“Late Late” host Tom Snyder, 71
Posted: Monday, July 30th, 2007 7:48 am
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Veteran talk show host Tom Snyder, whose idiosyncratic interviewing style bemused and annoyed late-night TV viewers during three decades, has died after a long battle with leukemia, associates said on Monday. He was 71.
The former host of NBC’s “Tomorrow” show and CBS’ “The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder” died on Sunday evening at his home in San Francisco, said his longtime agent and lawyer Ed Hookstratten. …
Comedian David Letterman, who took over Snyder’s time slot when Snyder left NBC and later hired Snyder to follow his own show after moving to CBS, said: “Tom was the very thing that all broadcasters long to be — compelling.”
Snyder gained national fame for hosting “Tomorrow” in NBC’s post-”Tonight Show” spot from 1973 to 1982, with some of his more memorable guests including former Beatle John Lennon, Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols and convicted killer Charles Manson.
But a quirky on-air presence — including frequent digressions about his personal life and the habit of laughing gustily at his own jokes shared with an unseen crew — made him as much the center of attention as his interview subjects. … Read full obituary
