Heeeere's Johnny!

The three decades of The Tonight Show, starring Johnny Carson as host was both unforgettable and significant. There were thousands of vintage TV moments recalled by television viewers of several age brackets. Though many people remember Carson for his uproarious characters and skits, he did not shy away from serious or controversial topics.

As a master magician himself, Johnny was suspicious of Psychic Uri Geller who thrilled audiences around the world in the 1970s by bending spoons with his mind.  Though most folks didn’t mind the act, Johnny did mind it and was determined to expose Geller.

The Great 'Carsoni' in his early days.

In 1973 Gellar agreed to make an appearance on The Tonight Show.  Johnny personally selected the props for Gellar’s act without Gellar or his manager being able to see them before filming.

Despite Uri’s boasts of having authentic mental abilities, he was unable to reproduce his usual marvels with the materials that Carson made available.

This method unmasking Geller suggested by Carson’s friend James Randi, a trained stage magician.

The Amazing Randi, as he billed himself, made a number of appearances on the program over the years.  In 1987 he exposed the self-proclaimed faith healer, Peter Popoff.  The ‘healer’ declared that his knowledge of the problems of the people in the audience came from Godly visions. Randi supplied a video that was broadcast on the program, showing The ‘Fake’ Healer’s wife describing the people for him to treat via a microphone which broadcast to a speaker hidden in his hearing aid.

Johnny wasn’t much of a joke teller.  His real talent was in his quick comebacks and reactions to the jokes and conversations of his guests.

One of the best known moments, one that truly displayed just how quick his wit really was, happened early in Johnny’s tenure.  On April 29, 1965, Ed Ames of Boston, was one of Johnny’s guests. 

As a singer Ed had many hits, including a number one record that year with a tune called ‘My Cup Runneth Over’. With his siblings, The Ames Brothers had a number of top hits, including the Number One smash in 1949 – Rag Mop.

As an actor, Ed starred from 1964 to 1970 in the Daniel Boone series.  He played Boone’s pal Mingo, an Oxford educated half breed American Indian.

Carson arranged a spot on his stage where Ed could demonstrate how he threw a tomahawk on the western adventure series. There was a target set up.  It was a plywood cut-out of a man. 

Ed Ames as 'Mingo'

Ed threw the tomahawk. It spun rapidly through the air and sunk deep into the wooden man’s crotch!

As the crowd laughed, Carson quipped, “I didn’t even know you were Jewish.” This bit of vintage late night TV was so popular that was replayed many times on the show, and has been included in dozens of videos about the program.  

Other classic moments on The Tonight Show centered around some of the recurring characters that Johnny Carson played, often with the help of Ed McMahon.

One of the most famous of these classic television characters was Carnac the Magnificent, a mentalist played by Carson who claimed to be able to answer questions sealed in envelopes without ever seeing the question.

 The answers, of course, would never be straight answers and would instead be puns. When the audience didn’t like one of the jokes, he would respond with outlandish curses, such as ‘May a diseased yak befriend your sister’. 

Carnac Carson

Carson had a number of other popular characters as well, such as Floyd R. Turbo, Ralph Willie, and Aunt Blabby.

Other classic TV moments on The Tonight Show included visits from zoologists such as Joan Embery and the late Jim Fowler. They brought animals which Carson would often interact with. The highlight of most of these scenes was watching Johnny squirm while being crawled on by an amazing array of small animals.

One famous incident often shown as a clip featured Carson leaning too close to a panther cage which caused the cat to swipe at him with its paw. Carson ran across the stage and jumped into Ed McMahon’s arms!

Heeeere's Eddie and Johnny!

When Johnny Carson retired from the show, his final episodes were major events. The most sentimental moment came on the next-to-last of his episodes.

Bette Midler and Robin Williams were among those invited to the program. After Carson revealed in conversation some of his favorite songs, Midler began to sing one. The song soon became a duet between her and Carson. She finished her appearance by singing One for My Baby (and One More for the Road).

An emotional Carson began to tear up on camera. This historic and touching moment was caught on film using a long camera angle never used in the previous 30 years of Carson’s run.

Johnny may not have been the best host of the Tonight Show.  Steve Allen was thought to be perhaps the funniest.  His programs were like wild frat parties.  It was zany from start to finish, with occasional breaks for some piano tunes by Steve, who wrote several hit songs.  His biggest hit was “This Could be the Start of Something Big.”

Jack Paar was the moodiest.  He quit for three weeks once when a minor joke was cut from the taped presentation of his show.  He was moody and volatile.  Watching his show was like watching a modern day reality program…you never knew what might happen.

The other hosts include Jimmy Fallon, the current host, who is losing the ratings war to Stephen Colbert.  Boston comic Jay Leno had a long run and Boston Irish Comic Conan O’Brien had a short run.

Though Johnny’s three decades makes for a prodigious run, it’s not the longest marathon in broadcasting history.  Don McNeil ran his famous radio show, the Breakfast Club on NBC and later ABC for 35 and one half years. 

Broadcast continuously from June 1933 to late December in 1968, Don’s run easily beats Johnny’s epic reign, as the longest running entertainment show with a single host.

The only performer to come close to McNeil’s record, is 95 year old Bob Barker, who retired from the Price is Right after 34 and two thirds years.

Longevity aside, I’m pretty sure that of all the people who ever stepped up to a ‘mike’, Johnny Carson probably had the biggest impact upon the American people.

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