That "monkey washing a cat" clip

Fans of "Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" know it well: the brief black and white clip of a monkey washing a cat in a sink. After seeing it for the zillionth time on last night's "TDS," Talk Show News began to wonder: where the heck did that clip come from?



A little research brought us to the NationMaster Encyclopedia, which states the following:

The Monkey washing a cat footage, as it is generally known, is a comic scene of black and white stock footage which has been widely distributed on the internet, as well as played on a number of notable television programs, including Late Night with David Letterman and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The scene actually depicts a chimpanzee, not a monkey, bathing a Siamese cat in a sink with a wash cloth. It is only about 4 seconds long, but is frequently shown repeating in a continual loop. The footage was taken in 1947 at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center.

OK, so it must henceforth be known as the chimp washing a cat clip.

Yerkes "has long been the object of agitation and protest for its treatment of animals," according to its Wikipedia entry. So were the chimp and the Siamese well cared for? Why was the chimp washing the cat? Who filmed it, and how did it wind up becoming such a popular piece of stock footage? I'm guessing no one who worked at the center back in 1947 (or the chimp and the cat, for that matter) are still around to tell us, so the world may never know. In any case, if anyone has further insight into the clip, please let us know. Since Wikipedia deleted its page on the clip, we are happy to be your one-stop source for chimp washing a cat information.

Edited to add: the self-explanatory monkeywashingcat.com has a longer version of the clip -- fans of the footage really need to check it out! -- but sadly, no more info regarding the clip's history.

Ed McMahon hospitalized

Former "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" sidekick Ed McMahon has been hospitalized for the last three weeks with pneumonia and other medical problems, according to his spokesman.

"Ed's a big, strong, hearty guy and his family and I are hopeful and optimistic about his prognosis," said Howard Bragman about the 85-year-old TV personality.

McMahon was in the news last summer when it was revealed that he was behind on payments on his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills home and was fighting to avoid foreclosure.

Fallon snags an exclusive: Jack McBrayer's response to Bobby Jindal

After Bobby Jindal's Republican response to President Obama's address to Congress, there was some speculation that Jack McBrayer, whose Kenneth the Page on "30 Rock" became an instant point of comparison to the Louisiana governor, would become the latest hot "SNL" impressionist -- McBrayer isn't in the "SNL" cast, but he has appeared on the show before. However, "SNL" is scheduled to air a rerun tomorrow night and by March 7, when the next new ep will be televised, the Jindal/Kenneth meme will seem like old news. What to do?

Enter Jimmy Fallon, who has been airing web-only shows in anticipation of his TV premiere next week. (Thanks to Foma for the tip.)



Looking at Fallon's first two weeks of guests, he's obviously going to start out by drawing heavily on his fellow NBC stars, including Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan from "30 Rock," Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg with his "Lonely Planet" digital short team from "SNL," Brian Williams from the NBC evening news, and "The Apprentice" star Donald Trump. Even many of his non-NBC guests have shown up frequently on "SNL": Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz have both racked up numerous appearances.

Conan and Andy, together again

NBC just announced:

Conan O'Brien will have a familiar face when he begins his new "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" on NBC where he will reunite with Andy Richter ("Late Night with Conan O'Brien") -- for the first time on a daily basis in almost nine years -- as the network announced that Richter will return to its late-night lineup as the announcer for the new show that begins June 1. In addition to his announcing duties, Richter will participate in comedic pieces.

Few performers enjoy the chemistry that Richter and O'Brien developed over their seven years together on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." Richter will join O'Brien for the first time on a daily basis since May 26, 2000.

"Andy is one of the funniest people I know and we've maintained a close friendship since he left "Late Night," said O'Brien. "We have a proven chemistry that will be an incredible asset to "The Tonight Show." I'm looking forward to working with Andy on a daily basis again, particularly since he owes me $300."

CBS wants to remind you: Craig Ferguson's on!

CBS press release. Hmm, what else happens on March 2? Jimmy Fallon takes over "Late Night"? It sounds like the Eye Network wants to give you a little reminder that you can keep your dial set to CBS instead of tuning into NBC to sample its new show.

Craig Ferguson will host CBS's Monday Night with a series of primetime comedic spots on March 2 and 9. The interstitials will lead into "The Big Bang Theory," "How I Met Your Mother," "Two and a Half Men," "Rules of Engagement" and "CSI: Miami."

Paris Hilton joins Ferguson in a cameo role in the five distinct primetime comedy spots on March 2, the last of which teases her guest appearance on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" later that evening. Jim Parsons makes a special guest appearance as his character, Sheldon, from "The Big Bang Theory" in the five unique spots on March 9.

The spots are set in Ferguson's shabby, but not chic, faux home, where Hilton and "Sheldon" join him, separately, for TV dinners and a night devoted to watching CBS's five Monday night series.

Martha Stewart and Jimmy Fallon: what's in those brownies?

We got a newsflash from "The Martha Stewart Show" that Monday's program is titled "The Pot Show." Her guest? Future late night host Jimmy Fallon. (What, Michael Phelps wasn't available?) Of course, Martha's email states that the show will feature "one-pot recipes, potbellied pigs and pottery," but the promo video on the site makes it clear that Stewart is having fun with her theme: "Once a pot lover, always a pot lover. Something fun to share with your very best friends." Jimmy brings her a plate of brownies: "Are those what I think they are?" "And what would a pot show be without a few munchies?" Oh, Martha, you naughty lady.

Guests of the Week: Feb. 22-27, 2009

Lots of reruns this week: David Letterman, Craig Ferguson, Jay Leno and Carson Daly all take the week off, and it's your last chance to catch "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" on the tube, as a week of repeats will precede Jimmy Fallon's debut on March 2.

"The Daily Show" returns from a vacation week with a quartet of good guests, mostly old favorites: on Monday, Amazon.com honcho Jeff Bezos, who we guess will be discussing the new Kindle, which will be released tomorrow; Tuesday, Ricky Gervais; Wednesday, Tom Selleck; and Thursday, Brian Williams. Jimmy Kimmel welcomes one of his comedy idols, Don Rickles, who is always a lot of fun on the show. "Bachelor" Jason Mesnick will discuss his choice on Friday's "The View." One of Talk Show News's favorite novelists, T.C. Boyle, chats with Tavis Smiley on Monday.

Tonight after the Academy Awards, Jimmy Kimmel will be doing a special show with guests Mel Gibson and Robin Thicke. (It airs at 11:30 PM on the West Coast.) If you miss it, it'll be repeated on Friday.