All language subtitles for Never.Too.Late.The.Doc.Severinsen.Story.2020.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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(lively band music)

- [Ed] From Hollywood,

"The Tonight Show
Starring Johnny Carson."

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

This is Ed McMahon, along
with Doc Severinsen.

And now, here's Johnny.

(audience clapping)

Hi, oh.

- This is gonna, this is
gonna take me a minute,

just a second (laughing).

Oh God, you look like Walt
Disney threw up on you.

(audience laughing)

- (laughing) I like it.

- Does that stuff come out?

- Oh, I hope so.

(audience laughing)

Before my wife comes home.

(audience cheering)

(orchestra warming up music)

Pah, bam.

Ta de ta day, da da da da.

Too doodley dum.

(whispered musical vocalization)

(audience cheering)

- [Announcer] Ladies
and gentlemen,

he was the
incomparable bandleader

on "The Tonight Show With
Johnny Carson," for 30 years,

and on stages across
America and the world

for more than 60 years.

Let's give a hand to the
legendary Doc Severinsen.

(audience cheering)

- Thank you very much.

(lively jazz band music)

How do you like
this outfit, girls?

(audience cheering)

As long as I'm here,
I'm gonna keep jiving.

(audience laughing)

I'm gonna do the shim-sham
all the way up to my grave.

- The one and only,
Doc Severinsen.

(audience cheering)

(energetic jazz music)

(audience cheering)

- I'll be back in a moment.

- Doc Severinsen.

- And now, here's Johnny.

(lively band music)
(audience clapping)

- Here's the thing
about "The Tonight Show"

and Doc Severinsen.

There wasn't YouTube,
there wasn't anything.

You basically had
three networks.

There wasn't even cable.

"The Tonight Show" was
the only game in town

for the creme de la creme,
the best of the best.

For me, he was the
musician of the day.

(energetic jazz music)

Doc Severinsen really knocked
down a lot of barriers

that made my job actually
the easiest job in the world.

- We have got on this show

the greatest band ever
to work in television.

(audience cheering)

- The Roots from Philadelphia,
ladies and gentlemen.

- He had to go through it first

and build the foundation of it,

like he had to come
knock down the trees.

When I see any of the
gods of late night music,

Doc Severinsen
defined what we do.

(audience cheering)

- "The Tonight Show"
was everything.

Johnny, Ed, and Doc,

they were the three three most
well-known people in America.

(cage bangs)
- God.

(audience laughing)

- Whatever happened
in your life that day,

you could come back at 11:30
at night and touch base.

- Oh, that guy.
(audience laughing)

- America stayed up till
one o'clock in the morning

to watch the show.

That's unheard of today.

- The greatest
trumpeter in the world

and our orchestra, Doc.
(audience clapping)

- One of the greatest
trumpet players of our day.

- Mr. Doc Severinsen.
(audience clapping)

- He is iconic.

I've always called him the
most complete trumpet player

who's ever played
the instrument.

Any mere mortal will say,
"That's enough of that,

and I'm gonna sit in a rocking
chair and just take it easy."

But not this guy.

(audience cheering)

- He's the most dedicated
trumpet player who ever lived.

(energetic jazz music)

(audience cheering)

(horse's breath whooshing)
(birds cawing)

(electric toothbrush whirring)

- Got that.

There's the other
one right there.

Never be caught
without your boots.

Okay.

(upbeat music)

(gravel crunching)

Well, nobody's gonna
introduce us, howdy.

(players laughing)

How are you?

- [Players] Good, good.

- Everybody, it's
Doc Severinsen.

(players clapping)

- You guys set a lot of
standards for a lot of people,

so be good, and don't
look at me like that.

(players laughing)

- So watch Doc for the tempos,

watch Doc for the
conducting stuff, all right?

- I wanna hear the
energy and the volume.

A one, two, two.

(energetic jazz music)

- Well, one of the things
I really respect about Doc,

after he left "The
Tonight Show,"

he didn't go out and
just be a fame hog.

Doc went out and was a musician.

- I tell you what I'd like.

(musical vocalization)

Wah.

One, two, three.

(energetic jazz music)

Part of the commitment
to being a professional

is when you learn something
special, you pass it along.

Just start with the drum solo.

(drums banging)

That's good.

A-one, two.

(lively jazz music)

When I was six or
seven, my dad said,

"I'm gonna give you
violin lessons."

And I said, "But I don't
wanna play the violin."

And he said, "Fine, you get
up and sit in your high chair

for one hour or you can
practice the violin."

So I got up in the high
chair, and I sat there,

and the next day and the
next day and the next day,

and finally, my dad said,

"All right, what
do you wanna play?"

(mid-tempo jazz music)

I was first trumpet in
the high school band

from the first day that I
played in the band, I was seven.

The trumpet was half
as tall as I was.

I didn't know what I was doing,

and yet by the time
I was nine years old,

I was a state champion
on the trumpet.

Okay, let me just hear the sax,

doobie doobie doo doo doo,

wah wah wah wah.

And there are words to it,

and the words are,
"Dirty mother fucker."

(players laughing)
- Write it in.

- About triple forte,

and tight as a bull's
ass in fly season.

One, two, three.

(mid-tempo jazz music)

It's not tight enough yet.

I don't hear any angst or wah.

A-one, two, three.

(mid-tempo jazz music)

Yes, now.

(loud jazz music)

Okay, all right.

Pah, pah, pah, pah.

Rah.
- Cool.

Here we go, ready and.

(loud jazz music)

- Anybody bleed?

(players laughing)

Send some of those
chops up this way.

(players laughing)

Yeah, man.

- Hey, let's thank
Doc once again.

(players clapping)

- My pleasure, thank you.

(people mumbling)

I've always wanted
to play the trumpet

and I always liked
playing it loud.

(audience laughing)

Take the biggest breath you
can take and then use it.

And I mean really use it.

That's why I go to the gym.

I'm 90 years old.

I still go to the gym
three days a week.

That's what it takes
to play the trumpet.

