Liz Burlington

Rhetoric of Pop Culture

Johnny Carson

         

          At 11:30 p.m. Monday night through Friday night for thirty years, America crawled in bed to the sound of Ed McMahon’s voice announcing “Heerree’s Johnny.”  The “Tonight Show” is a late night master piece that began in 1954, and had a slew of host’s until Johnny Carson took over in 1962 preserving the ratings for three decades.  He is a late night icon.  He developed the monologue, had hilarious comedy skits, and gave many young and rising stars a chance to meet America.  His success as the reigning late night king for thirty years, withstanding the change of seven presidents as well as the birth and death of many trends, makes him the number one talk show host of all time.

 

History of the “Tonight Show”

          The “Tonight Show” gets its roots from “Tonight!” a NBC produced show to complement the “Today” program it ran in the mornings.  Late night programming is considered to begin at 11:30 pm and because of the time slot, it was targeted at an older audience. It was one of the first shows not sponsored by a single sponsor, but by the network itself, giving them more creative license over the show.  It was hosted by funny man Steve Allen from 1954 to 1957, who established many of the late standards we are used to today such as the desk and couch, and the emphasis of conversation with the guests.

          In 1957, NBC redesigned the show and renamed it “Tonight! America after Dark”.  Jack Lescoulie hosted the show and it concentrated on news commentary and had showings of live newsworthy events.  It was quickly cancelled after a few months.

          The next attempt in the late night slot was “The Jack Paar Tonight Show”.  His style of presentation was very emotional and political oriented, much different than Steve Allen who focused on music and comedy, yet Paar kept Allen’s basic traditional set up.  The show ran for five years until 1962 when Johnny Carson began his career at the host of the “Tonight Show”. 

Background of Johnny Carson

          John William Carson was born in Corning, Iowa in 1925.  He moved at a young age and spent the majority of his youth in Norfolk, Nebraska. A natural entertainer, at the age of 14 he was earning $3 a show as “The Great Carsoni” with a mail-order magic kit. 

          After serving in the pacific, he got jobs writing radio comedy programs at the University if Nebraska. Later, after moving to LA, he was given his own radio program, the “Carson’s Cellar”. At 29, Carson became the host of “Earn Your Vacation”.   In 1955, he was offered to host “The Johnny Carson Show” but it lasted only a few weeks.  This led to a game show called “Who Do You Trust?”  The show lasted five years until he turned back to late night TV.  As a substitute host for

“The Jack Paar Show” he finally earned enough credibility to host the “Tonight Show” in 1962.

Johnny at the “Tonight Show” host

          Johnny debuted as the “Tonight show” host in 1962 in New York, NY.  His presentation style derived from his background and influences.  He held the persona of a cool clean-cut Midwesterner with a bad boy streak.  He was down to earth and talked casually with guests and usually avoided controversial topics.  He had charm and wit, a relaxing combination. 

          Each night he began with an opening monologue at 11:15pm, a mixture of comedy, news, and a preview of that night’s show.  Following the monologue, he signaled to the band leader, Doc Stevenson, with an infamous golf stroke to start the music.  After a commercial break, his audience finds him behind a desk, making conversation with Ed McMahon, the announcer, reading letters from the fans, or taking questions from the audience.  Then the guests came out and enjoyed a light hearted conversation with Johnny.  In February 1965 he left the opening of the show to Ed McMahon and Skitch Henderson, but in 1967 the opening 15 minutes were dropped, leaving the air time to 90 minutes where it remained at until 1980 when it was cut back to one hour.

          The show also featured prerecorded skits such as “Stump the Band,” where the audience would ask the band to play obscure songs by giving only the title; “Carnac the Magnificent,” with Carson as an inept magician; “Aunt Blabby,” with Carson as a gossiping old lady; “The Mighty Carson Art Players,” spoofing movies commercials and TV shows; “Floyd R. Turbo,” with Carson as a super patriot; and “The Art Fern Tea Time Movie,” with Carol Wayne as the original “Matinee Lady.”

          The celebrity interviews, however, were his main focus of the show.  His guests ranged from politicians, popular entertainers, experts of a certain field, authors, or ordinary citizens who have notoriously gained celebrity status.

          This familiar pattern kept his audience entertained for three decades.  People who watched knew what to expect and loved to unwind to his “cocktail party conversation”.  Because of the late night time slot he could be sophisticated and risqué at the same time.  Also, because of his steer from controversy and his laid back atmosphere, he was able to endure during the nation’s great times of unrest including the communist scares, the Watergate scandals, Vietnam, and civil rights turmoil.  His audience sought him as a safe-haven and enjoyed the light hearted comedy of the show.

          The show was a gold mine for NBC.  His last show had an estimated viewing audience of 50 million people, with a nightly viewing of over 17 million.  Carson himself joked that he was GE’s employee of the month for the last thirty years.

           In May 1972 the show moved to Burbank, California.  Once in California, Johnny only hosted the show four times a week, leaving Monday nights for a guest host.  These hosts were then only new on the celebrity scene, and included Joey Bishop (177 times), Joan Rivers (93 times), Bob Newhart (87 times), Jerry Lewis (52 times), and David Letterman (51 times).  Joan Rivers was the permanent guest host from 1983 until 1986.  Jay Leno then became the exclusive guest host in the fall of 1987, and held until he took over the show in 1992.

          Johnny gave his last opening monologue on May 22, 1992.  It was a national event with no big name guests, just a trip down memory lane highlighting the show’s golden moments.  He stated that he’d do it all over again if given the chance.  Over the course of some 4500 shows, he had turned the “Tonight Show” into a pre-sleep ritual, launched thousands of stand-up careers such as Bill Cosby and Jerry Seinfield, and reached the kind of fame where last names were unnecessary.  “Heeerrree’s Johnny” was simply enough.  The legacy of the late night talk show lives on through Jay leno and many others, but no one will ever compare to Johnny Carson. 

 

Other Achievements

·     NBC’s most successful show ever, accounting for over 17% of network profits

·      He was inducted into the TV hall of fame in 1987

·     Until Bob Barker broke it in 2002, he had hosted the same network series for the longest time, 29 tears, 7 months, and 21 days

·     Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992

·     Won six Emmy Awards

·     Won the Academy of Television Art’s and Science’ Governors’ Award in 1980

·     Won a George Foster Peabody Award in 1986

·     Won the American Comedy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992

·     Received the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993

Johnny Carson Bibliography

 

  1. www.johnnycarson.com

 

  1. www.eonline.com/bios

 

  1. www.cbsnews.com/stories

 

  1. www.carson-johnny.com

 

  1. www.esquire.com

 

  1. www.seeing-stars.com

 

  1. www.tvguide.com