BREAKING>>> Johnny Carson Dies of Emphysema at 79

[Penguin_101_1]

RIP

:cry:
Johnny Carson, longtime host
of ‘Tonight Show,’ dies at 79
Hosted pioneering late-night show 30 years
Talk-show host Johnny Carson, shown during his final taping of "The Tonight Show" in 1992, was a television legend.
BREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press
Updated: 2:05 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2005

Johnny Carson, the “Tonight Show” TV host who served America a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter, droll comedy and heartland charm for 30 years, has died, NBC News has learned. He was 79 years old.

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“Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning,” his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told The Associated Press. “He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable. There will be no memorial service.”

Sotzing would not give further details, including the time of death or the location.

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.

Carson hosted the “Tonight” show from 1962 until 1992, when he was replaced by Jay Leno, the show's current host.

[Belmondo]

Penguin:
Thanks for the heads-up. We've turned off the acne infomercial with Jessica Simpson and have fox news on now.

Very sad. I can't tell you how many times his was the last face I saw at night.

Tom

[CyberDyneSystems]

I have been missing his presence on the small screen for over a decade now.. he was a true gentleman and a real artist. No one could ever fill his shoes...

I'll miss you Mr Carson :(

[defordphoto]

RIP Johnny. Thanks for the memories...

Died peacefully? I can't imagine anyone dying peacefully from emphysema. That's a horrible disease.

Anyway, I feel thankful to be in the generation that grew up with the REAL Tonight Show. Can't stand Leno.

[IndyJeff]

Johhny was great. I can't tell you how many times I laughed hysterically at his antics, especially with animals on his show. One of my all time favorites was a Mynar bird named Howard. The bird would say "My name is Howard Ha Ha Ha." It was great.

One of the funniest skits Johhny ever did was when he portrayed Abraham Lincoln. He had the customary stovepipe hat on, exxagerated of course and after he finished the speaking part he took his hat off to reveal hair that went about 1 1/2 feet straight up concealed by the hat. Bwhahahaha Still laugh when I think of that one.

The time Dick Shawn was on, his last appearance by the way too. He turned the desk over and was rowing like he was in a canoe. Basically just tore the set up. Johnny of course wasn't there and the guest host, whom I can't remember who it was, couldn't control Shawn.

My all time favorite tho had to be when Johnny came back after a two day vacation. Don Rickles had been the guest host the night before. Somehow while playing around with Johnny's cigarette box that sat on his desk, Rickles broke the hinge. The next night Johnny was fiddling with the box as he and a guest were talking. The lid just basically fell off. Johnny began asking who broke his cigarette box. When he learned it was Rickles, he got up and left the set and went across the hall to confront Rickles who was taping his show, CPO Sharkey. Johnny Carson was probably the only guy on the NBC lot who could walk into another taping and interrupt the show and not get in hot water over it. LMAO It was so funny when Carson walked in and began asking Rickles, "What the hell did you do to my cigartette box Rickles?"

What a classic show, what a classey guy, what a loss for all of us old fogeys who watched Carson. Rest assured in a month or less, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson Cd sets will be available from Time Life or someone.


p.s. I wonder if St. Peter will say "Herrrrrrreeeeeee's Johnny!" Daa da da da dum......

[IndyJeff]

One other thing, think about how many people really owe their career's to Carson. He was really good about giving people a shot at their chance to make it big via his show.

[defordphoto]

My all time favorite tho had to be when Johnny came back after a two day vacation. Don Rickles had been the guest host the night before. Somehow while playing around with Johnny's cigarette box that sat on his desk, Rickles broke the hinge. The next night Johnny was fiddling with the box as he and a guest were talking. The lid just basically fell off. Johnny began asking who broke his cigarette box. When he learned it was Rickles, he got up and left the set and went across the hall to confront Rickles who was taping his show, CPO Sharkey. Johnny Carson was probably the only guy on the NBC lot who could walk into another taping and interrupt the show and not get in hot water over it. LMAO It was so funny when Carson walked in and began asking Rickles, "What the hell did you do to my cigartette box Rickles?"

Oh man!! That is definitely one of his finest moments!!

[Tom W]

Letterman, Leno, and the rest are pretty good, but none could touch Johnny.

Rest in peace, Johnny Carson
1925-2005

[defordphoto]

Here's the full report:

http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20050123/thumb.ny12201231908.obit_carson_ny122.jpg
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/cpress/20050123/thumb.e012311a.jpg

LOS ANGELES - Johnny Carson (news), the "Tonight Show" host who served America a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter, droll comedy and heartland charm for 30 years, died Sunday. He was 79. NBC said Carson died of emphysema at his Malibu home.

"Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning," his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told The Associated Press. "He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable."

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. In his final show, he told his audience: "And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it."

His 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."

He was open to finding the right follow-up to "Tonight," he told friends. But his longtime producer, Fred de Cordova, said Carson didn't feel pressured — he could look back on his TV success and say "I did it."

"And that makes sense. He is one of a kind, was one of a kind," de Cordova said in 1995. "I don't think there's any reason for him to try something different."

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 in a rare interview.

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 (news - web sites) 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 (news - web sites) 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 (news - web sites) 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.

[IndyJeff]

Remember Ed Ames and the tomahawk throw? That was said to have been the longest laugh in TV history.

If your not watching FoxNews, turn it on. It is all Carson complete with former friends and famous people calling in, bringing back great memories.

[defordphoto]

Remember Ed Ames and the tomahawk throw? That was said to have been the longest laugh in TV history.

Remember it like it was yesterday...

[CoolToolGuy]

Late night TV - Steve Allen invented it, Johnny Carson refined it.

I watch Leno now, but he's no Johnny.

NBC will have a special Dateline tonight, and MSNBC will have something special as well (at 7:00 EST).

[Mills]

Sad. He was the True Late Night Host.

[IanD]

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[mikesd]

As RFM stated I to am lucky to have grown up in the Johnny Carson generation. For the younger generation here I suggest that you get your hands on the four vhs/dvd set "The Johnny Carson Collection" and find out why we say there will never be another one like him. I enjoy Leno and Letterman but all one has to do is watch the collection and you very quickly realize once again that no one else is even in the same ballgame. Yes indeed, a very sad day.

[IndyJeff]

I hope all you Carson fans watched the Tonight Show Monday night. A tribute to Johnny and quite a good show. Rickles and Newhart were there as was Ed McMahon, Drew Carey and K.D. Lang all of whom held a special place in Johnnys heart for one reason or another.

I wish I could just watch one of his annivesary shows again, one more time. Those were truely the best of the best.

[Penguin_101_1]

That was a great show! Other forums are saying "Leno Sucked!" I have no idea why. The best one was when Sharkey broke his box. :lol:

Also throwing the axes :lol: