STARRING JOHNNY CARSON
October 2, 1962 - May 22, 1992
NBC Late Night Talk Show - 4531 Episodes
Host:
Johnny Carson
Announcer:
Ed McMahon
Musical Directors:
Doc Severinsen (1967-1992)
Skitch Henderson (1962-1966)
Milton Delugg (1966-1967)
Assistant Musical Director:
Tommy Newsom (1968-1992)
The contrast between Jack Paar (the previous host of
The Tonight Show) and Johnny Carson was marked. As
emotional and likely to blow up as Paar was, that is how
calm and unflappable Carson was. Carson opened each
show with a monologue and then spent most of the
remainder of the evening chatting with guests. Unlike
Paar, Carson tended to avoid anything controversial and
was usually content to keep his audience amused. When
Carson started, the show was originating from New York
and was taped on the same evening that it aired. Johnny
was on all five nights and began his monologue when the
show began, at 11:15 P.M. On his first show, Carson was
introduced by Groucho Marx; Johnny's first words,
reacting to applause as he walked onstage for the first
time: "Boy, you would think it was Vice President Nixon."
In February 1965 he refused to do the 11:15-11:30 P.M.
segment any longer, leaving that to Ed McMahon and
Skitch Henderson. On January 2, 1967 this first
fifteen minutes was dropped from the show
altogether, leaving the show at 90 minutes.
For millions of Americans, the show was a comforting,
consistent, comedic lullaby. Every night for three
decades, they'd drift off to sleep as a twinkle-eyed,
silver-haired Nebraskan swung an invisible golf club,
made some alimony jokes, and inspired throaty ho-ho-hos
from his eager sidekick. Over the course of some 4500
shows, he turned The Tonight Show into a pre-sleep
ritual, launched a thousand stand-up careers, and
reached the kind of fame where last names were
unnecessary: "Heeeeere's Johnny!" was enough.
The show would remain at 90 minutes in length until
1980 when it was cut back to only one hour. Features
that were used on his show with varying frequency
included "Stump the Band," in which members of the
studio audience would ask the band to try to play
obscure songs by giving them only the titles; "Carnac
the Magnificent," with Carson as an inept magician;
"Aunt Blabby," with Carson as a gossiping little old
lady; "The Mighty Carson Art Players," spoofing movies,
commercials, tv shows, and events in the news; "Floyd
R. Turbo," with carson as a super-patriot; and "The Art
Fern Tea Time Movie," with Carol Wayne as the original
"Matinee Lady." Perhaps the most celebrated telecast,
and certainly the one with the most enormous
audience, was that of December 17, 1969,
on which Tiny Tim married Miss Vicki.
In May 1972 the show was permanently moved from New
York to Burbank, California. It was also around this time
that Carson started cutting back on his appearances.
He would now do the show only four nights per week,
leaving the Monday night show to a guest host. The most
frequent guest hosts during the first 21 years were:
Joey Bishop (177 times), Joan Rivers (93 times),
Bob Newhart (87 times), John Davidson (87 times),
David Brenner (70 times), McLean Stevenson (58 times),
Jerry Lewis (52 times), and David Letterman (51 times).
Joan Rivers was the "permanent" (and only) guest host
from September 1983 until 1986. The Tonight Show
reverted to various guest hosts after Joan left, with
Jay Leno the most frequent. Leno then became the
exclusive guest host in the fall of 1987, a position
he held for the remainder of Johnny's rein. Johnny's
final telecast was a national event. A quiet reminicence
(without big-name guests) about the shows golden
moments over the past 30 years. Many, however,
felt that the next-to-the-last show was the best;
in it, Bette Midler sang a wistfully comic love song
to Johnny that expressed what most viewers felt,
THERE WOULD NEVER BE ANOTHER QUITE LIKE HIM!