- What do you feel makes

the best trumpet
players of our time,

the best trumpet players?

- I think it's what in you.

How do you feel
about other people?

Are you nice to other people?

Do you see the best in them?

Can you cry when
you play a melody

that's so beautiful it deserves
every tear you can give?

You're so filled with joy,

that it comes out
in the form of tears

and release all the bad
things you ever thought about,

all the sadness you've ever
had in your life is gone,

and you're joyous.

That's why I play the trumpet.

I do it because I love it.

You gotta have some
humor in your life,

get a laugh out of life,
and you'll play better.

(whimsical jazz trumpet music)

(audience laughing)

(audience laughing)

(audience clapping)

The happy people are
the lucky people.

Be happy.

- [Man] Doc Severinsen.

(audience clapping)

(trumpet mouthpiece buzzing)

(lively jazz music)

- When I was still a
senior in high school,

I went on the road
with a big band.

- Those big band
era jazz musicians,

that's some hardcore
tough road lessons.

Whatever that is, you
have to be fearless.

- We had a freewheeling
bunch of guys.

Nobody asked me how old
I was and nobody cared.

When you're a kid on the road

with a bunch of older musicians,
it ain't Bible school.

- Do you remember
any of the tricks

that you played in
the Barnet Band?

- Oh yes, I sure do, but we
can't talk about them here.

(audience laughing)

They're not fit for
public consumption.

- Is that true?

- That is true.

This was during an era
that I was partaking

lightly of the spirits.

I had had more than
a body could consume.

And it wound up on the reeds

of the entire saxophone section.

(audience laughing)

Of course, that was my
last night on the band.

I was in the hospital for two
or three weeks after that.

(audience laughing)

Going to play in the big bands

was like getting a
doctorate in life.

I went to the school
of hard knocks.

And if you don't do
good, you get fired.

(crowd mumbling)

(musical vocalizing)

- [Announcer] How about a hand

for the legendary
Doc Severinsen?

(audience cheering)

- [Doc] Hey guys.

Thank you, let's do it.

(slow jazz music)

(audience clapping)

- If you were
playing the trumpet,

I mean, performing, walking
out in front of an audience

at 92 years old,

and looking the way Doc
does, it's just unheard of.

He has a style
that's uniquely his.

So you feel he's able
to get his personality

beyond the bell of the trumpet.

He's a marvel of a human being.

(audience clapping)

(birds chirping)

- You know, it's
funny, you get involved

with these wild animals
that stay on your place,

and you feel
responsible for them.

Okay, tweet, tweet,
kids come get your food.

(upbeat instrumental music)

I was born in 1927
in Arlington, Oregon.

It was a real Western town.

The nearest hospital
was very far away.

So my dad, being a dentist,

assisted the local
doctor in delivering me.

My dad wrapped me in a blanket

and walked down the only
real street in town.

The locals said, "Well look,

here comes big Doc
and little Doc."

So Doc it is.

When you're a dentist
in a small town,

most everybody owes you money.

We were really poor.

This was the Depression, and
you never really forget that.

I was a small guy
in a small town,

and all my buddies
were twice my size.

There were fist
fights all the time.

And if they couldn't
settle it with their fists,

they'd settle it with a gun.

It made me really tough.

Okay, let's see
what we got here.

You ever hear of
blackstrap molasses?

It'll set you free.

It's called cowboy oatmeal,

and the idea is it's stuff
you can carry with you

out on the range.

Before I go to the gym,
I got this for a base.

This is great stuff.

Five minutes after you take it,

your ears start to
get hot and tingly.

(blender whirring)

Lift off.

(lively upbeat music)

- Look at that.

That is big boy weight.

Doc, he works out
three days a week.

Do you remember
that slow-mo we do?

You're doing great.

The only time I do not see
him as if he's traveling

and out of town on
another engagement.

One more big one.

Good job.

The first time I
started training him,

I said, "Okay,
let's take it easy."

No, no.

He's an exception to
the rules, what he is.

And every time we do
something, he wants more.

(Doc grunting)

- You don't come in here
and just fool around

doing whatever you feel like.

One wrong move in this gym

can take six months
off your life.

- [Karen] Engage that core.

- [Doc] Where are we, Coach?

- [Karen] A minute
and a half in.

- [Doc] Two is gonna be it.

- Okay, five, four,
three, two, and one.

There we go, two solid minutes.

- Everything that I do in
here relates to the trumpet.

It's all core.

- [Karen] What are we on here?

- Five.

- [Karen] In this gym,

the folks are in awe
of what he can do.

He's a freak of nature.

(energetic jazz music)

- Doc Severinsen sat
in with The Roots

our first time in Los Angeles.

I said, "Yo, how old
is Doc Severinsen,

'cause at first it was like,
"Oh, he's still alive?"

- Oh my goodness.
(audience cheering)

That was a treat.

- And when they said 89, we
all looked at each other like

oh boy, well, does he have
a walker with the cane,

like with the tennis
balls at the bottom,

and that sort of thing?

I didn't know what to expect.

And he just walked in like,

"All right, let me at it.

All right, here a little."

(mouth squeaking)

And you know, he wanted to
let us know I'm still here.

- We're truly honored
to have you here.

Thank you so much.
(audience cheering)

- My pleasure, thank you.

- I hope to be at
that level in my 90s.

I mean, I'm struggling now

with 50 round the
corner (laughs).

Time doesn't affect him at all.

(lively jazz music)

- My original thing I wanted
to be was a studio musician.

So I went to New York.
Television was starting out.

It was the capital of
music and entertainment.

I played the gigs.

I got the money
the best I could.

I would play when I was
drunk out of my mind

and smoking grass,

and thought everything
was wonderful.

All I had to do was hit
high Fs with a hangover,

and then try to keep
from puking on the floor.

(mid-tempo jazz music)

(mellow jazz music)

How about that?

I met my first wife Jane in
an Irish bar in New York City.

She was from St.
Louis, divorced, and
a fan of jazz music.

