Top Ten Inebriated Appearances on Corporate Talk Shows

Corporate talks shows are nearly always forced, tense, scripted trash engineered to promote some half-hazardly composed product. That's why I appreciate these clips--if nothing else, they are rare glimpses into the actual personalities of stars who have stumbled into the limelight, and these instances remind us that they are real people with real consumption habits. More importantly, it's admirable to see stars defying their handlers, the PR machine and and a viewership of consumers who expect celebrities to cater to corporate norms.


Hunter S. Thompson on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

In this clip, HST begrudgingly appears on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Thompson had turned down a number of invitations to be on the show, finally agreeing to appear on the condition that the clip be a remote segment, and that Conan meet him "on a farm in Upstate New York to shoot guns and drink hard liquor." Conan agreed, and they shot this.



Ol' Dirty Bastard on Yo! MTV Raps - 1995

This is some of the most amazing footage I've come across in a long time--Ol' Dirty Bastard on MTV Raps, wasted out of his gourd. What he's doing vocally in this, entirely incomprehensible, wildly inventive--out-of-whack mannerisms, exaggerated gasps and bizarre shimmying. He really was something else.


James Brown on "Sonya Live! in L.A." (CNN) - 1988

We've been laughing about this James Brown interview for a while now. One of the most absurd moments in corporate talk show history. "I'm single and I wanna mingle!"





Sly Stone on The Dick Cavett Show - 1970

Sly Stone was a loose canon, and it shows in this clip. Getting loaded on cocaine and appearing in front of a TV audience of millions is never a wise idea, but it happened here on the Dick Cavett show in 1970.


Crispin Glover on Letterman - 1987

Crispin Glover: a nut. We were looking up footage of him after watching RIVER'S EDGE, and came across this clip form the late eighties. He went on Letterman dressed as a character from his self-financed experimental film project, and did the interview in costume. Years later, he confessed to having been hallucinating during the interview.


Harmony Korine on Letterman - 1995

Harmony Korine was that kid who wrote KIDS, and whether or not you think that movie is a modern masterpiece or a sketchy piece of shit, you can't deny how much of a brave and funny motherfucker he is. We'd all like to think that this is what we'd do if we stumbled upon some inadvertent fame--it's inspirational to see that it happened to someone our age and that a person actually defied corporate pressures. In this video, Korine throws off Letterman, and his audience, by flipping the script and responding to typical Hollywood interview prompts with truly comically surreal lines.


Jack Kerouac on Firing Line - 1969

This was towards the end of Kerouac's life. Filmed in 1970, the crew of William F. Bukley's talk-show "Firing Line" urged Jack to take it easy on the booze on the set, threatening to remove him from the show, but to no avail. Kerouac is soused in this clip.




Lou Reed Interview - 1975

"Do you want people to take drugs themselves? Is this perhaps why you sing about drugs?"
"Oh yeah, I want them to take drugs"
"Why's this?"
"Because it's better than Monopoly"


David Byrne Interviews Himself - 1984