David Norris Brenner

 David Norris Brenner (February 4, 1936 – March 15, 2014)

The most frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the 1970s and 1980s, Brenner "was a pioneer of observational comedy." After high school, Brenner spent two years in the U.S. Army, serving in the 101st Airborne and as a cryptographer of the 595th Signal Corps in Böblingen, Germany. After being discharged, he attended Temple University, where he majored in mass communication and graduated with honors. Brenner was a writer, director or producer of 115 television documentaries and headed the documentary units of Westinghouse Broadcasting and Metromedia, winning nearly 30 awards including an Emmy, before moving to comedy. After making his national television debut in 1971, on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, he became the show's most frequent guest, with 158 appearances. He guest-hosted for Johnny Carson 75 times between 1975 and 1984, placing him fifth on the list of Carson's most frequent guest hosts. In 1986, King World Entertainment gave Brenner his own 30-minute syndicated late-night talk show, Nightlife, in an attempt to compete with Carson, but it was cancelled after one season. He had earlier hosted a syndicated weekly radio show, David Brenner Live, for three months in 1985. Brenner died on March 15, 2014, at age 78 from pancreatic cancer at his Manhattan home. He is buried at Mount Sharon Cemetery in Springfield, Pennsylvania.