TV The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s  

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592 votes 220 voters 14.2k views 23 items

List Rules Vote up the best talk shows that aired in the '70s

Talk shows have been an important part of the television landscape for decades, and these are the best 1970s talk shows, ranked from best to worst. Some of these top 1970s talk shows have become true TV icons that have remained on the air, while others made a big splash in the 70s, but longevity wasn't the cards for them. That doesn't make them any less great. Not every show is meant to be on the air forever. In fact, some of the greatest shows last only a few seasons. So, what is the best 70s talk show?

While casting your votes, what series can you expect to find on this best 1970s talk shows list? Morning television was revolutionized when Good Morning America debuted in 1975. Over the past 40+ years, the show has welcomed such notable guests as Barack Obama, Will Smith, Peyton Manning, and many more. The Dean Martin Show is another good talk show that aired in the '70s.

Throughout the decade, Dick Cavett chatted with many of the top entertainers of the day including Carol Burnett, Marlon Brando, and Katharine Hepburn. And just for posterity, some of the other great series that appear on this list include The Flip Willson Show, 20/20, and SportsCenter.

Which 1970s talk show is the best? Vote up your favorites and see if other TV fans agree with you!

1
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The Tonight Show Starring John... is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, Skitch Henderson The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from October 1, 1962 through May 22, 1992. It originally aired during late-night. ...more

2
36 10
The Dick Cavett Show is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Dick Cavett Show Leigh French The Dick Cavett Show was the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks, including: ABC daytime originally titled This Morning ABC prime time, Tuesdays, ...more

3
29 13
The Mike Douglas Show is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Mike Douglas Show Shirley Temple, Mike Douglas The Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that aired only in the Cleveland, Ohio area during much of its first two years on the air. It went into ...more

4
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The Merv Griffin Show is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Merv Griffin Show nm0871546 The Merv Griffin Show was an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 1965 to August 15, 1969 in first-run ...more

5
20 8
The Dean Martin Show is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Dean Martin Show Dean Martin, Sandahl Bergman, Dom DeLuise The Dean Martin Show, also known as The Dean Martin Variety Show, is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by entertainer ...more

6
15 9
American Bandstand is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
American Bandstand Dick Clark American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as ...more

7
15 11
The Jackie Gleason Show is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Jackie Gleason Show Tina Louise, Bettie Page, Jackie Gleason The Jackie Gleason Show is the name of a series of popular American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms.

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Tonight Starring Steve Allen is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
Tonight Starring Steve Allen Tonight Starring Steve Allen is a talk show hosted by Steve Allen. It was the first version of what eventually became known as The Tonight Show. Tonight was the first late-night talk show, as ...more

9
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The Flip Wilson Show is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Flip Wilson Show Flip Wilson, Tim Conway, George Carlin The Flip Wilson Show is an hour-long variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September 17, 1970 to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of ...more

10
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The Phil Donahue Show is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Phil Donahue Show Phil Donahue, Sammy Davis Jr., Dolly Parton The Phil Donahue Show, also known as Donahue, is an American television talk show hosted by Phil Donahue that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of ...more

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Tom Snyder is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
Monisa Montoya added Tom Snyder

12
12 12
20/20 is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
20/20 Elizabeth Vargas, David Muir, Barbara Walters 20/20 is an American television newsmagazine that has been broadcast on ABC since June 6, 1978. Created by ABC News executive Roone Arledge, the show was designed similarly to CBS's 60 Minutes ...more

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Morton Downey Jr is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
Monisa Montoya added Morton Downey Jr

14
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SportsCenter is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
SportsCenter Neil Everett, Jalen Rose, Jenn Brown SportsCenter is a daily sports news television program and the flagship program of American cable and satellite television network ESPN since the network's launch on September 7, 1979. ...more

15
8 12
Meet the Press is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
Meet the Press David Gregory Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program that is broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program in American television history, though its current format bears ...more

16
9 14
Good Morning America is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
Good Morning America Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Lara Spencer Good Morning America (ABC, 1975) is an American morning television show currently presented by Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, Lara Spencer, Michael Strahan, Amy Robach, and Ginger Zee. ...more

17
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Face the Nation is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
Face the Nation Howard K. Smith, Lesley Stahl, Martin Agronsky Face the Nation is an American Sunday morning political interview show that is broadcast on the CBS television network. Created by Frank Stanton in 1954, it is one of the longest-running news ...more

18
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The Today Show is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Today Show Ann Curry, Anita Colby Today is an American news and talk morning television show that airs on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and ...more

19
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Washington Week is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
Washington Week Washington Week—previously Washington Week in Review—is an American public affairs television program airing on PBS since 1967. Unlike other panel discussion shows which encourage informal ...more

20
4 9
America 2-Night is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
America 2-Night Charlton Heston, Rob Reiner, Gary Coleman America 2Night is a talk show parody that ran in syndication in 1978. Produced by Norman Lear, it is actually the second season of "Fernwood 2Night". The locale has been moved to ...more

21
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The Late Late Show is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The Late Late Show Pat Kenny, Ryan Tubridy, Gay Byrne The Late Late Show, with its title often shortened to The Late Late, is the world's longest-running talk show. Perceived as the official flagship television programme of Ireland's public service ...more

22
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The 700 Club is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
The 700 Club Susan Howard Chrane, Lee Webb The 700 Club is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing in syndication throughout the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. Airing each weekday, ...more

23
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Question Time is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best Talk Shows of the 1970s
Question Time Carol Vorderman, Jeremy Clarkson Question Time is a topical debate BBC television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions? The show typically features politicians from at least the three major political parties ...more