Late-night television talk shows these days are an irredeemable mess. They are overly politicized, populated mostly by loons from the far left; there is no humor, no grace, only anger and poor attempts at levity that fall as flat as a road toad after it was run over by a D9 Caterpillar.
It wasn't always that way. There was, upon a time, a man who set the standard for late-night talk television. He ran his show with humor, with grace, with respect for all of his guests, regardless of their politics. He ran his show to entertain, not to inflict; to make us laugh, not to make us angry. Oh, and like so many outstanding people - John Wayne, Cloris Leachman, President Herbert Hoover, Donna Reed, "Buffalo Bill" Cody, and me - he was from Iowa.
Johnny Carson was the best, he is still the best that's ever been in late-night television, and 33 years ago today, Johnny Carson appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" for the last time. Watch his final farewell:
The tears in Johnny's eyes and the slight catch in his voice - those speak eloquently, as does his gracious statement of his purpose - "To entertain you." There were more than a few tears in the audience, too.Johnny Carson was born in 1925 in Corning, Iowa. Following his WW2 naval service as a communications ensign aboard the USS Pennsylvania, Johnny attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he earned extra cash by doing magic tricks for his Phi Gamma Delta fraternity brothers. In 1950, he got a job at Omaha's WOW-AM and WOW-TV, hosting a morning show called "The Squirrel's Nest." In 1951 he was referred to and accepted a job in Los Angeles, with the CBS afiliate KNXT television.
This was his big break. In 1953, he accepted a job as a writer for "The Red Skelton Show," and on one fateful day, when Skelton was injured an hour before the live show was to go on the air, Johnny stepped in and successfully subbed for one of the most famous comedians of the day. That led to invitations to appear on more shows, including with Jack Benny, who later was a frequent guest on Johnny's late-night show. In 1955, he attempted a prime time show, "The Johnny Carson Show," but that flopped; Johnny then moved to New York to try his luck there.
That proved a good move. Late-night television was a new thing then, and one show that was already a success was called "Tonight," hosted by comic Steve Allen. In 1957, Jack Parr took over as host, but his term was short-lived; he left the show in 1962. Johnny Carson became the full-time host of "Tonight," later "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," on October 1st, 1962. It's amazing to me at my age, with my fond memories of Johnny Carson, that he took on that show a few days before my first birthday.
The rest, as they say, is history. In 1972, the show moved from New York to "beautiful downtown Burbank," where it remained. Johnny gave us such comic characters as Art Fern, Aunt Blabby, Carnac the Magnificent, and Floyd R. Turbo American, among others. And all along, he treated every guest the same: With grace, respect and humor.
Here are a couple of my favorite bits from the official Johnny Carson YouTube channel. First, an unplanned appearance by Don Rickles:
Not all of Johnny's guests, we may note, were human:And, of course, someone you may recognize:A lot of what then-former Governor Reagan said in that show still echoes very true today. And every ranting, partisan leftist late-night host today would do well to take a tip or two from Johnny Carson.
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For all of us who were young in the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s, Johnny Carson was so much a part of our lives, of the culture, of the American mainstream. His show was called "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," but not many people called it that; we all just said that we were staying up to "watch Johnny."
He was, as I've said, the best that's ever been.
Johnny passed away in 2005, aged 79. For all of us who grew up staying up to watch Johnny, I can only say this: Good night, Johnny. We still miss you.