I didn't know it at the time

that she had a pretty
severe case of alcoholism.

By the time I got it all figured
out, we'd had three kids.

- I was the first born,

and then Cindy came along
two-and-a-half years later,

and then Al came
along six years later.

- Tell them about the time
you took that kid in the Jeep

and turned it over in the creek.

(Allen laughing)
- That was Jackson.

- When we went to turn around,

and he drove off a
cliff into the creek.

And so we landed nose down.

Thank God we could have
been killed just the same.

- See these boots?

Well, they were
right up his butt

the whole way up that hill.

- What kind of
parenting was going on?

- How could you let that happen?

- Sometimes you're
just so goddamn scared

that you're not
gonna be able to hold

the whole thing together.

- You know, when you have a
mother who is an alcoholic,

there is one objective
for that person in life.

It's not how am I gonna
take care of my kids?

Where is my next drink
is the next concern.

So we pretty much had
to fend for ourselves.

- One time we were driving
back to school after lunch,

and we got to this place
where there's three roads

that lead off of this.
- She totally missed it.

- And I guess brakes
were slammed on,

and the car is spinning around,

and I thought, "Oh, this is it.

This is not good."

- I asked some friends of mine.

I knew they were in AA, and
I said, "Can you help me?

I got the little
kids in the house,

and my wife is just
totally strung out.

What do you think?"

And they said, "Have you
ever thought about yourself?"

And I said, "Me?"

"Yeah, you."

- You don't drink now at all?

- No, I had to come
to the decision,

and one of the things
that was difficult for me

was the fact that I wasn't
lying in a gutter someplace.

Everybody has their
own personal bottom

that tells you, "Hey,
I got a problem here."

Every day, I'd go
to New York to work.

I lived in the suburbs.

I would wake up the
next morning at home,

and I wouldn't have
any recollection

of even getting in
my car to drive home.

And this is not normal.

- [Interviewer] Oh wow, no.

- I went to a
lawyer and he said,

"You have to leave the marriage,

and leave your children
behind if you have to,

make a home for
yourself that's decent

and would be a good
place for the kids."

- I had just turned 13, I think.

It was early August.

You came and got us one
day and away we went.

We never looked back.

(gentle music)

- [Doc] Well, I
gave her the house.

I got divorced, and
at the same time,

there was a woman who had been

my childhood sweetheart, Evonne.

She was married to
an airline pilot

who was himself an alcoholic.

Evonne got divorced,
we got married.

Evonne's two girls, Robin and
Judy, I legally adopted them.

- The two families
coming together

was with the hope that all
of our lives would improve.

It seemed like we
were all being saved.

(lively music)

- [Announcer] The
following program

is brought to you on NBC.

(energetic jazz music)

- [Announcer] From New York,

"The Tonight Show
Starring Johnny Carson."

(audience clapping)

- As luck would have it, I got
hired to play first trumpet

on "The Tonight Show
With Johnny Carson."

About five years later, I was
asked to take over the band.

From the first trumpet
chair to the spot

in front of the band
is about 25 feet.

And that's the longest distance
I ever walked in my life.

- We have to do that
more often, I tell you.

(audience clapping)

- Being a band leader is
a whole nother muscle.

- We got something
real special tonight.

- It's a night of Latin
madness, that's what it is.

- That's one of the
things that made Doc

vis-a-vis his personality
perfect for that

to stand in front
of a microphone, and
talk about the band,

and talk to the audience,
and introduce the songs.

A lot of people just don't
wanna be out in front.

- I was with Doc last night

and all the guys from the
band at their annual party,

and I said if they all
showed up today (laughs),

they could do this great
chart that they have.

It's called "Ode to Billie Joe."

Doc and the guys.

(energetic jazz music)

- I told the guys in the band,

"I don't want us to be just a
painting in the background."

Audiences recognize all
the guys in the band

and the guys in the
band were amazed

at how people knew them
by their first names.

First of all, Tommy Newsom
had a huge identity.

Eddie Shaughnessy,
Pete Christlieb,

and Ernie Watts, our
two tenor sax players,

that was sort of a carry-over
from Count Basie's band.

- When I started doing
"The Tonight Show,"

I was 23 years old.

I was scared of Doc.

He was a disciplinarian.

He'd hear us getting a little
loose around the edges,

and then he'd beat
us up for a while,

and that would tighten
it up (laughs).

- "The Tonight Show" Band,

those were some of the
sharpest, best musicians

and could sit in with anyone.

Even though I had a strict
no television household,

at the age of
seven, eight, nine,

I watched all those
music guests on the show.

- Now the rest of the
guys were big band guys.

They had been in the
studio for years.

- [Johnny] How many
different bands

did the guys guys
play with, Doc?

- A lot of them been with
Stan Kenton, Woody Herman,

Tommy Dorsey, you name it.

- Being a member of
"The Tonight Show" Band

as a musician, I think,

is probably the best
gig in the world.

These guys got in about two,

and they were out at 6:30.

So you can do "The Tonight
Show" as a musician,

and then you could play

a club in Hollywood
at eight o'clock.

- They would do the
show, go to the airport,

fly to Las Vegas,

do a Vegas show and
come back (laughs).

And they did that every day.

- When the band
would go on the road,

we're gone for two
to three weeks,

big towns, small
towns, no towns.

There was sort of a
party every night then.

And when we had a party,
it was extraordinary.

It's all private.

This is a Grammy for the
big band jazz recording

with "The Tonight Show" Band.

Or it makes a perfect
cup of coffee.

You can use it for anything.

This is Ed McMahon's shot glass.

(lively jazz music)

- Johnny comes back
from commercial,

and that pencil it's just going.

He's just beating that desk
because that band is kicking it.

And Doc, you would just
blast that damn horn.

- Never realized how high
those notes are that Doc blows.

- [Ed] Isn't this a
night that you're glad

that you're not
the trumpet player?

- Oh.

- "The Tonight Show" was
such a monolithic thing.

- Would you welcome
Mr. Martin Mull?

