On the air for exactly one year - from November of 1964 through November of 1965 - this after-hours talk program very deliberately resembled NBC's Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Its timing was instructive: Carson had debuted exactly two years earlier, in October of 1962, and his network ratings soared through the roof. In response, ABC desperately wanted to compete with NBC, and tried to accomplish that bid by tapping Les Crane, a handsome young pundit from San Francisco, with an aggressive, off-the-cuff demeanor; a refreshing level of informality; and more intellectually and politically-oriented guests than Carson. Originally entitled The Les Crane Show and filmed in Manhattan, with 105-minute episodes every evening, it featured an audience-in-the-round, and found Crane seated center-stage, on a stool, where he conversed with guests. One of his favorite devices involved the employment of a "shotgun microphone," which he could easily control from his post and direct to any member of the audience who had something instructive to add. Early guests included politicians John V. Lindsay and William F .Buckley and journalist Max Lerner. Unfortunately, the program (which had been renamed ABC's Nightlife) failed to glean enthusiastic ratings from critics and never connected with a sizeable audience; in response to this, the show's producers dismissed Crane after four months and replaced him with a succession of temporary hosts, including Pat Boone, to generally disappointing ratings. By late June of 1965, Crane returned for another 4 1/2 month stint, this time filmed in Los Angeles. None of these changes helped Nightlife find an audience, however. The program aired for the final occasion on November 12, 1965. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide