Bishop began his career as part of a stand-up comedy act with his elder brother, Maury. He appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on May 28, 1950, "The Dinah Shore Chevy Show" on April 19, 1957, and many other variety programs in the early days of television. He guest-hosted "The Tonight Show" substituting for Jack Paar, and then guest-hosted "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" at least 175 times in the 1960s, and from 1971 to 1976 more than anyone else until that time (Jay Leno and Joan Rivers later surpassed his record). He also frequently appeared on Steve Allen's and Jack Paar's previous versions of "The Tonight Show". He later had his own late night show.