(lively band music)
(audience clapping)

- To be on "The Tonight
Show" as a comic act

was considered the plum.

That was the brass ring.

Don't worry.

I'm not gonna do anything
intelligent tonight.

I've tried that,

and it just doesn't seem
to work on this show.

(audience laughing)

- There were a lot of performers

that used "The Tonight Show"
to announce their arrival.

If you were on
"The Tonight Show,"

agents would be
calling the next day.

Managers would
wanna talk to you.

- "The Tonight Show" had
40% of the market share.

So if we didn't have 25 million
people watching the show,

we didn't think we
did a very good job.

- Ed, this is the
car with seats made

just like my pants.

(car horn honking)

(spoons clicking)

- [David] Doc's role was
to be the coolest guy.

Johnny couldn't really have
a great show that he liked

if Doc wasn't there.

(audience clapping)

They were a team.

- [Ed] Now you're talking.

- Johnny was the
king, Ed was the foil.

- Welcome once again, Carnac.

- [Bob] And Doc was a star.

- Hey Gov, you got enough
air to blow this thing?

(audience laughing)

- All right, it's all right.

(audience laughing)

- I always liked when
things were not going great,

and everybody had to recover,

Johnny had to recover basically.

- I've been reading
in the paper Lately

about Old Faithful
in Yellowstone Park.

- Yeah.
(audience clapping)

- Yeah, apparently it's true.

Old Faithful is taking a lot
longer between eruptions,

but then again, who isn't?
(audience laughing)

Oh come on, come on.

Now come on, let's hear it.

It's like talking in
class, let's all hear it.

(audience laughing)

- Well, we were just saying,

if things don't pick
up here in a minute,

we'd have a little
dance music for you.

(audience laughing)
(audience clapping)

Some of the best moments
were when we really went

in the toilet and had to
make something out of it.

(lively band music)

(audience cheering)

- You got a band number?

(audience laughing)

You're always complaining
you never get a chance

to play a band number.

("Taps")
(audience cheering)

We haven't done this
for a long time,

and we like to come up and
see where everybody's from,

play Stump the Band.

We have a lot of
great prizes tonight.

Anybody have a song?

Hi, where's your Harley?

(audience laughing)

Vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom.

What's the name of
the song, Terry?

- "Patty Cake Man."
- Patty Cake Man."

- Could she come to the band?
- No, she can't.

(audience laughing)

No, no not tonight,
not on Friday night.

- [Both] Patty cake,
patty cake, baker's man.

Bake me a cake as
quick as you can.

- No, no.
- Put it in the oven.

- [Johnny] It can't
be that one, can it?

- Oh that's nothing
the way I sing it.

- Well, I'm sure.
(audience laughing)

- Okay Terry.

- Stump the Band came about
when there was that moment

where a guest dropped
out at the last minute,

and you had five-minute
spot to fill.

- What's the name of the song?

- "Making Believe You're Here."

- What'll we do?

Let's let Johnny go
up in the audience.

- I know it.

- Doc has it.

♪ Making believe you're here ♪

♪ So that I can say
something in your ear ♪

Stump the Band became a
significant part of the show.

- Where do you
get those outfits?

- Told you.

- You have some little pervert
in a basement somewhere that?

(audience laughing)

Look what I'm gonna make.

(audience laughing)

- Doc Severinsen's
wardrobe was as vital

and important to the
show as any guest

that was ever on the show.

- Did you see the size of
the lapels on that jacket?

Look at the lapel.

- Or the banter between Johnny
and Ed, it was a staple.

- Of course, I have
a gold lame shirt,

which everybody must have.
(audience cheering)

You got it kids.

- Now, you should try wearing
men's clothing sometime.

- Most bandleaders do
something in their dress

to be a little bit different.

- Salmon pants, right?
(audience laughing)

- And they're swimming upstream.

(audience laughing)

(audience cheering)

- And when they get
there, they're gonna die.

(audience laughing)

- You don't dress
in the same clothes

as the guys in the band.

- I don't look at Doc's
clothes before I come out.

And I don't look at
them after I come out.

(audience laughing)

- I remember walking
down Park Avenue,

and there was an
Italian clothing store,

and they had this
window full of ties

that were just really wild.

And I went in and
bought a bunch,

and we took them back
and Johnny made a remark.

I thought I'm moving in
the right direction here.

- It's the gray fox.
(audience laughing)

Wow.

- No, the silver stallion.

(audience cheering)

- You know, those
coats he wears,

they're like matador coats.

Those things weigh 40 pounds.

- What is that?
(audience laughing)

- It's your little old
band leader under here.

(audience laughing)

- Looks like one big fungus.

(audience laughing)

That's the worst skin
rash I've ever seen.

(audience cheering)

- You realize, uh oh, I've
created a monster here,

and I'm gonna have
to feed the monster.

I'm being used to keep that
peacock sexually stimulated.

(lively band music)

- Everybody loved his outfit.

It go with his personality.

- Do you dig it?

- [Johnny] Yeah, that's nice.

- Give me a set of
whips and a tire iron,

and I can go anyplace
in this thing.

(audience laughing)

- You're gonna go out and
have a knife fight tonight?

Look at that outfit.

- No, this my Fire
Island bowling jacket.

(audience laughing)

- Even if I would love to,

I don't believe my wife let
me wear those things (laughs).

(energetic band music)

- Friend of mine
hit me up and said,

"What's gonna be your flash mark

'cause all you do
is wear all black?"

My drum sets, that's my
afro-pick nod to Doc Severinsen.

- Every night that I was
on "The Tonight Show,"

I bought my own clothes.

I bought my own trumpets.

I brought my own shoelaces,
my own underwear.

Everything was mine.

Now I'm thinking
about my underwear.

(trumpet wailing)

I'm even jazzier in my BVDs.

- [Announcer] BVD
brand underwear.

Whatever you do, that extra
comfort helps you do it better.

- I get the cable
channels, and I tune in,

and I see a closeup of Doc
Severinsen and his trumpet

saying, "I play jazzier
in my BVDs," so help me.

