Johnny Carson

Trivia

• Co-wrote "Johnny's Theme" with Paul Anka when he signed on in 1962 as the new host of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962).
• Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 95-97. New York: Facts on File, 1992.
• During one live dog-food commercial on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962), when a stunt dog failed to appear on cue, Johnny came out on all fours, panting and licking announcer Ed McMahon's hand, to keep the commercial going.
• Celebrated New Year's Eve once in his teens by shooting off his father's rifle at midnight, accidentally taking out the family water heater.
• Was a member of the exclusive Hollywood Gourmet Poker Club with fellow card players Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Steve Martin, Carl Reiner, Barry Diller and Neil Simon.
• When Carson announced his impending retirement, there was fierce competition between David Letterman and Jay Leno to be Carson's "Tonight Show" successor. Leno eventually won the coveted spot, and an angry Letterman moved over to rival network CBS to host a competing show. Many, including Leno, took Carson's walk-on appearance on "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) as a signal from Carson that he preferred Letterman to Leno. (Carson has never appeared on Leno's show to congratulate his "Toni
• In January 2005, one-time "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) producer Peter Lassally revealed that Carson occasionally contributed material for Letterman's monologues. What he missed most in retirement was performing his own "Tonight Show" monologues, according to Lassally.
• In addition to his walk-on appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) stage, he also appeared on another episode in a filmed segment where Letterman has car problems while visiting Hollywood and Carson drives past, shaking his head in disapproval.
• Won Kennedy Center Honors in 1993.
• Had once been considered for the part of "Rob Petrie" on what subsequently became "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961).

Quotes

• "If variety is the spice of life, marriage is the big can of leftover Spam."
• "In Los Angeles, the big story is that Police Chief Daryl Gates announced his retirement. It'll be sometime next year. Why can't a guy just retire without making a big deal of it?"
• "I can empathize with President [George Bush]. I know what it feels like having a young guy waiting around for you to keel over."
• "Happiness is your dentist telling you it won't hurt and then having him catch his hand in the drill."
• "The Hollywood tradition I like best is called sucking up to the stars."
• "New York is an exciting town where something is happening all the time, most of it unsolved."
• "Happiness is seeing the muscular lifeguard all the girls were admiring leave the beach hand in hand with another muscular lifeguard."
• "If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of the television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners."
• "People will pay more to be entertained than educated."
• "If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead."