To Johnny,

Wherever you are, thank you.

<<crash>>

Steve J

Ahhhh, the king is dead.
I truly mourn, as I'm sure others do.  And since '92, we have yet to see
anyone worthy of the throne.
I always hoped Johnny would return in some manner or fashion.  Sad to
realize it will never happen.
Late-night T.V. will never be the same.

jh

 Sunday, January 23

Johnny Carson, 30-Year King of Late Night TV, Dead at 79

By Lynn Elber  The Associated Press
Published: Jan 23, 2005

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Johnny Carson, the quick-witted "Tonight Show" host
who became a national institution putting his viewers to bed for 30
years with a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter and heartland charm,
died Sunday. He was 79.
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.
McMahon said Sunday that Carson was "like a brother to me."
"Our 34 years of working together, plus the 12 years since then, created
a friendship which was professional, family-like and one of respect and
great admiration," McMahon said in a statement. "When we ended our run
on 'The Tonight Show' and my professional life continued, whenever a big
career decision needed to be made, I always got the OK from 'The Boss.'"
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.
"I just let the work speak for itself," he told Esquire magazine in
2002.
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."
There was the occasional battle with NBC: In 1967, for instance, Carson
walked out for several weeks until the network managed to lure him back
with a contract that reportedly gave him $1 million-plus yearly.
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.
Carson's graceful exit from "Tonight" did not avoid a messy, bitter
tug-of-war between Leno and fellow comedian David Letterman to take over
his throne. Leno took over on May 25, 1992, becoming the fourth man to
hold the job after Steve Allen, Jack Paar and Carson. Letterman landed
on rival CBS.
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.
He and his wife, Alexis, traveled frequently. The pair met on the Malibu
beach in the early 1980s; he was 61 when they married in June 1987, she
was in her 30s.
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.
His nephew said there will be no memorial service.
---
AP Writer Jeff Wilson contributed to this report.

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc

If we could only stop time, I'd stop it in the seventies.  He is the
best of the lot.

Dale J.