Just annouced. Gone at 79.
I heard last week on Stern he was still writing jokes for David Letterman, it's good to know that he was still staying busy in his twilight years.
the guy showed class from day one. Was always willing to let himself be the butt of the joke/skit. R.I.P Oh Great One
One of the first shows that I watched when we got cable (up here in Canada) was the Tonight Show. I loved him to pieces. Truly he will be missed.
He really went into seclusion after he stepped down from The Tonight Show... I can't recall seeing or even reading about him since his last show. He was great. RIP Johnnnnny.
The news of his death is the end of an era. He was an everyman from Iowa and helped start so many careers. I just loved his show.
RIP! I grew up on Letterman and Leno. Carson was before my time. How does he rate compared to these two?
Let me put it this way: Letterman and Leno, on their best nights, couldn't duplicate what Johnny did EVERY night. The thing that struck me about Carson was that he wasn't "weird" funny. So many "comedians" don't know when to quit, or just be serious for a minute. Letterman and Leno fall into this category. They're funny, but kind of weird, too. It's not really like you can ever identify with either because they are like the class clown - always cracking a joke. They don't seem to have a bone of outright geniune-ness in their body. Now Carson, he was funny, but it wasn't forced. And the guy was a genuine person who knew how and when to be serious.
He could put you in stiches with the the expression on his face. I don't think I will ever forget the woman who had the potato chips, that she thought looked like famus peoples faces. I was very young at the time..but I remeber laughing with my father, the entire show. That must me one of his classic moments. His interaction with the guests on the show was what I think made him the man. His animal shows were hilarious..sniff..man..what a loss..sniff..
One of the funniest shows I ever saw was towards the end of the run when Robin Williams was on promoting Good Morning V'Nam... He was followed by Bob Hope and Robin just killed the place, I was laughing so hard i think I woke the neighbors. Bob just turns to Johnny and says "You Know the first rule in comedy is never to follow a comic better than you, Thanks for making this the first time I have had to break that rule. He was outgunned. Carson was better than anyone and did it all with no notes or pre scripted questions and answers.
No doubt he was the best. If he was alive now and started on fox, in a year he would have better ratings than leno or letterman. I saw him live the last month of his show. He was a great guy. john