Program Opening from 1987 CD Theme Music Midi Theme |
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         |
 Carson died early Sunday morning, according to his nephew, Jeff Sotzing. "He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable," Sotzing told The Associated Press. He did not provide further details, but NBC said Carson died of emphysema at his Malibu home. The boyish-looking Nebraska native with the disarming grin, who survived every attempt to topple him from his late-night talk show throne, was a star who managed never to distance himself from his audience. His wealth, the adoration of his guests - particularly the many young comics whose careers he launched - the wry tales of multiple divorces: Carson's air of modesty made it all serve to enhance his bedtime intimacy with viewers. "Heeeeere's Johnny!" was the booming announcement from sidekick Ed McMahon that ushered Carson out to the stage. Then the formula: the topical monologue, the guests, the broadly played skits such as "Carnac the Magnificent." But America never tired of him; Carson went out on top when he retired in May 1992.  Carson's personal life could not match the perfection of his career. Carson was married four times, divorced three. In 1991, one of his three sons, 39-year-old Ricky, was killed in a car accident. Nearly all of Carson's professional life was spent in television, from his postwar start at Nebraska stations in the late 1940s to his three decades with NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson." Carson choose to let "Tonight" stand as his career zenith and his finale, withdrawing into a quiet retirement that suited his private nature and refusing involvement in other show business projects. In 1993, he explained his absence from the limelight. "I have an ego like anybody else," Carson told The Washington Post, "but I don't need to be stoked by going before the public all the time." Carson spent his retirement years sailing, traveling and socializing with a few close friends including media mogul Barry Diller and NBC executive Bob Wright. He simply refused to be wooed back on stage.  Carson did find an outlet for his creativity: He wrote short humor pieces for The New Yorker magazine, including "Recently Discovered Childhood Letters to Santa," which purported to give the youthful wish lists of William Buckley, Don Rickles and others. Carson made his debut as "Tonight" host in October 1962 and quickly won over audiences. He even made headlines with such clever ploys as the 1969 on-show marriage of eccentric singer Tiny Tim to Miss Vicki, which won the show its biggest-ever ratings. The wedding and other noteworthy moments from the show were collected into a yearly "Tonight" anniversary special. In 1972, "Tonight" moved from New York to Burbank. Growing respect for Carson's consistency and staying power, along with four consecutive Emmy Awards, came his way in the late 1970s. His quickness and his ability to handle an audience were impressive. When his jokes missed their target, the smooth Carson won over a groaning studio audience with a clever look or sly, self-deprecating remark. Politics provided monologue fodder for him as he skewered lawmakers of every stripe, mirroring the mood of voters. His Watergate jabs at President Nixon were seen as cementing Nixon's fall from office in 1974. He made presidential history again in July 1988 when he had then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton on his show a few days after Clinton came under widespread ridicule for a boring speech at the Democratic National Convention. Clinton traded quips with Carson and played "Summertime" on the saxophone in what was hailed as a stunning comeback. Competing networks tried a variety of formats and hosts to challenge Carson, but never managed to best "Tonight."  In 1980, after more walkout threats, the show was scaled back from 90 minutes to an hour. Carson also eased his schedule by cutting back on his work days; a number of substitute hosts filled in, including Joan Rivers, Jerry Lewis and Jay Leno, Carson's eventual successor. Rivers was one of the countless comedians whose careers took off after they were on Carson's show. After she rocked the audience with her jokes in that 1965 appearance, he remarked, "God, you're funny. You're going to be a star." "If Johnny hadn't made the choice to put me on his show, I might still be in Greenwich Village as the oldest living undiscovered female comic," she recalled in an Associated Press interview 20 years later. She tried her own talk show in 1986, quickly becoming one of the many challengers who could not budge Carson. In the '80s, Carson was reportedly the highest-paid performer in television history with a $5 million "Tonight" show salary alone. His Carson Productions created and sold pilots to NBC, including "TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes." Carson himself made occasional cameo appearances on other TV series. He also performed in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., and was host of the Academy Awards five times in the '70s and '80s.  Born in Corning, Iowa, and raised in nearby Norfolk, Neb., Carson started his show business career at age 14 as the magician "The Great Carsoni." After World War II service in the Navy, he took a series of jobs in local radio and TV in Nebraska before starting at KNXT-TV in Los Angeles in 1950. There he started a sketch comedy show, "Carson's Cellar," which ran from 1951-53 and attracted attention from Hollywood. A staff writing job for "The Red Skelton Show" followed. The program provided Carson with a lucky break: When Skelton was injured backstage, Carson took the comedian's place in front of the cameras. Producers tried to find the right program for the up-and-coming comic, trying him out as host of the quiz show "Earn Your Vacation" (1954), the variety show "The Johnny Carson Show" (1955-56), the game show "Who Do You Trust?" (1957-62). A few acting roles came Carson's way, including one on "Playhouse 90" in 1957, and he did a pilot in 1960 for a prime-time series, "Johnny Come Lately," that never made it onto a network schedule. In 1958, Carson sat in for "Tonight Show" host Paar. When Paar left the show four years later, Carson was NBC's choice as his replacement. After his retirement, Carson took on the role of Malibu-based retiree with apparent ease. An avid tennis fan, he was still playing a vigorous game in his 70s.  Carson's first wife was his childhood sweetheart, Jody, the mother of his three sons. They married in 1949 and split in 1963. He married Joanne Copeland Carson that same year, but divorced nine years later. His third marriage, to Joanna Holland Carson, took place in 1972. They divorced in 1985. On the occasion of Carson's 70th birthday, former "Tonight" bandleader Doc Severinsen, who toured with musicians from the show, said he was constantly reminded of Carson's enduring popularity. "Every place we go people ask `How is he? Where is he? What is he doing? Tell him how much we miss him.' It doesn't surprise me," Severinsen said. Carson won a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, in 1992, with the first President Bush saying, "With decency and style he's made America laugh and think." In 1993, he was celebrated by the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for career achievement.  |
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Johnny Carson
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Johnny Carson
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Johnny Carson You Tube Channel
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