Johnny Carson Wasn’t So Charming Behind The Scenes

Johnny Carson had a nasty temper behind his TV persona. When Wayne Newton outbid him for a casino, Carson told Brutal jokes about Newton on air, until their feud took an explosive turn. Johnny Carson ruled over late night TV and kept audiences rolling with laughter for 30 years, as the host of NBC's The Tonight Show. But between the laughter and practical jokes, there was a fair amount of controversy and scandal. Carson would eventually become TV royalty, but his origins were far from regal. Born John William Carson on October 23, 1925 in Iowa, the future entertainment icon entered the world and especially. While many TV stars, past and present, can boast about proud Hollywood lineages, Carson's family didn't know the first thing about show business. Census records going back to the 1840s show that his ancestors were humble farmers. Not one relative had shown any inclination toward entertainment, until a single event changed Carson's whole life. When he happened across Hoffman's book of magic, the 12-year-old was enchanted. He immediately ordered a magician's kit and began practicing card tricks on unsuspecting family members. In a touching show of support, his mother sold him a cape for his magic shows, and it helped his career take flight. At 14, he performed his first paid gig, earning $3. Soon, the great Carsonie, as he adubbed himself, was entertaining at Fireman's picnics and county fairs throughout Nebraska. At Norfolk High School, he discovered new creative outlets beyond magic. He tried his hand at acting and showcased his wit by writing a humor column for the school newspaper, slowly developing the comedic voice that would later captivate millions. But he almost never had the chance. Fresh from high school graduation in 1943, Carson made an unexpected move for a would-be magician when he enlisted in the Navy. Commissioned as an ensign, he served aboard the USS Pennsylvania as a communications officer, decoding encrypted messages in the Pacific Theatre. Fortunately, that was all the action he saw as World War II came to a close before he ever saw active combat. Nevertheless, he impressed his superiors. Then, US Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestill, asked Carson about his post-Navy plans. Carson boldly declared that he wanted to become a magician, not a career sailor. Intrigued, Forrestill challenged Carson to perform a magic trick on the spot. Gleefully, the young ensign responded with a card trick that delighted the notoriously cranky and high-brow secretary. This pivotal moment proved to Carson that he could entertain even the toughest audiences. He just needed the right stage. After leaving the Navy, Carson enrolled at the University of Nebraska where he continued performing magic. By that time, he'd come a long way from the Great Car Sony, commanding as much as $25 per appearance. Still, he was beginning to see that his real talent was making people laugh. Carson's college thesis, How to Write Comedy for Radio, wasn't your typical academic paper. He compiled taped skits from popular radio shows and explained comedic techniques through voiceover commentary. His thesis was so compelling that he graduated in just three years. Following university in 1950, he worked as a disc jockey, weather reporter and commercial reader for radio stations in Omaha. It wasn't exactly a New York or Hollywood stage, but has sound did travel. In 1951, a college connection helped Carson land his big break, an announcing job at CBS affiliate KNXT in Los Angeles. With a shoestring of a production budget, Carson created Carson's cellar, a Sunday afternoon show of radio sketch comedy. He had no idea that comedy legends like Fred Allen, Jack Benny and Red Skelton were among his biggest fans. In fact, Skelton was so impressed with Carson that in 1953, he hired him as a writer for his show. Then fate thrust Carson into the spotlight. His breakthrough came courtesy of a backstage mishap in 1954. When Skelton accidentally knocked himself unconscious just one hour before showtime, Carson stepped in to fill the comedy legends shoes with barely any notice. Relying on his natural instincts, Carson lit up the stage and had the audience rolling with laughter. CBS rewarded Carson's fill-in performance with the Johnny Carson show in 1955. But the magic wasn't there. The half hour program quickly burned through directors and writers. After just 39 painful weeks, the network pulled the plug on the program. Carson thought he'd missed his big opportunity, but he refused to give up. Borrowing money from his father, he relocated to New York, where he joined the prestigious Friars Club. There, his rapid fire won liners quickly impressed the show business elite, and proved that his show's failure wasn't all his fault. Bigger things were still ahead. In 1957, ABC threw Carson a lifeline when they hired him to host the quiz show "Who do you trust?" The five-year gig wiped off the stain of his failed variety show and reestablished him as a unique and entertaining television personality. More importantly, it brought him together with a crucial collaborator. At the height of his fame, Carson had one thing every good late night host needs, a sidekick. And it all began on "Who do you trust?" when Carson discovered his ideal straight man, Ed McMahon. Their chemistry transformed the quiz show into the hottest item on daytime TV, but it was the prime time TV crown that Carson really wanted. When the tonight show host Jack Parr announced that he would be stepping down, NBC approached Carson with an offer he couldn't refuse, and on October 1, 1962, Carson stepped into the spotlight. To help kick things off, some of Carson's first guests on the tonight show were the biggest stars of their day. A-listers like Tony Bennett, Mel Brooks and Joan Crawford lent Carson their star power, but the first year's ratings were middling at best. Then Carson found his magic. He brought Ed McMahon along with him as his announcer, and it's a good thing he did. McMahon's booming introduction instantly became one of television's most iconic catchphrases, a