That Time in the “Big ‘80s” When I Was an NBC Page for “Stump the Band” on ‘The Tonight Show” Starring Johnny Carson

[Note: This article is edited material from the book, NBC & ME: My Life as a Page in a Book, which is now available in hardcover. Click here to order. If you’re a member of the press and would like a review copy, email HJPilato@yahoo.com.]

“Who IS this guy?! He’s in every frame!!”

So said original Tonight Show director Bobby Quinn in the director’s booth in December 1985 for a taping of The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.

Quinn was talking about me. At the time, I was finishing up my contracted 18 months as an NBC Page. It was my last few days on the job, and I was depressed.

However, my frown turned upside down when I was only too delighted to be invited to play “Stump the Band” on The Tonight Show; an assignment that was considered quite a coup for any NBC page of the time.

The game was played like this:

Johnny would venture into the studio audience and seek volunteers who would attempt to come up with a song that the Tonight Show band was unfamiliar…