Johnny Carson
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known as the host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992). Carson received six Primetime Emmy Awards, the Television Academy's 1980 Governor's Award, and a 1985 Peabody Award. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993.[1]
"The Squirrel's Nest" redirects here. For the nest of a tree squirrel, see Drey.Johnny Carson
John William Carson
October 23, 1925
Corning, Iowa, U.S.
January 23, 2005 (aged 79)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Television
1950–1994
3
Dick Carson (brother)
During World War II, Carson served in the Navy. After the war, Carson started a career in radio. He moved from radio to TV and took over as host of the late-night talk show Tonight from Jack Paar in 1962. He remained an American icon even after his retirement in 1992. He adopted a casual, conversational approach with extensive interaction with guests, an approach pioneered by Arthur Godfrey and previous Tonight Show hosts Steve Allen and Jack Paar but enhanced by Carson's lightning-quick wit. Former late-night host and friend David Letterman, as well as many others, have cited Carson's influence.[2] Carson was a cultural icon and widely regarded as the king of late-night television.[2]
Early life and career[edit]
John William Carson was born on October 23, 1925, in Corning, Iowa, to Ruth Elizabeth (Hook) Carson (1901–1985) and Homer Lloyd "Kit" Carson (1899–1983), a power company manager.[3][4] He was the second of three children. He had an older sister, Catherine "Kit" (Carson) Sotzing (1923-2014)[5] and a younger brother Richard Carson (1929-2021).[6] As a child, he lived in the nearby towns of Avoca, Clarinda, and Red Oak in southwest Iowa before moving to Norfolk, Nebraska, at the age of eight. There, Carson grew up and began developing his talent for entertaining. At the age of 12, Carson found a book on magic at a friend's house and immediately purchased a mail-order magician's kit. After purchasing the kit, Carson practiced his entertainment skills on family members with card tricks. He was known for following his family members around saying, "Pick a card, any card."[7] Carson's mother sewed him a cape, and his first performance was staged in front of the local Kiwanis Club. He debuted as "The Great Carsoni" at age 14 and was paid $3 a show.[7] Soon, many other performances at local picnics and county fairs followed. After graduating from high school, Carson had his first encounter with Hollywood.[7] He had hitchhiked to Hollywood, where he was arrested and fined $50 for impersonating a midshipman, a story often regarded as apocryphal.[7]
Education[edit]
Taking advantage of educational opportunities from the Navy, Carson attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he joined the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and continued performing magic (then paid $25 per appearance[3]). He majored in journalism with the intention of becoming a comedy writer, but instead switched his major to speech and drama a few months later because he wanted to become a radio performer.[12] Carson's college thesis, titled "How to Write Comedy for Radio", was a compilation of taped skits and jokes from popular radio shows with Carson explaining the comedic technique in a voice-over.[13] It allowed him to graduate in three years.[12] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio and speech with a minor in physics in 1949.[12]
Controversies and feuds[edit]
Carson often made jokes at the expense of other celebrities. In 1980, Carson backed out of a deal to acquire the Aladdin Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and a competing group led by Wayne Newton successfully bought the property. According to lawyer Henry Bushkin, Carson became annoyed that he was often portrayed by the media as having "lost" the deal and reacted by telling jokes on his show about Newton, who had spent a great deal of effort building a masculine image. This created something of a high-profile feud between Carson and Newton. Years later, Newton appeared on Larry King Live, declaring that "Johnny Carson is a mean-spirited human being. And there are people that he has hurt that people will never know about. And for some reason at some point, he decided to turn that kind of negative attention toward me. And I refused to have it."[38] Newton has often told of personally confronting Carson; after the final straw, Newton barged into Carson's office at the NBC studios and threatened to beat him up unless the jokes stopped. They did; but only after Carson, who had compiled a 10–0 record as a boxer in the Navy, laughed at him.[39]
On February 27, 1982, Carson was arrested for drunk driving on La Cienega Boulevard, near Beverly Hills; he was released on his own recognizance. Carson pleaded no contest to the charges, and in October 1982, received a sentence of three years probation, a fine of $603 and was required to attend a driver's education alcohol program. Carson's driving privilege was restricted to driving only to and from work and alcohol education classes for a period of 90 days.