nightly herald announcing the arrival of late night royalty. Carson opened every one of his shows with a monologue, packed with 16 to 22 one liners, never more than three on the same topic by his specific instructions, followed by some sketch comedy, then guest interviews, and finally musical performances. If that sounds familiar, it's because Carson pioneered the format that every late night show since has followed, but no one quite had his flair. In addition to pioneering a new format, Carson had some quirks in gimmicks that no one else could follow. His phantom golf swing after monologues became his signature move, while recurring characters such as Carnac the Magnificent and Art Furn revealed Carson's comedic versatility. His conquest of late night was almost complete. Long before his meteoric rise to late night dominance, Carson had married his college sweetheart Jody Walcott. Even before their marriage in 1948, Walcott had served as Carson's magic assistant. They had three sons, but their happy family was just an illusion. Throughout their marriage, both Carson and his wife carried on affairs. Eventually, by 1963, they gave up pretending and called it quits. Before the incone his divorce papers had dried, he tied the knot with Joanne Copeland, a 30-year-old model and occasional actress. Their relationship lasted seven years before ending in 1972. Copeland took the king of late night to the cleaners, walking away with nearly half a million dollars and 100,000 annually in alimony, but Carson could afford it. By the mid-1970s, he commanded one of TV's biggest audiences and one of its heftiest salaries. At the time, Carson was earning the equivalent of almost 20 million dollars in today's money just from the tonight show. By 1979, Carson was the undisputed king of late night TV, except he didn't actually own his own kingdom. A heated legal battle between Carson and NBC broke out over the issues of pay and ownership. After a protracted dispute, Carson won his battle against NBC. In addition to getting a massive pay raise and reduced hours, he managed to negotiate ownership of the show, as well as its back catalogue. On September 30, 1972, during a glitzy celebration for the 10th anniversary of the tonight show, Carson stunned guests with the news that he'd gotten married earlier that day. His new wife was Joanna Holland, a 32-year-old model. The marriage lasted for more than a decade. an eternity by show business standards, but the lengthy and expensive divorce proceedings proved that in the end, there was no love lost between the two. When the dust finally settled on their two-year long divorce case, Holland walked away with the equivalent of nearly $60 million in today's money. If Carson's previous marriages were brief guest spots, Alexis Mass was the featured act. The two led on June 20, 1987 and stayed together until Carson's death in 2005. "If you have just joined us, we are talking with Yuri Geller, who claims and has performs some very astounding feats we have. " In 1973, Carson caused a controversy when he invited Yuri Geller, a flamboyant performer who claimed to have psychic powers onto the tonight show. But Geller wasn't just there to bend spoons. He was walking into a carefully laid trap, courtesy of Carson and famed skeptic James Randy. To make sure Geller couldn't pull any fast ones on him or his audience, Carson secretly had Randy prepare all the props that Geller planned to use. The result was an uncomfortable and controversial hour of TV. As the props failed to work, Geller squirmed under the studio lights. Geller admitted that after this humiliation, he returned to his hotel devastated and nearly fled the country, believing that Carson had destroyed his career and reputation. But Carson's plan backfired. In a strange twist, Carson's attempted take down of Geller didn't ruin him. Geller's apparent struggles on the tonight show lent credibility to his claims, and the very next day, Geller booked a spot on the mayor of Griffin's show. In 1980, Carson set his sights on buying the Aladdin Hotel in Casino in Las Vegas. However, at the last minute, entertainer Wayne Newton swooped in with a competing bid and won. Legend has it that Carson didn't take the loss well. So when media reports portrayed him as the loser in the deal, Carson unleashed a flurry of scathing jokes about Newton live on his show. Newton was not laughing. Years later, in a fiery appearance on Larry King Live, Newton let the world know exactly how he felt calling Carson a mean-spirited human being. Reportedly, when Carson continued to mock him, a still-irate Newton marched right into Carson's NBC office, and threatened to settle things the old fashioned way. According to Newton, he warned Carson that if the jokes didn't stop, he'd beat him up. Newton wasn't the only celebrity to end up in Carson's comedic crosshairs. With a fierce sense of loyalty, the late night star took any perceived slights personally. So when former guest hosts like John Davidson and John Rivers branched out into their own talk shows, Carson saw it as treason. In fact, after Rivers launched her show on Fox in 1986, Carson never spoke to her again. In 1992, after 30 legendary years filled with laughs and scandals, Carson stunned his audience with a heartfelt goodbye. He left while still on top before anyone could ask him to. And his final night, he offered a touching farewell that brought millions to tears. Carson might have stepped away from the spotlight, but he never lost his comic timing. After retiring, he secretly faxed jokes to David Letterman, some of which made it into Letterman's monologues. Even in retirement, Carson was still the king of late night TV, even if only as the power behind the camera. In his later life, Carson made very few public appearances and often turned down offers for cameos, interviews and film roles. Then, quietly and peacefully from a top has late night TV thrown on January 23rd, 2005, Johnny Carson succumbed to infosima at the age of 79. The king of late night was gone, but his legacy still takes center stage. 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