Joaquin Phoenix raised the bar for all future Talk Show Flashbacks thanks to his awkward interview with David Letterman, but David Bowie’s visit to the Dinah Shore Show couch in 1975 comes close. Any time a segment begins with Bowie saying, “I’m a great fan of Fonzie and have a lot of admiration for Henry [Winkler] as an actor as well,” you know you are in for one of those classic moments only the mid-1970s can deliver. Here, Bowie shares the stage with the Happy Days star and, because tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, talks about “falling in love to the point that it was obsessive” and the subtle differences between loving and being in love. Plus, the Thin White Duke smokes a cigarette on camera during the interview, which could be the most relic thing about the entire clip.
Bonus: Watch Bowie’s performance of the Station to Station cut “Stay” from the Dinah Shore Show after the jump. Gotta love the “special effects” the pre-George Lucas era had to offer.