Watch David Brenner (RIP) Make the First of His 158 Appearances on The Tonight Show in 1971

News just hit the wires that come­di­an David Bren­ner (1936–2014) died at his home today at the age of 78. Can­cer was appar­ent­ly the cause.

Born in Philadel­phia, Bren­ner start­ed out a doc­u­men­tary film­mak­er, but even­tu­al­ly launched a career as a come­di­an. His big break came on Jan­u­ary 8, 1971 when John­ny Car­son let him do nine min­utes of standup on The Tonight Show. Car­son appar­ent­ly liked Bren­ner’s obser­va­tion­al com­e­dy rou­tine. In years to come, Bren­ner made a record-set­ting 157 appear­ances on John­ny’s show, some­times as a com­e­dy act, some­times as a sub­sti­tute host. Above you can watch the very first of those fun­ny appear­ances.

H/T @MrCraigBierko

Relat­ed Con­tent:

RIP: George Car­lin on the Tonight Show (1966)

Ayn Rand Instructs John­ny Car­son on the Virtue of Self­ish­ness, 1967

Jim Henson’s Ani­mat­ed Film, Lim­bo, the Orga­nized Mind, Pre­sent­ed by John­ny Car­son (1974)