Drew Barrymore Once Serenaded ‘Baby Face’ Johnny Carson With a Well-Deserved Song
Talk show host Drew Barrymore is part of a relatively small group of current stars who were interviewed by television icon Johnny Carson. She was only a child when she sat by The Tonight Show desk for the first time in 1982. And she didn’t miss the opportunity to dazzle the charitable late-night host with a song about his face she thought he “deserved” to hear.
Drew Barrymore visited Johnny Carson at ‘The Tonight Show’ for the first time when she was only 7
After appearing in the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Barrymore was already on a path headed toward massive fame. And she showed off her charming talent for entertaining during a visit to The Tonight Show. She had her audience, including her host, hanging on her every word.
“I’ve been waiting all my life to meet you,” then-7-year-old Barrymore told Carson. “It’s a miracle.”
Seemingly flattered, he told her the excitement and adoration were mutual. “I’ve been reading all about you,” he told her before complimenting her acting abilities.
Drew Barrymore told Johnny Carson he ‘deserved’ a song about his ‘baby face’
As Carson was interviewing Barrymore, she did some expertly entertaining things that impressed the veteran host. First, she popped out her fake teeth and sat them on his desk so she could talk to him more easily.
Later, she interrupted him at one point to ask if she could see a song for him. He agreed, and she stood up in front of him before she started to sing. “You got the/You got the cutest little baby face,” she began. “It is so cute/No one can take your place/Babyface/Babyface/Baby babyface.”
When she was done, she sat back down to applause from the audience. Carson and his co-host Ed McMahon seemed just as impressed as the crowd by the display.
“You deserve that song,” Barrymore told Carson.
Johnny Carson gave Drew Barrymore an open invitation to ‘The Tonight Show’ after she sang a song for him
Carson closed their interview by wishing Barrymore much success and asking, “Would you like to come back and be on the show again sometime?”
The young actor told him she’d love to and he added, “Well, you’ve got an invitation anytime you want to.”
She did visit The Tonight Show several more times before 1985. Unfortunately, her parents lacked the skills to help her navigate through childhood in Hollywood — something she’s been candid about. That absence of guidance led her down a dangerous path early, and she was partying by the time she was 9.
Barrymore was blacklisted from Hollywood for her wild ways before she was a teenager. She went through emancipation at 14, then began a career transformation during her comeback in the nineties.
After hosting The Tonight Show for 30 years, Carson retired in 1992. And Barrymore didn’t return until 1994 when Jay Leno had taken his place.
