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Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
How his famous guests and peers -- some in awe, some in anger -- remembered Johnny Carson, including Cavett, Warhol, Cher, Gabor, Rivers, Reynolds and Leno.
Jan 23, 2005 | Johnny Carson, who died Sunday at the age of 79, mingled with the biggest celebrities of the day for nearly 50 years. Some of the most fascinating encounters are recounted below.
Dick Cavett, TV talk show host. "Church basement magic"
When I was fourteen he was already a Famous Man, since he was on both radio and TV from Omaha.
I ... met Johnny when he was appearing in a church basement in Lincoln ... Two friends and I, all of us magic buffs, snuck backstage and accosted him as he was setting up. He looked slightly annoyed. People are always nosing around when a magician is setting up, and the magician rightly would like to catapult them through the nearest window. When we told Johnny we were amateur magicians, however, he became quite friendly and even showed us a few card fans. Then we went back out front, aglow from our contact with a star. The classy thing that Johnny did that evening was to introduce us, in the middle of his act, as three young magicians and ask us to take a bow from the audience. We were thrilled. (Lincoln, Neb., 1950)
From "Cavett," by Dick Cavett and Christopher Porterfield (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974)
Ed McMahon, TV personality. "Interviewed me."
I will never forget the very first time I met a young man named Johnny Carson. The producer of my good friend Dick Clark's famed "American Bandstand" had heard Johnny was looking for an announcer for his new afternoon quiz show, "Who Do You Trust?" and had recommended me. Johnny's office was in the Little Theatre, on West Forty-fourth Street, directly across from the Shubert Theatre. As I entered his office, Johnny was standing at a large window, watching as four huge cranes raised the Shubert's new marquee. I watched this from the other window as he interviewed me. "It's nice to meet you, Ed," he said. (New York, late 1950s)
From "For Laughing Out Loud: My Life and Good Times," by Ed McMahon with David Fisher (Warner Books, 1998)
Dick Clark, "American Bandstand" host. "Bandstand" interruptus
ABC had a game show called "Do You Trust Your Wife?" that they wanted to promote. They figured that if "[American] Bandstand" was doing well, why not stick this other show in the middle of it to boost its ratings.
So it was that at 3:30 every afternoon "Bandstand" left the network for half an hour to be replaced by "Do You Trust Your Wife?" It annoyed me to no end ...
The host of the game show was a young comic named Johnny Carson. I beat on his show's intrusion mercilessly. I never named the show, just said it would interrupt "Bandstand" for half an hour, hoping there would be enough mail to get it out of there. Apparently Johnny has never forgiven me -- I've never done the "Tonight" show when he's been the host. (late 1950s)
From "Rock, Roll & Remember," by Dick Clark with Richard Robinson (Crowell, 1976)
Hugh Downs, TV show host. "Cool personality."
NBC made a superb choice with Carson [for The Tonight Show]. But not because Carson was a great comedian. Johnny Carson just happens to be a great host.
Unlike Jack Paar, Johnny is a cool personality. And like most cool personalities, Johnny wears well on the tube. He has what we call "legs." It's hard for a hot personality not to wear out his welcome when invited into the nation's bedrooms five nights a week. Johnny also manages to do some things Paar preferred not to do. He happily wears funny hats and costumes, and plays silly roles in comic skits, while still sustaining an unflappable image as the consummate host. Johnny's genius lies in his ability to combine the roles of both comic and host, without losing the best of either world.
When NBC finally picked Carson, I couldn't help but be disappointed. But I can't say I was surprised. I wouldn't have seriously considered staying on as Johnny's second banana, and in fact was not offered the opportunity. Ed McMahon has been Johnny's announcer on both his daytime shows, and hiring Ed may even have been a condition set by Carson. (New York, 1962)
From "On Camera: My 10,000 Hours on Television," by Hugh Downs (G.P. Putnam's, 1986)
Zsa Zsa Gabor, actor. "His show forever."
Johnny Carson and I go back a long way -- in every sense of the word. Before Carson took over the Tonight show, I appeared many times when Steve Allen and then Jack Paar hosted the program. I remember when Johnny took over, thinking how brilliant he was and believing him when he confidently predicted, "I'm going to have this show forever. They'll have to carry me out on a stretcher." (New York, 1962)
From "One Lifetime Is Not Enough," by Zsa Zsa Gabor with Wendy Leigh (Delacorte, 1991)
Michael Caine, actor. "Stand by."
As far as "The Tonight Show" was concerned, I was informed I had a bit of bad luck. The star of the show, Jack Paar, had just walked off the set last week and I would have to put up with being interviewed by a standby -- one Johnny Carson. I did that show, and Johnny and I survived those testing times and are both still around today, although he just retired after thirty years on "The Tonight Show." (New York, 1962)
From "What's It All About?: An Autobiography," by Michael Caine (Turtle Bay Books/Random House, 1992)
