Remembering Channel 5's 1986 late-night comedy show 'After Hours'

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As you know, we have been doing a look at our station history as NewsChannel 5 turns 70. Did you know there was a time when the station had a late-night stand-up comedy, music, and sketch show?

It even had an early appearance by someone who would go on to be one of the biggest sitcom stars of the '90s. This is a look back at one of the most unique, elaborate productions our station has seen.

Imagine it being the '70s, sitting with a bunch of students at Fisk University and listening to comedy records. That's Desi Turner's story.

"It's like, 'Guys, you got to hear this!'" Desi remembered. "'It is like something you've never heard before!'"

The voice of those comedy records was Richard Pryor.

"He is just killin'!" Desi smiled. "Wild and crazy and raw. He is just the funniest guy out there."

The nights at Fisk with those records were key in Desi's love for comedy.

By 1986, Desi was working in air control at Channel 5 when a new show got the green light. Channel 5's crew had worked on sketch comedy before with "Hee Haw." This was something with a different flavor, something more late night, more club and city lights.

"Let's just try it," show creator and executive David Earnhardt said, remembering the attitude going into the first show. "Let's see if we can make this work."

One Friday night at 10:30, "After Hours" arrived.

"What was happening in the country is comedy clubs were springing up all over the place," David said. "I really wanted to honor stand-up comedy."

"After Hours" was all sorts of things. There were the sketches. There was music.

"It was taking an inspiration from 'Saturday Night Live,'" David said.

Among the sketches was Mrs. Ann's Boloney and Biskit Palace, where customers could get free bracelets made from balogna.

What 5 was doing caught the attention of Greg Bailey.

"I had been the radio, television writer at the Nashville Banner," Greg said. "This city is beginning to grow in 1986 and more people are beginning to come here. We are becoming more than just this sleepy southern city. We are on the rise."

"We were trying to redefine how Nashville could be viewed," David added. "We wanted to show that we could be edgy. It was a moment where Nashville was transitioning, transitioning into what it's become."

Among the names taking the stage were radio broadcaster Carl P. Mayfield and comedian/musician Gary Mule Deer.

By working with Zanies Comedy Night Club, "After Hours" could secure both local comedians and ones traveling through town.

"Tim Allen was one of our guests before he made it big," David said.

The stand-ups, of course, did a bit of their own material. Some had ideas for sketches. For the rest of the show, there was no writer's room. The station went looking for jokes and sketches from staff, mostly Desi.

"I say all the time. I got a million jokes," Desi smiled. "Only three of 'em are funny, but I got a million jokes."

Of course, Richard Pryor hosted a legendary episode of "Saturday Night Live." Could "After Hours" be Richard Pryor-edgy?

"No!" Desi laughed.

But they could have fun. One of Desi's sketches was for Jack-Assalaria, an ailment that makes people give bad celebrity impressions. People went on the sketch doing impressions of Cher, Popeye, Stevie Wonder, and more.

"They were folks who worked in shipping and receiving," Desi said. "They were the receptionists and cameramen."

"Some things did get dated," David said. "I don't think you'd say 'hot tub mamas' these days."

"I think you have to credit Tom Ervin, who was the general manager at the time," Greg said. "He deserves a lot of credit for being a bit of a visionary in terms of bringing creative people and giving them a little freedom and let them go off and do whatever, and he's willing to put it on the air."

"It was misbehaving!" David said.

"After Hours" ran three episodes spaced over several months.

"It just took so long, and it cost so much," Desi said.

David's gone on to an incredible career of films and accolades, but he has carried so much love for this show from a while back.

"Anytime any of us get together, we remember this show," he said. "We remember how exciting it was to get an idea and run with it and turn it into something that was really special."

Part of what made those nights at Fisk listening to Richard Pryor so great was the friends it happened with. That late-night show had a similar sense of community for Desi. The After Hours credits are full of names of crew who never got to write comedy or act in it before. What fun to get to.

"You can make somebody laugh, you can make the world a better place," Desi said. "We got together and did that. It was just special television."

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