Johnny Carson - farewell to an American institution
Yesterday, January 24, 2005, marked the end of the life of this country's greatest icons ever.
Johnny Carson, 79, who walked into our rooms (or bedrooms for that matter) as host of "The Tonight Show" for almost 30 years, passed away yesterday after a brief illness in Malibu. And folks, his death has hit this nation hard.
Everyone shared memories of this great man... President Bush, Jerry Lewis, David Letterman (his protoge), Ed McMahon, and the list went on and on and on.
I heard some very interesting stories today, one from Dave Williams at KNX, and another from KNBC's Fred Roggin, who appeared on Carson's Tonight Show many times. Ted Leitner, Petros Papadakis, James Brown (Fox's NFL studio host), and many others broadcast their radio shows and paid their respective tributes to Johnny Carson. I think Brown was somewhat in tears talking about him towards the commercial break. Papadakis showed that he is truly a class act in his tribute to this legendary entertainer.
And I will share my own.
I've watched Johnny Carson many times, even when I was about 5 or 6, when his show still originated from New York. He came up with so many monologues and skits that had me on the floor for what seems like an eternity; especially with his Carnac routine that he did with McMahon. Truly one of my personal favorite segments, it is where Carnac gives the answer, opens the envelope supplied by McMahon, and reads the question on the card.
There was one thing Carson said when he became permanent host of The Tonight Show. Ed McMahon asked what are we going to do on their first broadcast. Carson's response was "I don't know, but let's go out there and entertain the hell out of these folks."
In a game show standpoint, Carson visited the set of the 1980 game show "Bullseye", which was videotaped for a few months at NBC Studios in Burbank. He was very impressed with the Bullseye set, which was filled with neon lights and lots of flashing chase lights.
In addition, Carson owned a few television stations under Carson Broadcasting Company. One of which was KVVU, Channel 5 in Henderson, Nevada; which for several years originated from a converted auto mechanic shop on Boulder Highway. Carson owned Channel 5 from 1978-84, before Meredith Broadcasting took over, and eventually moved Channel 5 to Green Valley.
A few years ago, I think Tom Green tried to follow this tradition with his talk show that aired on I believe MTV or VH-1; bringing in famous people, and his sidekick was an Ed McMahon clone. McMahon actually appeared on Tom Green's show; which aired some two, three years ago.
It was a sad day when Carson exited our TV sets for the last time in 1992, and it is a sad day today that he is no longer with us. Jay Leno replaced him (which did not settle with Carson very well; he actually wanted David Letterman to be his successor), and he so far is the top late night host, with Letterman a very close second with his own talk show on CBS.
Bottom line, folks, Johnny Carson was a legend... an institution... very much in the same manner as Walter Cronkite, Vin Scully, Bob Barker, Curt Gowdy, and many others who shaped the world of television. He will be deeply missed by all, and I hope the people in Burbank, if not Hollywood, honors him by naming buildings, a freeway, or a street after Johnny Carson.
It will happen eventually.
God speed, Johnny.
Johnny Carson, 79, who walked into our rooms (or bedrooms for that matter) as host of "The Tonight Show" for almost 30 years, passed away yesterday after a brief illness in Malibu. And folks, his death has hit this nation hard.
Everyone shared memories of this great man... President Bush, Jerry Lewis, David Letterman (his protoge), Ed McMahon, and the list went on and on and on.
I heard some very interesting stories today, one from Dave Williams at KNX, and another from KNBC's Fred Roggin, who appeared on Carson's Tonight Show many times. Ted Leitner, Petros Papadakis, James Brown (Fox's NFL studio host), and many others broadcast their radio shows and paid their respective tributes to Johnny Carson. I think Brown was somewhat in tears talking about him towards the commercial break. Papadakis showed that he is truly a class act in his tribute to this legendary entertainer.
And I will share my own.
I've watched Johnny Carson many times, even when I was about 5 or 6, when his show still originated from New York. He came up with so many monologues and skits that had me on the floor for what seems like an eternity; especially with his Carnac routine that he did with McMahon. Truly one of my personal favorite segments, it is where Carnac gives the answer, opens the envelope supplied by McMahon, and reads the question on the card.
There was one thing Carson said when he became permanent host of The Tonight Show. Ed McMahon asked what are we going to do on their first broadcast. Carson's response was "I don't know, but let's go out there and entertain the hell out of these folks."
In a game show standpoint, Carson visited the set of the 1980 game show "Bullseye", which was videotaped for a few months at NBC Studios in Burbank. He was very impressed with the Bullseye set, which was filled with neon lights and lots of flashing chase lights.
In addition, Carson owned a few television stations under Carson Broadcasting Company. One of which was KVVU, Channel 5 in Henderson, Nevada; which for several years originated from a converted auto mechanic shop on Boulder Highway. Carson owned Channel 5 from 1978-84, before Meredith Broadcasting took over, and eventually moved Channel 5 to Green Valley.
A few years ago, I think Tom Green tried to follow this tradition with his talk show that aired on I believe MTV or VH-1; bringing in famous people, and his sidekick was an Ed McMahon clone. McMahon actually appeared on Tom Green's show; which aired some two, three years ago.
It was a sad day when Carson exited our TV sets for the last time in 1992, and it is a sad day today that he is no longer with us. Jay Leno replaced him (which did not settle with Carson very well; he actually wanted David Letterman to be his successor), and he so far is the top late night host, with Letterman a very close second with his own talk show on CBS.
Bottom line, folks, Johnny Carson was a legend... an institution... very much in the same manner as Walter Cronkite, Vin Scully, Bob Barker, Curt Gowdy, and many others who shaped the world of television. He will be deeply missed by all, and I hope the people in Burbank, if not Hollywood, honors him by naming buildings, a freeway, or a street after Johnny Carson.
It will happen eventually.
God speed, Johnny.
posted by Robert @ 6:30 PM
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