John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known as the host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992). Carson received six Primetime Emmy Awards, the Television Academy's 1980 Governor's Award, and a 1985 Peabody Award. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993.
During World War II, Carson served in the Navy. After the war, Carson started a career in radio. He moved from radio to TV and took over as host of the late-night talk show Tonight from Jack Paar in 1962. He remained an American icon even after his retirement in 1992. He adopted a casual, conversational approach with extensive interaction with guests, an approach pioneered by Arthur Godfrey and previous Tonight Show hosts Steve Allen and Jack Paar but enhanced by Carson's lightning-quick wit. Former late-night host and friend David Letterman, as well as many others, have cited Carson's influence. Carson is a cultural icon and widely regarded as the king of late-night television.
Early life and career
John William Carson was born on October 23, 1925, in Corning, Iowa, to Ruth Elizabeth (Hook) Carson (1901–1985) and Homer Lloyd "Kit" Carson (1899–1983), a power company manager. He was the second child of three children. He had an older sister, Catherine “Kit” (Carson) Sotzing (1923-2014) and a younger brother Richard Carson (1929-2021). As a child, he lived in the nearby towns of Avoca, Clarinda, and Red Oak in southwest Iowa before moving to Norfolk, Nebraska, at the age of eight. There, Carson grew up and began developing his talent for entertaining. At the age of 12, Carson found a book on magic at a friend's house and immediately purchased a mail-order magician's kit. After purchasing the kit, Carson practiced his entertainment skills on family members with card tricks. He was known for following his family members around saying, "Pick a card, any card." Carson's mother sewed him a cape, and his first performance was staged in front of the local Kiwanis Club. He debuted as "The Great Carsoni" at age 14 and was paid $3 a show. Soon, many other performances at local picnics and county fairs followed. After graduating from high school, Carson had his first encounter with Hollywood. He had hitchhiked to Hollywood, where he was arrested and fined $50 for impersonating a midshipman, a story often regarded as apocryphal.
Carson joined the United States Navy on June 8, 1943, and received V-12 Navy College Training Program officer training at Columbia University and Millsaps College.[9] Commissioned an ensign late in the war, Carson was assigned to the USS Pennsylvania in the Pacific. While in the Navy, Carson posted a 10–0 amateur boxing record, with most of his bouts fought on board the Pennsylvania. He was en route to the combat zone aboard a troop ship when the war ended. Carson served as a communications officer in charge of decoding encrypted messages. He said that the high point of his military career was performing a magic trick for United States Secretary of the Navy James V. Forrestal. In a conversation with Forrestal, 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. Forrestal 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 Forrestal.
The Tonight Show
NBC's Tonight was the late-night counterpart to its early-morning show Today. Originating in 1954 with host Steve Allen, Tonight was somewhat experimental at the time, as the only previous network late-night program was NBC's Broadway Open House which starred Jerry Lester and Dagmar. Tonight was successful, and when Allen moved on to prime time comedy-variety shows in 1957, Jack Paar replaced him as host of Tonight. Paar left the show in 1962.
Carson's success on ABC's Who Do You Trust? led NBC to invite him to take over Tonight a few months before Paar's departure. Carson declined the offer because he feared the difficulty of interviewing celebrities for 105 minutes each day. Bob Newhart, Jackie Gleason, Groucho Marx, and Joey Bishop all also declined. NBC finally convinced Carson to sign by early February 1962. Carson can be seen discussing his upcoming job for the first time on the February 11, 1962, episode of What's My Line?. Due to Carson having six months left on his ABC contract, NBC used multiple guest hosts until he could take over. Guest hosts included Merv Griffin, Art Linkletter, Joey Bishop, Arlene Francis (the first woman to host The Tonight Show), Bob Cummings, Jerry Lewis, Groucho Marx, Donald O'Connor, and others.
Although he continued to have doubts about his new job, Carson became the host of Tonight (later called The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson) on October 1, 1962. After a difficult first year, he overcame his fears. While Tonight under its previous hosts had been successful, especially under Paar, Carson's version eventually did very well in the ratings. Billy Wilder said of Carson:
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- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons chopped pickled ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 Boston Bibb or butter lettuce leaves (1 head)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cup shredded cucumber
- In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté beef, onion, salt, and pepper 5 to 6 minutes or until browned; drain liquid. Add hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, pickled ginger, and garlic and heat 2 minutes or until heated through.
- Place lettuce leaves on serving platter and top each with a spoonful of the cooked beef mixture, the carrots, and cucumber. Serve immediately.
