Show ormer Late Night Talk Show Host Johnny Carson Dies Adam Adam Bernstein he Washington Post Johnny Carson Caon 79 79 whose t se topical pI al monologues and out andish landish out out- comedy made him the foremost figure of la late late- night entertainment for three decades died Sunday NBC which Produced produce Th The T Tonight Show Si Starring Johnny Carson said Carson S died of emphysema at his home in in Malibu Calif C Carson OP was often called the king of of night late-night television television sion a nickname far from hyperbole By the he reportedly reported reported- ly was seen by 15 n million illion viewers viewers The The Tonight Show helped launch the careers of hundreds of comics including Joan Rivers George Carlin Jerry Roseanne Barr Barry David Letterman and Jay Leno his successor on the program To see Carson laugh at a joke meant meant the teller had a future Tanned dapper and relaxed Carson was above all alla a comfortable presence which the and aloof host took great pains to ac achieve h. h levee 4 In a celebrated profile of Carson critic Kenneth Ty Tynan an wrote that attempting a man- man to-man to chat with him was was like addressing an elaborately elaborately elaborately wired security system To audiences he was a trusted companion boyish even with graying rec receding ding hair His resonant baritone had a puckish charm In a profession where all is IS timing the Iowa born Carson mastered sexual innuendo delivered with self ing pauses and Midwestern modesty t 11 1 C Lt Inn ii 1991 I. I l In n many ways he was the heIr to radio and television comedian Jack Benny his idol In October 1962 the cerebral cerebral cere cere- bral Jack Paar handed off Tonight to to Carson who immediately fit custom-fit the program to his own tastes When Carson jokingly parroted parroted parroted par par- a congressman's warnings warnings warn warn- ings of national toilet paper shortage one actually occurred His guests ranged from astronauts to authors from Pele to the Gabor sis sis- He liked to call the mix an unpredictable l chess game No one offered by the competition com com- petition petition including including Joey Bishop Merv Griffin Mike Douglas David Frost and Dick Cavett came close to dethroning him in the ratings or diminishing his popularity A decade into his run Carson moved his New York- York produced show to Burbank Calif to trump the other hosts on celebrity guests It was a shrewd move enabling him to avoid the spate of similar visitors who appeared on other programs usually within the same week Carsons Carson's introduction by sidekick Ed McMahon became a national catchphrase catchphrase catchphrase catch- catch phrase Johnny The jaunty brassy and recognizable recognizable recognizable theme music written by Paul Anka was rendered by bandleader Doc Severin sen It marked the queue for Carson to appear from behind a curtain and warm up the audience with jokes Carson always cool and elegant was a reliable presence presence presence pres pres- ence during the and Despite a series of turbulent turbulent turbulent lent divorces stories of his mT lt I rm no heavy drinking and the death of a son in a car accident none of the personal tragedies intruded into his entertainment though fans flooded him with condolence cards because of his son By the mid Carsons Carson's Tonight Show became one of the networks network's rated highest-rated meaning huge income from advertisers In 1967 Time featured Carson in a cover story dubbing dubbing dubbing dub dub- bing him the first midnight idol and describing his style as cozy never as abrasive and cutting as Paar Woody Allen who appeared on the show paid Carson the compliment that he appears to be most pleased when the guest scores He f feels els no compulsion compulsion compulsion sion to top me Carson deflected questions about his personal life and politics He was a mystery man to interviewers who found him alternately abrasive abrasive abrasive abra abra- sive and jocular but seldom revealing He might have been most public about his feelings once on his show telling an audience audience audience audi audi- ence in 1982 You know what this is like Its It's like the challenge of death every night Its It's like Im I'm standing on the ledge of a story 20 building building building build build- ing and the crowd is yelling Jump Over the years Carson also hosted Academy Awards ceremonies ceremonies ceremonies and performed comedy comedy comedy com com- edy at nightclubs He launched into other business ventures including a successful clothing line his turtlenecks became a fashion trend trend and and a failed restaurant franchise See Carson continued on page 8 Jn In i fi rt ilL I Carson continued from page 3 In 1991 his son Ricky 39 was killed in a car accident The next May Carson made his final broadcast after shows His sign-off sign was casual and sincere thanking viewers for their time I I bid you a very heartfelt good night In short order he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom the nations nation's highest civilian honor and the Kennedy Center Honor for career achievement He stayed away from interviewers interviewers interviewers inter inter- viewers preferring the seclusion seclusion sion he seldom had for three decades Instead he focused on philanthropic philanthropic philanthropic phil phil- work and entertained close friends mends and fellow lellow poker players aboard his giant yacht His guests included Steve Martin Carl Reiner Neil Simon Chevy Chase and media executive Barry Diller After he retired offers came his way for anniversary specials specials but he refused preferring to just x let the work speak for itself He continued comedy writing writing writing writ writ- ing however and some of his work appeared in the New Yorker with the help of con- con Martin At the end of 2000 the magazine magazine magazine mag mag- azine published his Recently Discovered Childhood Letters to Santa a fictional wish list of notable figures from Robert Frost to Charlton Heston |