(audience cheering)

True.

You thought you could sneak out
on cable and do that, right?

We're gonna test that theory
some night, live on the air.

(audience laughing)

- For the average
television viewer,

Doc Severinsen was musical
comic foil to Johnny Carson.

People really don't understand
that he was an ace musician,

and the best in his field.

(static hissing)

(energetic jazz band music)

- Doc has this glorious joy

that soars through his
sound of his trumpet.

Not only the power of it,
but the vocal quality to it.

- What makes Doc so special
ultimately is his lyrical play.

And when he plays a ballad,
he rips your heart out.

(mid-tempo loud jazz music)

- When you hear
something like that,

you know what great is.

(audience clapping)

- In 1972, "The Tonight Show"
was moved to California.

A lot of the guys in the
band and members of the crew

were very excited about that,

but it was a
difficult move for me.

My kids were in
school in New Jersey,

and I didn't wanna uproot them.

They stayed behind with Evonne,

and I moved out to
Burbank by myself.

(gentle music)

When I got out
there, I was lonely.

Nobody's to blame for anything,

but the distance
and other situations

made it difficult
to stay married.

- What are you doing
for Thanksgiving?

- I was gonna ask you if
you've got your turkey yet.

- Sure.

- Truthfully, do you help Mrs.
Carson prepare the turkey?

- Just like you help Mrs.
Severinsen prepare the turkey.

(audience laughing)

- No, there is no
Mrs. Severinsen.

- Oh, that's right, I-

- There used to be.

- I'm sorry, I didn't
mean to do that.

- The fact that I never
- Hard for me to keep track.

- helped her stuff her bird
was one of our big problems.

(audience laughing)

It's Thanksgiving, I am, well,
you might say without wife.

- We've been together so long

that I forget
sometimes where we are

(audience laughing)

- Which wife we're on.
- On various Thanksgivings.

No, we're good.

- In fact, that was
one of the things

we really fought about.

- What?

- I wanted an oyster
stuffing in the turkey,

and she wanted bread stuffing,

and she got bread stuffing
and a lot of money.

(Johnny laughing)

He kind of kept after
it, so we got into it.

- You used to argue about
what you're gonna stuff

the turkey with?
- Yes.

- And that was one
of the problems?

- She's still stuffing
the turkey with money.

(Johnny laughing)

- Well, it's nice to know
you have no bitterness.

(audience laughing)

- My kids were having
Thanksgiving over here,

somebody else over here.

And when I get through,
what am I gonna do?

Go over to Chadney's
and have dinner?

I don't think so.

- You really feel badly.

Now, I feel so terrible
that you're gonna be alone.

(audience laughing)

Would you like-

- I didn't say I was
going to be alone.

(Johnny laughing)

- You just say you ain't
gonna eat no turkey, right?

- That's right.

- You could come over, would
you like to come to the house?

- This is the first time
you've ever asked me.

(audience laughing)

- Well, now you've
made me feel so guilty.

- I mean, when you
ask an employee

in front of 15 million people,

"Do you wanna come to the
house for Thanksgiving dinner?"

What am I gonna say, nah?

(Johnny laughing)

You know what I say, I say,
"Yes, Mr. Carson, I'd love it."

- Can you come?

- No.
(audience laughing)

(mellow music)

- On "The Tonight Show,"
I was the secretary.

I worked for Johnny on and
off over the five years

that I worked on
"The Tonight Show."

It was a thrill from day
one to my last day there.

(dog barking)

Oh boy.

This is Lucy, Doc
remembers Lucy.

She was just a puppy
when we got her, a baby.

We got her in Mexico.

And this, this is Jose.

Jose is 17.

I got custody of Jose.

I'm glad about that.

I'm missing a Great
Dane, Guillermo.

There they are, come
on, come on, come on.

I met Doc in "The Tonight
Show" studio at NBC in Burbank.

I just thought he was so cute
and nice, and that was it.

I mean, it certainly
wasn't love at first sight.

To hear him in front
of the band, a thrill.

(audience clapping)

(lively folk music)

I knew he was married,

but when "The Tonight
Show" moved to Los Angeles,

his wife didn't move with him.

She stayed in New Jersey,

and so I thought
they were separated.

I think I was gullible.

He wasn't being
completely honest with me.

I just thought he
was an available man.

And it turns out he wasn't
and it wasn't pretty.

He had filed for divorce,

and then that went
on for quite a while.

And then finally
they were divorced.

- Got some good news tonight,

I found out the past few days.

- [Ed] What?

You didn't know?
- Oh, I know, yes.

- About our orchestra leader.

- How about this?
- Mr. Severinsen was married.

- On Saturday.
- On Saturday.

- Yes.
(audience cheering)

(Doc shouting)
(Johnny laughing)

Emily's a lovely girl.

- Yes, she is.
- She really is.

- Congratulations, Doc.
- Thank you very much.

- Be happy.
- Be happy.

(audience cheering)

- I know they'll be happy.

- Be tolerant.
- Be tolerant.

- Be understanding.
- Be a companion.

- Be loving.
- Be forgiving.

- [Johnny] Be generous.

(slow mellow music)

- Doc and that trumpet,
that's what he did.

You know, over almost 40 years,

I bet we only went to the movies
maybe five times together.

He just never had the time

to do like couple
things, you know,

because you can't
say to Picasso,

"Put the paintbrush down."

- When I'm away
from the trumpet,

I feel a little weird and it
does things to me mentally.

I love music.

I get a lot of my
personal identity

out of my relationship
with the trumpet.

- I don't believe any trumpet
player is completely rational

or normal, hundred percent.

The instrument itself
mess with your head.

(slow instrumental music)

- The only people that
wanna be trumpet players

are psychotic, crazy nut jobs

that love torture and
routine, basically.

- I'm not sure he's
ever really grown up

because he's arrested and
locked into that horn.

It has consumed him.

It identifies him.

It's been his gateway
and his prison.

