One of the best outfits ever worn by Johnny Carson on 'The Tonight Show' was during his 1976 broadcast when he sang his own version of the hit song 'Rhinestone Cowboy.' Little did Johnny realize that the author of the song, Larry Weiss, was in the audience that evening.
Johnny apologizes to him and makes him stand up to be acknowledged by the audience. Johnny was in an all-white cowboy outfit with pants, a jacket, and a matching scarf around his neck, all covered in rhinestones.
Johnny's next guest was Don Rickles, who was not going to let Johnny get away with that costume for one minute. Don walks out and shakes his hand, stands in front of Johnny's desk, looks out to the author in the crowd, and says, 'Uh Larry, Rhinestone Cowboy is my favorite." Then, he makes a sarcastic face and sits down.
Don looks at Johnny's outfit, and Johnny welcomes the jokes, telling Rickles to 'Destroy it.' Don says, 'Just don't come in my neighborhood. You're gonna get a lot of hugs.' Don adds, 'This is a beautiful outfit! Billy Bob Jack coming out of chute nine. Ride 'em, Billy Bob!'
Then, Don messes around with the actor next to him, Robert Blake, talking about how good his work is on 'Cold Blood.' Don starts in on the joke saying, 'Me and my wife were fooling around last night, and then Cold Blood came on, and we stopped for two and a half minutes!'
Johnny says, 'Two and a half minutes! You're usually finished!' Don looks surprised and says to Johnny, 'You oughta know. You worked the light!' The audience cracks up at these two comics going at each other.
Don promotes a show that he is on where he acts dramatically. Don says, 'You know, I'm killing myself and not getting all the money. I'm killing myself, and he's (referencing Johnny) sitting here in his trick-or-treat outfit, and I'm breaking my neck.' It is always a must-watch clip when Don Rickles and Johnny Carson are together.
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