The King of Late Night is Dead. yes I know it's late

[Filipe]

Johnny Carson, the "Tonight Show" TV host who served America a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter, droll comedy and heartland charm for 30 years, has died. He was 79.

"Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning," his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told The Associated Press. "He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable. There will be no memorial service."

Sotzing would not give further details, including the time of death or the location.

The boyish-looking Nebraska native with the disarming grin, who survived every attempt to topple him from his late-night talk show throne, was a star who managed never to distance himself from his audience.

His wealth, the adoration of his guests - particularly the many young comics whose careers he launched - the wry tales of multiple divorces: Carson's air of modesty made it all serve to enhance his bedtime intimacy with viewers.

"Heeeeere's Johnny!" was the booming announcement from sidekick Ed McMahon that ushered Carson out to the stage. Then the formula: the topical monologue, the guests, the broadly played skits such as "Carnac the Magnificent."

But America never tired of him; Carson went out on top when he retired in May 1992. In his final show, he told his audience: "And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it."

His personal life could not match the perfection of his career. Carson was married four times, divorced three. In 1991, one of his three sons, 39-year-old Ricky, was killed in a car accident.

Nearly all of Carson's professional life was spent in television, from his postwar start at Nebraska stations in the late 1940s to his three decades with NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson."

Carson choose to let "Tonight" stand as his career zenith and his finale, withdrawing into a quiet retirement that suited his private nature and refusing involvement in other show business projects.

In 1993, he explained his absence from the limelight.

"I have an ego like anybody else," Carson told The Washington Post, "but I don't need to be stoked by going before the public all the time."

This is an article that was posted shortly after it happened and it pretty much summed it up. I was too young back then to stay up and watch the show but my mom used to tape it for me and I have to say I loved it. So here's to you Johnny. Thanks for the memories I still have and you will always be missed.

[Daniel Blackhand]

Johnny Carson was in my opinion the last great host of late night T.V. In my opinion the time since he has left late night, has gone down the sewer system so to speak. Anymore it is just trash, where Johnny tried to keep it as clean as possible. He will truly be missed by many.
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[Sophita]

I'm pretty young as far as people who watched Carson (I was only 7-8 when he went off the air) but I still remember him - especially his last show. I don't think I was ever really into it, but I do remember absolutely loving his curtains (so pretty, all the colors) and I remember his last big show, and the standing ovation, and how that was special because even in 1992 standing ovations were kind of rare...

...and now freaking Dr. Phil and Ricki Lake get standing ovations all the time, which might say more about television more now than ever before, butI digress.

Anyway - I never knew a lot about Carson. But I've always had to admire him for retiring and actually retiring. So many people these days promise they're retiring or taking time off aaaaaand....guess who's back in the game with a new premise 2 minutes later?

I agree with Lord Dredd that late night TV has gone down the drain, especially the talk shoes. Conan is funny but he's a lowsy host as he can't do interviews well; Jay hasn't been funny in God knows how long (ENOUGH with the Monica Lewinsky jokes, Jay. Clinton's been out of office for 4 years. Let. It. Go.) and David Letterman has pretty much become only slightly more funny than Jay, which is pretty sad.
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[Lunarblade]

Yeah, I never watch late night TV other than Adult Swim and sometimes Comedy Central...I was a little too young to watch Carson do his work, though I heard a lot about him.

Damn shame that is.
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[Sage]

Unfortunately I have never had the pleasure of watching Carson. I was too young to have appreciated his show when it was on anyway; tis a shame. What I think is an even worse tragedy is that someone will try to make money off this. I'm sure we'll see the Tonight show DVD collection or similar in the near future.
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[Col Ahiru]

Yeah, my parents obviously reacted a lot stronger to it than I did. I was only seven when he went off the air, so the only exposure I ever had to Carson was when other people were talking about him. Still, it's a sad thing and from what I've seen he was a pretty cool guy (That really old clip of the hatchet thrower and the cowboy cutout is absolutely side-splitting.) It makes me wonder if Jay Leno will be remembered the same way. I'm personally not a big fan of his, but he's hosting almost 15 years, not a small period of time.

I guess the one thing that makes Carson's death a little easier is the confidence that late-night comedy is in the hands of guys like Conan O'Brien and Jon Stewart. Both of those guys are so hilarious that I'm sure they'll become icons almost on the level of Carson.

[Filipe]

Jay Leno will be remembered for the time he put in and so will David Letterman on the late night circuit but I dont really think anyone will ever truly measure up to the level of Carson. I think the only one that could really achieve the same level of popularity in the long run would be someone like Conan O'Brien if he were to stick around and do his show for a long enough time. Thats the one thing that worries me when it comes to Conan taking over the Tonight Show spot from Jay Leno in five years. He has always seemed like he might not stick it out and might move on to different things sooner rather than later. That would be very bad for the Tonight show in this day and age for a host to leave after a short while like in the very beginning. The First host Steve Allen only hosted for a couple of years before giving it to over to Jack Parr who thankfully held onto it for about ten years before Johnny took over. Then after Johnny we have Jay Leno right now until two thousand and nine when Conan O'Brien will take over. We dont need to have another Steve Allen like run. Thats not saying anything bad about Steve Allen as he did a lot of great things for television and charities and such right up until he died.
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[Marth]

Heres! Johnny!

Too bad about him man.. He was really cool..

Anywho Since we r on the "Death" thing No one mentioned the Death of robert Plant... Why? I don't know! he was the coolest ever! Maybe better than johnny?

But Johnny... I wasn't even born To know about him all i know is what i see on tv and really old movies.. Umm does anyone know the last words he said? Those must be good I can guess he said "Here Johnny, God." Or some other Speach related to his line of work..

Hummm Death isn't a nice thing.. Soon we will all die.. I hate that thought.. Any day now You can die and you'll miss everything.. Lets learn form johnny and live our life to the fullest. Each day Get up and say what can u accoplish today..

of course I can't do anything i want yet i'm too young but other Older people out thtere thats reading this Do something! Climb a mountain or sy dive those r one of the best things to do..

Sorry for a long talk.. But meh! Good-bye Johnny You'll be missed.. :cry:
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