- With a trumpet, it is just

a relentless,
never-ending struggle.

It's your yoga,

you have to do it four
or five hours a day,

and that's it.

- [Emily] What a burden he
had to bear all of his life,

that pressure of being
the star, the golden boy.

- The trumpet is a
jealous mistress.

She's always there tapping
you on the shoulder,

saying, "You know, we
haven't practiced today."

- Every essence of his
molecular structure

is from the relationship
with the trumpet.

Anytime I've been
around a great musician

that their significant
other went like this,

it just, it fractures
in some way.

(soaring slow trumpet music)

- [Doc] Hey Chris,
how you doing, man?

Good to see you.

- It's so great to see you.

- [Doc] Wow, you look
sharp, look at you.

- You may not remember
this, but in 2002,

we chatted and you said,

"Chris, I've been
following your career.

You're doing great.

Do me and yourself a favor,

and never walk on stage
without wearing a suit."

- What?

- And I've never once.

- I said that?
- Yeah.

- Maybe I was kidding.

- God, what if it
was all a joke?

(both laughing)

(soaring trumpet music)

(trumpet buzzing)

(slow jazz music)

92 and he can play that great.

Really something to behold.

The trajectory of
his whole career

from picking up the
instrument at six

to being 92 and the
impact that he's had.

Well, to trumpet players,
he's the Michael Jordan.

- Oh okay.

That's the beginning
of side one.

(upbeat funky jazz music)

There's about 50 years
fooling around with this stuff

to get to this one horn.

It becomes pretty personal.

If it gets any more than that,

the horn is not gonna play
the way I think should.

My work with the trumpet
is based on meditation.

When I'm not playing it,

I'm thinking about
what I could do

to make it a little bit better.

(slow trumpet music)

- Now, you're gonna
meet Doc Severinsen.

- Right now?

- Any minute now.
- Cool.

- Hey, how are you?
- It's quite an honor

to meet you.

- [Doc] Arnie?

- [Arnie] Arnie Harris, yes.

- [Doc] Yeah, nice to meet you.

- [Arnie] And this
is Jamie LeDuc.

Jamie, this is Doc Severinsen.

[Doc] Hey Jamie, how are you?

- It's nice to meet you.

- [Doc] How long have
you been playing?

- [Jamie] Since 2013.

(slow trumpet music)

- Go ahead, keep playing.

- [Jamie] Okay.

(slow trumpet music)

- Can I help you?

- [Jamie] Yes.

- Put your hands
here, right in there.

Now (breath whooshes).

- Oh, it needs to be fuller.

Whoosh.
- Yes, that's it.

- As it comes out.

That's it.

It's like singing a song.

You gotta have air.
- To sustain the notes.

- Yeah.
- Otherwise they fall.

- There you go.

(slow trumpet music)

You could do that.

Here.

Okay, put your mouthpiece
in the horn and just do it.

(slow trumpet music)

Now hit the next several, ah.

(slow trumpet music)

Oh, now run the scale up.

There you go.

And now the G.

(loud trumpet music)

Oh my God.

- [Jamie] I knocked them back,
yay, I knocked them back.

Whoo.

- [Doc] Go ahead,
take a shot at me.

- I don't think
that's a good idea

but wait, are you
holding your breath?

Is that why it's thicker?
- No.

- You're talking
- I'm talking to you.

- So that can't be right.
- I'm breathing.

I'm breathing.

- I wonder why it's different?

- 'Cause I got a lot of muscle

from doing it.
- Is there a way

to build that up?

- Yeah.

- Put this part.
- That has to go down.

- There you go.
- There's that.

- Now you up off your knees.

Are you cheating?

No, you're not.

Leave that diaphragm,
stays in that position

for low notes or high
notes, doesn't matter.

Okay, come all through.

And I guess you could stay there

the rest of the
afternoon if you want.

I gotta go spend
some time with people

that are not half as
interesting as you are.

- Thank you.

- You're the high
spot of my day,

buddy.
- Yay.

(energetic jazz music)

- Whee.
(audience clapping)

What was that last
note you hit on?

What was that last
note on the trumpet?

- High C.
- It was a B-flat concert.

High B-flat concert
and it hurts.

(audience laughing)

Is that the highest note
you can hit on the trumpet?

- No, it depends on what
happened the day before.

(audience laughing)

- But that's a high
note, high B-flat, right?

- You're getting in the
danger zone with that.

- Do the high B-flat again,

and then see if you
can go above it.

(audience laughing)

Do the high B-flat and then-

- Do you have any idea?

(audience laughing)

- No, I don't-
- What you're asking me to do?

- He can do it now.
- 23 years,

you've never asked me anything.

(audience laughing)

- That takes great embouchure,
as they say, right?

- Let's hear it, Doc.
- Great embouchure.

- You can do it.
- Sneak up to the,

sneak on up.

- Well.
(audience laughing)

Can't we have the
whole band play?

- [Johnny] No, I don't
wanna cover over this.

(audience laughing)

I want this clean.

(high trumpet music)

(audience cheering)

- After years of
speculation, rumors,

cocktail party conversations,

and just plain old gossip,

Johnny Carson has
finally made it official.

He is not going to stay
on television forever.

(audience clapping)

- It is coming to
an end next year.

I've always wanted
to be a shepherd.

(audience laughing)

- Is that right?
- That's right.

- That's odd, a shepherd.

- Well, it's just one of those
things that appeals to me.

- We were coming up to 30 years.

Johnny made the announcement
a year in advance,

"One year from today will
be my last "Tonight Show."

- Why do you have to do this?

Why do you have to quit?

(audience laughing)

- Don't go.

(audience laughing)

- The set, which I
assume you're dismantling

and setting up at your house.

(audience laughing)

It's easier to talk
to people like this,

isn't it?
- Yes, it is.

- Don't you wish, when
you had a guest over,

you could just say,
"We're out of time."

- The response of the public
to Johnny leaving that show

was no small matter.

- Raise our goblets,
hoist our glasses.

