Marty Ingels, comedian. Mutual discomfort

"The Tonight Show" called. That was every comic's "big" shot. I had been on a few times before, usually when one of the regulars had to cancel out. But it never really happened there for me.

For all that the country loved him, Carson struck me as tied up and nervous inside, as I was. I was moving like mad with the other talk shows -- Merv Griffin, Dick Cavett, Les Crane, Virginia Graham, all pussycat people who dug my humor and whose shows, of course, would all hit the network skids. So I never felt really comfortable with Carson.

I know he felt that way with me. I didn't do his kind of comedy, and he seemed offended by my insecurity. The word was he thought I "spilled my guts too much." He actually ended up putting me on the show's "don't book" list. (New York, late 1960s)

From "Shirley & Marty: An Unlikely Love Story," by Shirley Jones & Marty Ingels with Mickey Herskowitz (William Morrow, 1990)

Isaac Asimov, science fiction writer. Here's JOE-NEE!

Johnny Carson, himself, however, I thought less of [than fellow guest Gore Vidal]. He ignored me completely when he arrived before the show. Then, on greeting me on the air, he pronounced my first name "I-ZAK," with equal emphasis on both syllables, instead of "I-zik," with the first syllable accented. A minor sin, surely, but I was on network television and I think the least a host can do for his guest is to ascertain the correct pronunciation of his name.

My impulse on being addressed, "How are you, I-ZAK?," was to answer, "Fine, and how are you, JOE-NEE?" I lacked the nerve, however, and have regretted that ever since. (New York, late 1960s)

From "In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954-1978," by Isaac Asimov (Doubleday, 1980)

Richie Havens, folk musician. "Handsome Johnny."

I played "Handsome Johnny" in my first of more than a dozen appearances on The Tonight Show ...

The live audience was mostly made up of visiting tourists from the Midwest. I thought they might not like "Handsome Johnny" because it spoke sharply about the war [Vietnam] we were in. To my surprise, the audience understood perfectly what was being said about war in general. They stood and applauded until Johnny Carson went to commercials, and they stood and applauded through the commercial break. They were still applauding just as enthusiastically when we came back on the air. The moment was unmistakably powerful.

Most people watching at home had no idea that the applause never stopped, but Johnny saw firsthand what was happening and spontaneously walked over to where I was standing and invited me back to perform again the next night and to do another song right then and there. Later he told me that the only other performer he ever invited to play on consecutive nights was Barbra Streisand. But she had another concert and could not make it back. (New York, 1968)

From "They Can't Hide Us Anymore," by Richie Havens with Steve Davidowitz (Avon Books, 1999)

Burt Reynolds, actor. "Alter ego"

Johnny Carson, the High Lama of late-night television, asked me if I wanted to guest host the "Tonight Show" while he took a night off.

I would never have had the same career without Johnny. From my first appearance on the "Tonight Show" in the late sixties, we were captivated by each other. I was still pre-Dinah [Shore] then, and I think I was doing everything Johnny would've liked to be doing. I think he saw me as his alter ego.

I studied Johnny like a premed student taking basic anatomy. Damn, he was the best. If he laughed at you, America laughed, too. If he liked you, America liked you. You were a great guy. And Johnny liked me a lot. (New York, late 1960s)

From "My Life," by Burt Reynolds (Hyperion, 1994)

Beverly Sills, opera singer. "Humanizing opera"

Carson always encouraged me to try interesting things. For instance, he'd get a harpist for me and I'd sing something by Rachmaninoff or Rimsky-Korsakov. Or I'd do some Spanish songs with his guitarist ...

I began appearing on a lot of television talk shows, and I have Johnny Carson to thank for that. It was Carson who first told me: "If you come on 'The Tonight Show,' you'll humanize opera. Show 'em you look like everybody else, that you have kids, a life, that you have to diet." I thought: Smart man ! After going on with Johnny, I did my first 'Dick Cavett Show' that December and then appeared with Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin. I intended to do just what Carson advised: I wanted to popularize opera and demonstrate to people that opera singers aren't unapproachable aliens. (New York, 1969)

From "Beverly: An Autobiography," by Beverly Sills with Lawrence Linderman (Bantam Books, 1987)

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