Carson still is in a league all of his own. The best thing about Johnny was that he never would compete with his guests when they sat down to talk. Especially with comedians he always let them shine and be the funny one. At times you could tell he was even helping them, feeding them lines .Whether it was a new artist, or one of the Hollywood elite, or interviewing a farmer from Idaho who grew funny looking vegetables, Carson would always let his guest be the star.  

Some of the late night hosts now tend to interrupt too much and try to upstage their guests. Leno was bad in that respect.  Jimmy Fallon is very talented, but he always has to be in everything on his show and he seems to be competing with guests all the time, whether they be a singer or comedian. 

Johnny was always topical in his opening monologues but never mean or overly political. And with the best sidekicks ever, with Ed "You are Correct Sir" McMahon, Doc Severinsen, and the fantastic NBC Orchestra, it was easy to see how Johnny Carson ruled late night television for so many years.  By the mid 70's it was reported that the Tonight Show was TV's most profitable program making NBC in excess of $50 million per year. In fact some years when NBC had a poor prime time schedule, it was the Tonight Show that carried the network.

I remember seeing an interview with Richard Pryor who talked about his first appearance on the Tonight Show. Pryor said the change in his career was immediate. The next day the phone was ringing and he was offered jobs in venues that he never thought he would ever see.

Yes, it was outta there, in left field...wild stuff.. 

Have a great long weekend and Happy Thanksgiving everyone..

 

Last edited by paterson1 (October 12, 2019 5:03 pm)