Honest comics will tell you that getting waved over to join Johnny and Ed at the desk was THE most important event in their lives: bigger than getting married, having kids, anything.
Someone like Freddie Prinze literally woke up the next morning with a development deal, like his for Chico and the Man.
Overnight, you went from feature act to headliner and could double or triple your asking price for comedy club gigs.
RELATED:
For fellow Boston comics, Steven Wright’s first appearance on The Tonight Show was such a watershed moment for “the scene” that at one club (the Ding Ho?), they stuck a TV on stage that night so everyone could watch him.
Wright was such a hit that Johnny brought him back on the show a week later.