Bob Woolf, lawyer and negotiator. "Eye contact."

No one makes eye contact better than Johnny Carson. Each night, he "negotiates" his guests through interviews. His goal isn't a contract, but simply good conversation. Appearing on "The Tonight Show" is an exciting but also nerve-wracking prospect ... you sit in the green room, watching the guest before you. The pressure builds. You're waiting to get on and you know millions of people are going to be watching ...

You're standing there, listening to Johnny Carson introduce you, and your heart is pounding. The last thing I thought of was my wife and kids, and I said to myself, "Here I go." It was the kind of feeling you must get before making a first parachute jump.

You step out and suddenly, there you are, sitting next to the most famous face on television. The point is that Carson knows how nervous his guests are, even if that guest is a big star. What separates Carson from anybody I have ever dealt with on television, and one of the things that makes him a great interviewer, is the simple fact that he gives you constant eye contact.

You are out there talking to him, still nervous, still unsure of yourself, when all of a sudden it seems like just the two of you having a friendly conversation. There may be twenty million people watching at home and a big audience just behind the cameras, but you don't even think of that. All you know is you're talking to Johnny Carson. He is looking directly at you, allowing you to shut out all the distractions and feel totally comfortable in what otherwise would remain a terrifying situation. Even during a break, he does all he can to put you at ease. During one commercial, he leaned over to me and joked that "alimony is the bounty after the mutiny" and "alimony is for services unrendered." (Los Angeles, mid-1980s)

From "Friendly Persuasion: My Life As a Negotiator," by Bob Woolf (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1990)

Vanna White, game show doll. Liver, lamb and opera.

... the things I'd dreamed about for years. Being on Johnny Carson's Tonight show is right at the top of the list ... I agonized for days over what I would wear, what he would say, what I would say, and on and on ...

I waited in the wings for my introduction. I took a deep breath, and when I heard Johnny say my name, I walked out through the curtains, waved hello, walked toward him, and took my seat. This was really it. The only thing I remember is Johnny saying to me, "I hear you don't like three things -- liver, lamb, and opera." By the time he got to the word things, I knew exactly what was coming. This was one of those quotes I'd given to the press. But here I was sitting next to [Luciano] Pavarotti, probably the greatest living opera singer in the world. For a moment I froze, but then Mr. Pavarotti came to my rescue by saying, "I don't like liver or lamb, and perhaps tonight I don't like opera either." How sweet of him! I grabbed his hand and told him how wonderful he was, and the next day I bought some of his albums. And after listening to them, I've decided that I do like opera, after all. (Los Angeles, mid-1980s)

From "Vanna Speaks," by Vanna White with Patricia Romanowski (Warner Books, 1987)

Willie Nelson, country musician. Handling groupies.

... taping the Johnny Carson show ... we'd parked our bus convoy in the middle of the NBC lot at Universal, causing much comment. Johnny Carson had to work his way through the buses to slip his sports car into his own parking spot, which is right by the front door to the NBC studio.

So on the show, the first thing Johnny talked about was the buses. The day before, one of his producers had phoned me at L'Ermitage in Beverly Hills and drilled me on the questions Johnny would ask. I remember one question was how did I handle female groupies. The producer said, "I guess you just get rid of them, huh?"

I said, "Sure I can do that."

But on the show, Johnny kept talking about the buses being the center of attention in Burbank that day, and how he could barely squeeze his car into the lot, and what a wild, free, glamorous kind of life it must be out there on the road rolling on the bus.

I said, "Well, I try to give them whatever I can."

That broke up Johnny, because he was expecting the answer about getting rid of them. It got a real big laugh everywhere, in fact. But, shit, it's the answer I was going to give the producer, because it's the truth. (Burbank, Calif., 1987)

From "Willie: An Autobiography," by Willie Nelson with Bud Shrake (Simon and Schuster, 1988)

Roseanne Arnold, comedian and actor. Biggest woman comic ever.

I do "The Tonight Show" and I'm just higher than hell, greatest night of my life ...

... in my dressing room, unwinding, coming back. Knock-knock. "Get out there. Johnny wants you."

Johnny knows his stuff. He still knows how to do it. And he made all of us comics ... imagine what I felt like when he came backstage, took my hand and said, "Do you write your own material?" (I told him I did.) "You have great timing." I thanked him effusively. He was patting my hand. "You're going to be a big star, maybe the biggest woman comic ever. I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE IT." (Los Angeles, late 1980s)

From "My Lives," by Roseanne Arnold (Ballantine Books, 1994)

Regis Philbin, TV show host. No way to return?

I visited Johnny one afternoon at his Santa Monica offices. It's as impressive a place as I had imagined it would be. Johnny presides, very casually, in a beautifully decorated suite overlooking the ocean, with a staff of three. I found him calm, relaxed, and funny as ever. We talked about what it would take to bring him back to television. I suggested the Academy Awards, but Johnny said no. In fact, he had no idea what would lure him. I got the feeling he wouldn't be back at all. After ending his long reign with such class and fanfare, maybe there's no way to return. We all wandered out to lunch and had lots of laughs. (Santa Monica, Calif., 1994)

From "I'm Only One Man," by Regis Philbin with Bill Zehme (Hyperion, 1995)

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