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 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.[1]
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 followed Jack Paar as the host of the late night talk show, Tonight. Although his show was already successful by the end of the 1960s, during the 1970s, Carson became an American icon and remained so 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. Former late-night host and friend David Letterman has cited Carson's influence.[2]
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.[3][4] He grew up 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 the purchase of 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."[5] 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.[5] Soon, many other performances at local picnics and county fairs followed. After graduating from high school, Carson had his first encounter with Hollywood.[5] He hitchhiked to Hollywood, where he was arrested and fined $50 for impersonating a midshipman, a story often regarded as apocryphal.[5]
Military service
Navy portrait of Carson[3]
Carson joined the United States Navy on June 8, 1943, and received V-12 Navy College Training Program officer training at Columbia University[6] and Millsaps College.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[9] Carson made the discovery that he could entertain and amuse someone as cranky and sophisticated as Forrestal.[9]
Education
To take advantage of the educational opportunities from the Navy, Carson attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and continued performing magic (then paid $25 per appearance[3]). He majored in journalism with the intention of becoming a comedy writer. Instead, he switched his major to speech and drama a few months later, because he wanted to become a radio performer.[10] Carson's college thesis, titled "How to Write Comedian Jokes", was a compilation of taped skits and jokes from popular radio shows with Carson explaining the comedic technique in a voice-over. It allowed him to graduate in three years.[10] Carson graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio and speech with a minor in physics in 1949.[10]
Carson began his broadcasting career in 1950 at WOW radio and television in Omaha.[11] Carson soon hosted a morning television program called The Squirrel's Nest. One of his routines involved interviewing pigeons on the roof of the local courthouse that would report on the political corruption they had seen. Carson supplemented his income by serving as master of ceremonies at local church dinners, attended by some of the same politicians and civic leaders he had lampooned on the radio.