On May 22nd, we're
out on our asses.

(audience laughing)

- He said, "I wanna
leave on my own terms."

(car engine whirring)

And he said, "I've
always prided myself

on my sense of timing,
and it's time to go."

How many ways are
there to say goodbye,

and especially when you're
saying goodbye to 30 years?

(audience clapping)

- This man over here,

there's never been a better
trumpet player in the world,

and television is gonna lose

the last big swing
band in the world.

- Yes.
(audience cheering)

- Before we leave here,

I wanna thank you Johnny,
for making life such a joy.

It's gonna be awfully hard
every night about that time,

when we hit that theme,

and you walk out there
through that curtain.

And I wondered if
maybe once a week,

you could come to my house,

and walk out through the
draperies in my living room.

(audience laughing)
- Sure, I'll do that.

- But the guys and
I wanna thank you

for giving us a place
to play our music.

- Thank you guys.
(audience cheering)

- And so it has come to this.

I am one of the lucky
people in the world.

I found something I
always wanted to do,

and I have enjoyed every
single minute of it.

I wanna thank the gentlemen
who shared the stage

with me for 30 years,
Mr. Ed McMahon.

(audience clapping)

Mr. Doc Severinsen.

(audience clapping)

For you people watching,
I can only tell you

that it has been an
honor and a privilege

to come into your homes all
these years and entertain you.

And I hope when I find
something that I wanna do,

and I think you will
like and come back,

you'll be as gracious in
inviting me into your home

as you have been.

I bid you a very
heartfelt good night.

(audience cheering)

(gentle piano music)

- People say, "What's
the biggest thing

that ever happened
to you in your life?"

I say, "Becoming bandleader
of "The Tonight Show.""

It was a set of circumstance

that I don't think
will ever happen again.

- When "The Tonight Show" ended,

I think both Doc and I
thought we were retiring.

I certainly retired.

- Our next guest was
the musical director

of "The Tonight Show
Starring Johnny Carson"

for 25 years,

and now performing with Tommy
Newsom and Ed Shaughnessy.

Please welcome Doc Severinsen.

(audience clapping)

(slow orchestral music)

- We left LA and moved to
Santa Ynez, California.

We went and had
this wonderful ranch

and started populating
it with animals.

We got four pigs.

Well, this is that
Porky's water dish.

- Come here, Pork.
- Porky.

- Come on out.
(pig grunting)

- [Emily] Three mini
horses, two regular horses,

and of course dogs and cats.

- The first six months
after the show was off,

it was really difficult,

but it's one of the
reasons we're here.

- Instantly, he started
leaving to travel and work.

(audience clapping)

I don't know that he
ever truly processed

the end of "The Tonight Show"
because he didn't have to.

He never stopped.

- I'm on the road about
46 weeks a year, Larry.

- Work 'em, Doc, work 'em, baby.

(audience cheering)

(audience laughing)

- [Announcer] The Good Doctor

and the Doc
Severinsen Orchestra.

(audience clapping)

- People from around the country

are mourning the death
of Johnny Carson.

His nephew tells
CNN he passed away

early Sunday from emphysema.

- [Reporter] His death
marks the passing

of a show business legend

and a man of warmth
and sincerity.

- On the Friday before he
died, I said to my wife,

"You know, we haven't had Johnny
out for dinner in a while.

He loves the way you
make that roast pork.

Why don't we give him a call

and see if he can come out."

And she said,

"Well, I think we waited
a little too long."

And on Sunday, phone rings.

It was Jeff Sotzing, his nephew.

And he, "Johnny
died at 7:00 A.M."

And I have to tell you,

life has never been
the same since.

He gave me some
guidelines to go by,

and any time I'm faced

with something like this,

I just asked myself,
"What would Johnny do?"

And then I try to do it.

(gentle music)

(church bells ringing)

- The general emotion was
sadness, kind of disbelief.

I think both of
us were depressed.

So much of Doc's behavior
has to do with his aging,

his fear of death and
running away from it,

running to something youthful.

(light slow folk music)

In December of 2006,
we moved to San Miguel.

Moving here was not
about retirement.

He called it a
youthful thing to do.

We went out one night
to hear a guitarist

and a violin player.

(lively folk music)

- I play, and he was listening,

and he started telling
me jokes about musicians,

and all these things.

Very nice man.

And he say, "Well, by the way,

my name is Doc Severinsen."

And I say, "Nice to meet
you," and I walk out.

I didn't know who
he was (laughs).

- I swear it wasn't
six months later

that they were
playing as a group.

I'd have to say that we
played, I don't know,

something like 500
concerts together.

- Yeah, between 500
and 700 times with him.

(lively guitar music)
(audience cheering)

(slow jazz music)

I knew his heart wasn't
here in the marriage,

and then Doc left.

He's not going to retire.

That's not in his DNA.

He will play that trumpet
as long as he can.

I hope he can play
it a long time.

I'm happy for him now that
he's with a trumpet player.

I am not bitter, I'm grateful.

Jose is embittered, I'm not.

(Emily laughing)

(birds chirping)

(mellow jazz music)

- This is part of my early life,

"Doc Severinsen Parade Preview"

for, it was actually
the Rose Parade,

which would have been
January 1st, 1974.

I was part of the McDonald's
All-American band,

and that year Doc Severinsen

recorded two tunes with
the band as part of that.

This says, "To Cathy,
love Doc Severinsen."

And I don't remember
when he wrote that.

It was pretty special
to be able to be

in the band that
recorded with him.

And of course I couldn't
play for several minutes,

just being near him,
it was (laughing),

I'm gonna cry,

but it was very, very special.

Around 2006, he called me.

He was coming here with
his San Miguel Five group,

and I realized that when
he left, I missed him.

- My baby-est boy,
you my good boy?

(dog barking)

- In 2010, he came here with
his new line of trumpets,

and then he just didn't leave.

I could tell you're in
love with Doc Severinsen,

really brilliant move.

Everyone's looking for
the love of their life.

