The Guest Johnny Carson Hated

ever heard of the legendary John William Carson well if you haven't you're in for a treat picture this an American television icon comedian extraordinaire top-notch writer and a master producer yep that's Carson for you but hey even the king of late night had his boundaries despite his charm an effortless banter with guests on The Tonight Show there were a few individuals Carson just couldn't warm up to curious to know who they were and why stick around because we're delving into the Intriguing world of Carson the iconic host of The Tonight Show in his fascinating guest list however let's first uncover the story behind this the early life of Johnny Carson born on October 23rd 1925 in Corning Iowa was no ordinary kid growing up in the Heartland with his folks Ruth and Kit Carson he was the middle child sandwiched between his older sister Catherine and younger brother Richard but let's skip the small town talk and get to the good stuff he was a young boy from the Midwest fascinated by magic tricks Johnny Carson's story starts there growing up in small towns he loved performing tricks making people gasp and smile from the age of 12 he practiced and practiced wowing crowds at local events magic wasn't just fun for Carson it was his passion the thing that made him Special Johnny transformed into the great Carson his first audience none other than the local Kiwanis Club can you imagine imagine a teenage magician wowing the crowds for a whopping dollar three a show and guess what the crowds couldn't get enough Johnny became the Talk of the Town performing at picnics county fairs you name it he was there but wait it gets better After High School Johnny packed his bags and headed straight for Hollywood now this part's a bit wild Legend has it he hitchhiked his way there only to get slapped with a $150 fine for impersonating a midshipman yep Hollywood wasn't quite ready for Johnny Carson but oh boy was he ready for Hollywood Carson's Talent was put on hold when he joined the US Navy during the World War II the high point of Johnny Carson's Navy career was performing a magic trick for United States Secretary of the Navy James V forestal in a conversation with forestall the secretary asked Carson if he planned to stay in the Navy after the war in response Carson said no and told him he wanted to be a magician forestal asked him to perform and Carson responded with a card trick Carson made the discovery that he could entertain and amuse someone as cranky and sophisticated as Forest all Carson's turbulent marriages in October 1949 Carson tied the knot with jod wilcott in North Plat Nebraska their marriage was tumultuous marked by infidelities from both sides and eventually ended in divorce in 196 3 soon after in the same year Carson married Joanne copelan on August 17th their marriage also faced challenges leading to a lengthy divorce in 1972 copelan received a monthly alimony of $6,000 until she remarried or until Carson's passing in 2005 additionally she inherited a pretty nice little art collection Copeland later remarried only to face another divorce and passed away in California in 2015 without children at the 10 anniversary celebration of The Tonight Show on September 30th 1972 Carson stunned everyone by revealing his secret marriage to former model Joanna Holland earlier that day however their Union ended in divorce in 1985 with Holland receiving a hefty settlement of $20 million in cash and property finally on June 20th 1987 Carson exchanged vows with Alexis moss and their marriage endured until his passing in 2005 Carson humorously remarked my giving advice on marriage is like the captain of the Titanic giving lessons on navigation Carson and his first wife welcomed Three Sons into their family Christopher kit born in 1951 Richard Ricky born in 1952 and Corey born in 1953 tragically Richard the middle son passed away on June 21st 1991 in a car accident near kakos California reports indicate that Richard was taking photographs when the accident occurred in a touching tribute on the first Tonight Show after his son's death Carson honored Richard's passion for photography by showcasing his nature slides while Stevie Ray Von song Riviera Paradise played softly in the background furthermore the final image of Carson's last show on May 22nd 199 9 2 along with some more to come bumpers featured a photograph captured by Richard commemorating his artistic Legacy viewers of The Tonight Show during the 1970s and 80s might have assumed that Bob Hope was one of Johnny Carson's favorite guests no one appeared on the show more often than the comedy Legend and his guest appearances clung to a familiar almost comical ritual he would walk out to the strains of his theme song thanks for the memory sometimes unannounced supposedly a surprise guest after some banter with Johnny sprinkled with Hope's obviously prepared gag lines he would introduce a reel of taped highlights from his upcoming special then he would scoot away always with somewhere urgent to go one of those who grew tired of the routine was Johnny Carson hope and Carson were NBC's two biggest stars and they had much in common they shared the same Studio designed for Hope back in the 1950s and taken over by Carson in 1972 when he moved the show to California but always available to Hope For The Asking their comedy styles were mirror images of each other Carson did a more Urbane and somewhat hipper version of Hope's topical monologues joking commentary on the news geared to the mass audience and carefully avoiding any political point of view they were strikingly similar personal types as well cool remote and emotionally detached ingratiating on the surface but known intimately by only a few but Carson never warmed to Hope either personally or professionally The Tonight Show host would often mimic and pay homage to the classic comedians he adored Jack Benny Groucho Marx George Burns he almost never referenced hope Johnny admired Hope's place in Show Business said tonight's show producer Peter lassley but he was not a great admirer of his work the coolness between them was in part a reflection of their rivalry Carson was the only star at NBC who could challenge hope for clout at the network yet hope a prime time Powerhouse for NBC since 1950 was still King and Carson had to defer Carson resented the way hope could virtually book himself on The Tonight Show whenever he had something to promote which seemed to be all the time we'd get a request said Lass and Johnny would go again and I'd say do you want to tell him no and he'd say no you can't turn down Bob Hope hope would bring in highlight reels from his specials that went on interminably we'd say give us 2 minutes said Jeff saing Carson's nephew and a Tonight Show Producer he'd bring in five minutes cut together with a rusty knife that was frustrating once after a Carson monologue that went over particularly well hope asked during a commercial break if he could use some of the laughter on his upcoming special flabbergasted Carson said okay later on Hope Special Johnny claimed he could hear Ed McMahon laughing at Bob's jokes worst of all from Carson's point of view Hope was not a good guest he came armed with scripted jokes and rarely would engage in any genuine conversation there was nothing spontaneous about Hope said Andrew Nichols Carson's former co-head WR he was a guy who relied on his writers for every topic Johnny was very quick on his feet very well read he was a guy who learned Swahili learned Russian learned astronomy he appreciated people who he felt engaged with the real world there was nothing to talk to Bob about in the later years as his hearing and eyesight were failing Hope's guest appearances became even more of a trial he often had trouble picking up Carson's questions and Johnny had to stick prec precisely to the notes his staff gave him if he asked a question out of order hope might answer a different question still hope kept coming on the show his frailties on full display for the national TV audience if I ever end up like that guys Carson said to his writer I want you to shoot me Carson retired in 1992 but hope soldiered da continuing to do specials for NBC into his 90s Carson was one of the guests paying tribute on the 90th birthday special that NBC threw for Hope in May 1993 but Johnny agreed to do a monologue the only one he ever did on TV after his retirement only on the assurance that hope would not do one as well despite his frustrations with hope Johnny didn't want the master to be embarrassed as we wrap up don't forget to subscribe to our Channel and hit the notification Bell to stay updated on all our latest content thank thanks for watching

Channel: Fame Unmasked

Views: 11,812

Keywords: carson, johnny carson, bob hope, the tonight show, funny

Id: bY16IAsSahc

Length: 10min 1sec (601 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 20 2024