by Herbie J Pilato
My contracted 18-months as a Page for NBC-TV in Burbank, California during the “Big ’80s” wasn’t all fun and game shows. There were also many poignant moments on the job.
Case in point: One special night I had talked with the famed Floyd — the terrific man who for years shined shoes for all the celebrity guests that appeared with Johnny Carson on his historic edition of The Tonight Show (1962–1992).
Floyd’s shoeshine-stand was located right outside Studio 1, where Tonight was taped. Floyd had a contract with the Guest Relations Department to keep all of the NBC Page footwear in tip-top shape. All each Page was asked to do if they were any kind of a human being, was tip the man, a request with which I always made sure fill.
I enjoyed my visits with Floyd because he was the man with the stories. He met everyone and anyone with his decades-old position at the network. One tale, in particular, stands out:
Writer/producer Herbie J Pilato is the host of the TV talk show THEN AGAIN WITH HERBIE J PILATO, now streaming on Amazon Prime and the author of several pop-culture/media tie-in books. He has been part of TVWriter™ for over 20 years and is Contributing Editor Emeritus. Learn more about Herbie J HERE