And then when it arrives

in the package of
Doc Severinsen,

you think, "Okay, wait,

some mistake has been
made here" (laughs).

He had his hat on one day
when we were grocery shopping,

and a little kid went by,

must have been about
four years old,

said to his father,
"There's a cowboy."

Made his whole week (laughing)

"There's a cowboy" (laughing).

Yeah, he's the love of my life.

(gentle music)

- In a relationship
like I am with Cathy,

I got somebody who really,
really understands me,

and I understand her.

When you play the
trumpet seriously,

as I do and as she does,

you become more aware
of the necessity

of both doing your work,

and that includes
the relationship.

I think anybody who's
been through breakups

and lost family and part of
your identity and your feelings,

there are only so many times
you wanna go through that.

It's good to have you home.

Wanna a cookie?

Oh wow, look in here.

You gotta wait till
the scar tissue's gone,

and good, healthy things
are growing together.

That's a good boy, yes.

You stand a pretty good chance

of making the same
mistakes again,

until you get too damn old
for it to matter anymore,

and then you say,
"Oh to hell with it.

It's too late now."

It's never too late,
never too late.

- [Cathy] There we go.

(Doc laughing)

(lively upbeat music)

- Iconic trumpeter and "The
Tonight Show" bandleader,

Doc Severinsen returned
to Rochester to perform.

- The legendary
entertainer's popularity

continues to play
across the generations.

- I just love what I do.

It's a way of life.

- If it wiggles,
walks, or crawls,

we can get it on your foot.

- Don't have to break
these babies in.

- Welcome to the ITG Conference.

I'm Cathy Leach,

president of the
International Trumpet Guild.

- The great Doc
Severinsen is in town.

He's gonna be joining

the Kansas City
Symphony this Thursday.

- I am not going to go
quietly into the night.

- [Announcer] Here's Doc.

(lively trumpet music)

(audience clapping)

(singer vocalizing)

(audience clapping)

(trumpet blaring)

- Thank you guys,
put it together

for our grandpa, Doc
Severinsen, everyone.

(crowd cheering)

(orchestra warming up music)

- [Announcer] Let's give a hand

to the legendary Doc Severinsen.

(audience cheering)

- Here you are, listening to
the music that we're making,

and it gladdens my heart that
you're here and that I'm here.

And I thank the
orchestra and all of you

for making this a
very special evening.

I have a large contingent of
my family out here tonight.

I've got granddaughters,
great granddaughters,

the whole nine yards.
(audience cheering)

Here we go.

(gentle orchestral music)

- "The Tonight Show"
ended 30 years ago.

He's still rocking,
it's amazing.

I can't imagine Doc ever
consider retirement.

Really, what would he do?

- The thing that
makes Doc stand out,

through all of these dramas,

no matter how bizarre it gets,

no matter what happened,
he stayed on the track.

That's where it's at.

(singing in foreign language)

(audience cheering)

- You have to be reminded
every once in a while

to examine, "What am I doing?"

You get a little
call from someplace,

and they said, "We just
wanna check you out

to see how long you think you
really want to be around."

- Well, I'm glad to see you
looking and sounding better.

Yeah, good.

- [Doc] It's coming,
it's coming along.

(Doc coughing)

- Oh boy, I don't like that.

- One night I came
home about 7:00 PM.

He was in the bed,
shivering uncontrollably.

His temperature had
gone up to 101.9.

That's when I knew we've got
to go to the emergency room.

They x-rayed his chest, and
said that he had pneumonia.

- It's a serious issue, so
good thing we got you in here.

- I like to have
three workouts a week.

If you were in my shoes,
what do you think you'd do?

- I'm gonna put a wrinkle
on your plan though

for the next four weeks while
you're on these IV medicines.

I'm gonna have a
temporary IV line

in your arm called a PICC line.

You can exercise, get out
and walk, do stuff like that,

just not anything
that's gonna be intense.

- I'll walk with you.

I'm gonna bring you a
mouthpiece tomorrow.

- Good.

I honestly don't know
what's gonna happen.

I have not played
the trumpet this long

since I can't even remember.

If I don't play the way I want
to, I'll do something else.

The first appointment I had
with my regular heart doctor,

I'm trying to make out like
it was a minor skirmish.

And he said, "Let me
tell you something.

You almost bought the farm."

And that I understood.

I said, "You mean,
it was that close?"

He says, "Yeah."

When your significant
other is his age,

you just treasure every day.

Being so close to these scares,

it does make me just
value every second

that we have together.

(both laughing)

We have a saying, I prop
you up, you prop me up.

And so that was my
time to prop him up.

Must feel pretty good to
get up and walk around.

- It does, yeah.

You know, I feel like
it's gonna take me forever

to get my musculature built up.

One day I was kind
of short with her.

She didn't yell back.

She said, "You know
what you need?"

"What?"

She says, "Well, you need to be

on the outside of a good horse."

(gentle jazz music)

'Cause I had told
her the best thing

for the inside of a man
is the outside of a horse.

You got the pretty smooth ears.

Look at you, whoo.

(Doc laughing)

That's that.

(gentle music)

(audience clapping)

(lively folk music)
(audience laughing)

I love playing with this crew.

It's a return to forever.

This is what I wanna be doing.

Now I'm set to do some more.

I'm not gonna stop now.

This is where I am now, and
this is where I'm gonna stay.

You look back, you see some
good, you see some not so good,

and you figure out how do I
keep doing the good things

and get rid of the bad things.

(audience cheering)

The best I can say about myself

is I might be a
work in progress.

(audience clapping)

(lively folk music)

(audience cheering)

(audience cheering)

(audience cheering)

(people humming)

- [Woman] He's like all
of these, like a pure-

- No kisses.

- [Man] Four generations
sitting at one table.

- [Woman] The way Willa
brags about her Grandpa Doc.

- [Man] Grandpa, you
have such good stamina,

with talking to
people, meeting people.

I don't know how you do that.

- [Woman] He goes
on and on and on.

We want that sucker to swing.

(people laughing)