Barry Manilow, singer. "Gentleman."

Standing there in the wings waiting for Johnny Carson to introduce me for my first appearance on his show, I felt more nervous than I had ever felt in my life. "Pull yourself together," I kept telling myself, but my heart kept flopping around inside my chest ...

I had been making the One Voice album and had been off the road for about seven months. When it came time to start promoting it, "The Tonight Show" was suggested because of its huge audience and because I had never done it before ...

I hadn't slept at all the night before the show. I was working myself into a state of nerves that was way beyond the reality of the situation. I had rehearsed the few songs I was to sing and the band sounded fine. I knew what I was going to say to Johnny and I also knew that he was going to be gentle and easy to deal with. There really was no reason for this case of nerves, but it was there nevertheless ...

As I walked out to the greeting of the audience, I began to feel a little better. When I heard the familiar music we'd rehearsed, I felt stronger, and by the time I was halfway into the song, I was fine!

The interview was a breeze: Johnny was a gentleman and seemed glad to see me on his show. The last song was very strong, the band sounded fine, and when I waved good-bye, I felt good. (Los Angeles, 1978)

From "Sweet Life: Adventures on the Way to Paradise," by Barry Manilow (McGraw-Hill, 1987)

Marilu Henner, actress. "Off our games."

I went out and gave Johnny a surprise ... unscripted and beyond my control. I was so nervous about making a good impression that by the time I walked onstage, my nipples were hard and practically poking through the sheer silk blouse I wore.

Johnny did not fail to notice.

"Oh," he said, "it must be cold backstage," nodding to my chest. I couldn't believe it. This was all I needed to ruin my big chance to shine with Johnny. I turned beet-red, clammed up, and froze. I struggled to gather my wits, but every time I opened my mouth I was afraid I was repeating myself and I wondered if I was at the beginning, middle, or end of my story. I was not in present time.

For no reason at all, I began speaking with a phony British accent. I was totally disoriented, and terrible.

The Tonight staff called my publicist the next day to apologize. Johnny, they said, had reviewed the show, and had asked, "How many shows have we done like that?" He too had felt skittish, off his game. (Los Angeles, 1979)

From "By All Means Keep On Moving," by Marilu Henner with Jim Jerome (Pocket Star Books, 1994)

Andy Warhol, pop artist. "Really exciting."

... a birthday dinner for Lynn Wyatt ... Johnny Carson was going to be there and I couldn't wait to meet him ...

Lynn took me around to introduce me to people. And the first person she introduced me to was Johnny Carson. That was really exciting. He's not short. He's tall. He has grey hair and he looks so healthy. I took lots of pictures of him. And his wife Joanna is beautiful, she used to be a model with Norell so we dished the dresses and fashion and junk like that and I didn't take any pictures. I was just too -- I thought it would be too much. Everybody was too scared to sit at the Johnny Carson table. (New York, 1980)

From "The Andy Warhol Diaries," edited by Pat Hackett (Warner Books, 1989)

Maureen Reagan, daughter of Ronald Reagan. "Puppy-dog eyes."

... on Tuesday, January 20, 1981 -- my father. . . was sworn in as the fortieth president of the United States ...

... the gala ... that evening at the Capital Center ...

Johnny Carson seemed a little tentative when he came out with his battery of jokes at the President's expense, though I'm sure his uncertainty was just part of his act. He kept looking up at Dad's box after each joke, as if to say, "Is that OK? Is that OK?" and each time he looked up with his sad puppy-dog eyes for some kind of presidential approval, Dad would just lose it all the more. All the news footage and photos from that evening show Dad, and the rest of us, just having a grand old time. (Washington, D.C.)

From "First Father, First Daughter: A Memoir," by Maureen Reagan (Little, Brown, 1989)

Reba McEntire, country singer. "Nice and gracious."

... my chance to meet the other Johnny [other than Cash], Johnny Carson, the late-night king himself and the host of the granddaddy of all the network television shows. On that first, 1983, "Tonight Show" date, for good luck -- and because I couldn't afford anything else -- I wore that same dress that Johnny Cash had given me for his TV special. Naturally, I was a bundle of nerves, but when I met Carson backstage before the show, he was very nice and gracious ...

Johnny questioned me about my background in rodeo, and I explained that I had been a barrel racer. He seemed fascinated by the way I said "barrel" and kept asking me to repeat it, impersonating me and making fun of how I said "barrel."

Well, Johnny's from Nebraska, and that's about as rural as Oklahoma. I guess he lost his Nebraska accent a long time ago. But, in hindsight, I can see that Johnny meant no harm -- he was just trying to break the ice. (Los Angeles, 1983)

From "Reba: My Story," by Reba McEntire with Tom Carter (Bantam, 1994)

Cybill Shepherd, actor. Horseplay.

Carson could really bring out the risqui in me: on one occasion, he put on a pair of horns, got down on his hands and knees, and let me lasso him. Another time he knocked a cup of coffee over on his desk, and [I] said, "If you'd spilled it in your lap, I could have cleaned it up." (Los Angeles, 1980s)

From "Cybill Disobedience," by Cybill Shepherd with Aime Lee Ball (HarperCollins, 2000)

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