Laughter—Seriously (2003), which was also released as an audiobook. Television After making his national television debut in 1971, on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, he became the show's most frequent guest, with 158 appearances. He guest-hosted for Johnny Carson 75 times between 1975 and 1984, placing him fifth on the list of Carson's most frequent guest hosts. Brenner was the star of the 1976 TV series Snip, which was inspired by the film Shampoo and set in a hair dressing salon. The situation comedy was shelved by NBC shortly before its broadcast premiere, because network executives became nervous about a supporting character who would have been one of the first gay characters on television in an American sitcom. Years later, Brenner said, "They made up all kinds of excuses, but the reason Snip was pulled is we had an actor who was gay and who played a gay part. They were afraid to have a gay on television." In 1986, King World Entertainment gave Brenner his own 30-minute syndicated late-night talk show, Nightlife, in an attempt to compete with Carson, but it was cancelled after one season. The show premiered September 8, 1986, on 102 stations and was touted as "alternative". Filmed in Manhattan and featuring a casually dressed Brenner, it was unique among the late night talk genre for not having a monologue. It gave some comedians, such as Bobby Slayton, their national television premieres. In addition to the Tonight Show, Brenner also appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The David Frost Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Mike Douglas Show, Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show With David Letterman, Real Time With Bill Maher and The Daily Show and was a frequent guest on The Howard Stern Show. In later years he appeared on both MSNBC and Fox News Channel shows commenting on current events. Film Brenner portrayed a charity ball auctioneer in the 1989 romantic comedy Worth Winning (with Mark Harmon, Madeleine Stowe, and Lesley Ann Warren, who was also Brenner's co-star on Snip). Radio From 1994 to 1996, Brenner hosted a daytime talk-radio program, inheriting the timeslot of the long-running Larry King Show on the Mutual Broadcasting System. He had earlier hosted a syndicated weekly radio show, David Brenner Live, for three months in 1985. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia named Brenner their Person of the Year in 1984 and inducted him