The king of comedy is dead. Long live the king. David Letterman, the man who left NBC after Jay Leno took over, summed it up best: “All of us who came after him are pretenders. We will not see the like of him again.”
“Him” refers to Johnny Carson, the king of late night comedy, who kept a nation up past its bedtime for 30 years. Sunday the world was rocked by the death of one of the funniest men ever to grace the television, when Carson, 79, died in his Malibu, Calif., home from what NBC reports as emphysema, a respiratory disease cause by smoking.
Early in his career Carson was usually always seen with a cigarette in his hand. Soon, however, the cigarette left his hand but not his life. Carson, however, will never be remembered for his smoking.
He will long be remembered not only for his straight-forward Midwestern humor and grin but also for his ability to make us laugh at ourselves while touching on every subject that was the news of the day.
Carson was born in Corning, Iowa, and reared in Norfolk, Neb. His career started at the age of 14, as a magician known as “The Great Carsoni.”
He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and after the war held a series of jobs in local radio and TV in Nebraska before launching his career at Los Angeles’ KNXT-TV in 1950.
It was in Los Angeles that he starred in his first comedy show, Carson’s Cellar, which aired from 1951-53. Hollywood took notice, and he went to work as a staff writer for The Red Skelton Show.
While writing for Skelton, he was afforded an opportunity to fill in for Skelton who had been injured in a backstage accident, and taking his place in front of the cameras, Carson never looked back.
In 1958, Carson was asked to sub for The Tonight Show host Jack Parr. Four years later, when Parr left the show, Carson was chosen as his replacement. The rest is history.
For the next 30 years, Johnny made his audiences laugh, think, wonder and, in his final episode, cry. His formula was simple, but because it was Johnny, it was fresh and new every night.
The show always began the same, “Heeeeere’s JOHNNY!” announced by Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s sidekick. The two played well off each other, feeding and setting up jokes. Carson had a way of making audiences laugh, even when his jokes weren’t a hit. When his jokes missed, Johnny made it up with facial expressions and head gestures that showed what the crowd had thought. One of his more funny bits, though, was his “Carnac the Magnificent.”
For years, Johnny helped big time names get their starts. The likes of Drew Carey, Joan Rivers, Roseanne, Jerry Seinfeld and even Jay Leno and David Letterman all received their big breaks in show business thanks to Carson.
Someone else who made it big because of Johnny was then Arkansas governor Bill Clinton, who played “Summertime” on his saxophone.
Monday Jay Leno dedicated the entire hour of The Tonight Show to the memory of Carson.
On the show Monday, Drew Carey remembered the time Carson called him over to his desk to offer congratulations after Carey’s act. “That was the greatest day of my whole life,” Carey said.
While his personal life did not match his on-camera persona, Carson was always able to make fun of his mistakes. He was married four times and divorced three, prompting many of his monologue jokes.
Tragedy struck in 1991 when his 39-year-old son Ricky, was killed in a car accident.
The majority of Carson’s professional life was spent in television, and when he left “The Tonight Show” in May 1992, he went out on top.
After that, Johnny disappeared from the spotlight and enjoyed 13 years of retirement.
Recently, Carson’s generosity was shared with the University of Nebraska Foundation, where he gave $5.3 million as a gift to support the theatre department in the Hixson-Lied College of Fine Arts and Performing.
Carson won four consecutive Emmy Awards in the late 1970s and in 1992 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
In 1993, he was recognized by the renowned Kennedy Center Honors for his career achievements.
Carson, who once said that he was America’s answer to birth control because more couples opted to watch The Tonight Show than go to bed, will forever be remembered.
From the first “Heeeeere’s Johnny!” that ushered him on stage, to his monologues and some 22,000 guests throughout the three decades as host of The Tonight Show, Carson was the epitome of professionalism, of whom President George H. W. Bush said, “With decency and style, he’s made America laugh and think.””I’ll be right back.”
Johnny Carson 1925-2005

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