Perry Mason actor Raymond Burr became angry over Carson's continuing jokes about his weight, and he appeared on The Tonight Show only twice, in 1968 and 1976.[40]
On July 2, 1969, Carson launched an on-air attack on The New York Times after his nightly monologue, assailing the newspaper for an article saying that he was the highest-paid performer on television, earning $75,000 (equivalent to $623,140 in 2023) a week. He denied that was so, while declining to reveal his compensation in a subsequent interview with the newspaper, and called the article "damned unfair."[41] The Times published a follow-up article saying that its initial reporter "erred", and that $75,000 a week was unlikely.[42]
Carson reportedly loathed what he perceived as disloyalty, and he was furious when former frequent Tonight Show guest hosts John Davidson and Joan Rivers began hosting their own talk shows. Rivers' show on the Fox Network directly competed with Carson during the 1986–1987 season before being cancelled. On June 24, 2009, following Ed McMahon's death, Rivers lauded McMahon on Larry King Live, but said that after she got her own show, Carson refused to ever speak to her again.[43]
In December 1973, Carson joked on Tonight about an alleged shortage of toilet paper. Viewers believed the story and panic buying and hoarding ensued across the United States as consumers emptied stores,[44] causing a real shortage that lasted for weeks. Stores and toilet paper manufacturers had to ration supplies until the panic ended.[45][46] Carson apologized in January 1974[47] for the incident, which became what The New York Times called a "classic study" of how rumors spread. Carson called references in the article to him "very unfair".[48]
Carson successfully sued a manufacturer of portable toilets that wanted to call its product "Here's Johnny".[49]
Carson performed a parody of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.[50] Rogers noted, "I've told Johnny that I like humor as much as anybody. But what concerns me is the takeoffs that make me seem so wimpy! I hope it doesn't communicate that Mr. Rogers is just somebody to be made fun of. Only people who take the time to see our work can begin to understand the depth of it."[51] Carson later apologized to Rogers for making fun of him.[52]
Business ventures[edit]
In 1979, Carson invested $500,000 (equivalent to $2,099,037 in 2023) in the DeLorean Motor Company.[53] Additionally, Carson was head of a group of investors who purchased and operated two television stations. The first was KVVU-TV in Henderson, Nevada, an independent station serving Las Vegas, acquired by the Carson group in 1979. Shortly after buying the station, KVVU was rumored to be acquiring an NBC affiliation because long-time affiliate KORK-TV was in the process of being replaced by KVBC (and KSNV), but it never happened. Carson's second station, independent KNAT-TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was purchased in 1982. Unlike the Las Vegas operation, KNAT faced stiffer competition for top-quality, syndicated programming. Carson sold both of his stations in 1985 and 1986, with KVVU-TV (FOX 5) going to the Meredith Corporation and KNAT being sold to Trinity Broadcasting Network.
Carson's other business ventures included the successful Johnny Carson Apparel, Inc.[3]—his turtlenecks became a fashion trend—and a failed restaurant franchise.[54]
Influences[edit]
Carson's influences included Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Fred Allen, Bob Hope,[61] Groucho Marx, and Jack Paar.
Legacy and impact on popular culture[edit]
Carson's show launched the careers of many performers, especially comedians and musicians. For a comedian appearing on the show, getting Carson to laugh and being invited to the guest chair were considered the highest honors.[3] Notable among these were David Letterman, Freddie Prinze, Robin Williams, Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Arsenio Hall, Jeff Foxworthy, Ellen DeGeneres, Rodney Dangerfield, Joan Rivers, David Brenner, Tim Allen, Drew Carey, Howie Mandel, Roseanne Barr and Don Rickles. Carson was successor to The Ed Sullivan Show as a showcase for different types of talent, as well as continuing a vaudeville-style variety show.
In 1966, Carson popularized Milton Bradley's game Twister when he played it with actress Eva Gabor. Not widely known up to that time, the game skyrocketed in popularity after the broadcast.[62]
Comedians who credit Carson as an influence include David Letterman,[63] Jay Leno,[64] Conan O'Brien,[65] Dennis Miller,[66] Bill Maher,[67] Joan Rivers,[68] Larry Wilmore,[69] Ray Romano, Don Rickles, Bob Newhart, Angie Dickinson, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Dick Cavett, Norm Macdonald, David Steinberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, Garry Shandling, Steve Martin, Ray Combs, Arsenio Hall, Craig Ferguson, Orson Bean, and Jimmy Fallon.[70]
Brian Wilson was an avid fan of the show and in 1977 wrote a song titled "Johnny Carson" as a tribute. It was released on the Beach Boys Love You album.
In 1983 he was awarded American Library Association Honorary Membership.