Weird weather years are nothing new, and evidently, 1983 was one of those for residents of Southern California. Comic geniuses Betty While and Johnny Carson give us a taste of that extraordinary year in their classic Malibu Restaurant Sketch.
You may remember Betty for her role as the feisty and flirty Sue Ann Nivens in The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Perhaps, you recall Betty’s character in The Golden Girls—the demure and ditzy Rose Nylund—or countless other roles during her eight-decade career. As for Johnny, reportedly a reserved, humble guy from Nebraska, we might first connect him with the famous phrase, “Heeeerrrre’s Johnny.”
Ed McMahon, Johnny’s announcer on The Tonight Show for 30 years, begins by introducing this side-splitting sketch starring Johnny and Betty. The two depict Larry and Helen Nolan, a couple visiting Malibu on vacation all the way from Dubuque, Iowa.
The couple is thrilled to be dining at a fancy restaurant, complete with a view of the Pacific Ocean, a French-speaking waiter, and a violinist. However, soon after being seated, they are taken aback by the watery experience dinner becomes.
The tide is strong and high winds come way too close to their meal. But, when Larry (played by Johnny) inquires about the water that is splashing and, eventually, crashing into their plates, the maitre d’ seems oblivious. He chalks it up to California’s fog and humidity.
Larry asks if the halibut is fresh or frozen, and, at that precise moment, his entree lands right on his plate! Then Betty’s character decides she might just need to powder her shiny nose. She pulls what she believes to be a sponge or tissue from her bag and is aghast to see that a fish has landed in her purse; she’s dapping her nose with it!
It occurs to Larry that things are going from wet to worse whenever the word “water” is used, and he knows they are in big trouble when the musician begins to serenade them with his rendition of Ebb Tide. The hilarity continues for this