarious during this appearance while poking fun at his own protracted oratory skills.
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Well, if it hadn't been for the dire years of George W. Bush, it isn't out of the question to think he would have appeared on some of the late-night shows doing a Letterman Top-Ten or some bit (rather than the uncanny look-a-like) on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Barack Obama is basically setting a bar now that says because we're living in very dire times with no probable let-up any time soon, being able to make a President human is essential. It's also a chance for a President to have a respite when making him or her a slave-driver in dealing with extremely stressful issues can only harm our Commander-in-Chief's health...