| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Auric Hellman" |
| Date: |
23 Jan 2005 11:07:47 PM |
| Object: |
Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/obit_carson
Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79
29 minutes ago Television - AP
By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES - Johnny Carson (news), the quick-witted "Tonight Show"
host who became a national institution putting his viewers to bed for
30 years with a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter and heartland
charm, died Sunday. He was 79.
Carson died early Sunday morning, according to his nephew, Jeff
Sotzing. "He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be
immeasurable," Sotzing told The Associated Press.
He did not provide further details, but NBC said Carson died of
emphysema at his Malibu home.
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.
McMahon said Sunday that Carson was "like a brother to me."
"Our 34 years of working together, plus the 12 years since then,
created a friendship which was professional, family-like and one of
respect and great admiration," McMahon said in a statement. "When we
ended our run on 'The Tonight Show' and my professional life continued,
whenever a big career decision needed to be made, I always got the OK
from 'The Boss.'"
Carson's 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."
Carson spent his retirement years sailing, traveling and socializing
with a few close friends including media mogul Barry Diller and NBC
executive Bob Wright. He simply refused to be wooed back on stage.
"I just let the work speak for itself," he told Esquire magazine in
2002.
Carson did find an outlet for his creativity: He wrote short humor
pieces for The New Yorker magazine, including "Recently Discovered
Childhood Letters to Santa," which purported to give the youthful wish
lists of William Buckley, Don Rickles and others.
Carson made his debut as "Tonight" host in October 1962 and quickly won
over audiences. He even made headlines with such clever ploys as the
1969 on-show marriage of eccentric singer Tiny Tim to Miss Vicki, which
won the show its biggest-ever ratings.
The wedding and other noteworthy moments from the show were collected
into a yearly "Tonight" anniversary special.
In 1972, "Tonight" moved from New York to Burbank. Growing respect for
Carson's consistency and staying power, along with four consecutive
Emmy Awards, came his way in the late 1970s.
His quickness and his ability to handle an audience were impressive.
When his jokes missed their target, the smooth Carson won over a
groaning studio audience with a clever look or sly, self-deprecating
remark.
Politics provided monologue fodder for him as he skewered lawmakers of
every stripe, mirroring the mood of voters. His Watergate jabs at
President Nixon were seen as cementing Nixon's fall from office in
1974.
He made presidential history again in July 1988 when he had
then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton (news - web sites) on his show a few
days after Clinton came under widespread ridicule for a boring speech
at the Democratic National Convention. Clinton traded quips with Carson
and played "Summertime" on the saxophone in what was hailed as a
stunning comeback.
Competing networks tried a variety of formats and hosts to challenge
Carson, but never managed to best "Tonight."
There was the occasional battle with NBC: In 1967, for instance, Carson
walked out for several weeks until the network managed to lure him back
with a contract that reportedly gave him $1 million-plus yearly.
In 1980, after more walkout threats, the show was scaled back from 90
minutes to an hour. Carson also eased his schedule by cutting back on
his work days; a number of substitute hosts filled in, including Joan
Rivers, Jerry Lewis and Jay Leno, Carson's eventual successor.
Rivers was one of the countless comedians whose careers took off after
they were on Carson's show. After she rocked the audience with her
jokes in that 1965 appearance, he remarked, "God, you're funny. You're
going to be a star."
"If Johnny hadn't made the choice to put me on his show, I might still
be in Greenwich Village as the oldest living undiscovered female
comic," she recalled in an Associated Press interview 20 years later.
She tried her own talk show in 1986, quickly becoming one of the many
challengers who could not budge Carson.
In the '80s, Carson was reportedly the highest-paid performer in
television history with a $5 million "Tonight" show salary alone. His
Carson Productions created and sold pilots to NBC, including "TV's
Bloopers and Practical Jokes." Carson himself made occasional cameo
appearances on other TV series.
He also performed in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., and was host of
the Academy Awards (news - web sites) five times in the '70s and '80s.
Carson's graceful exit from "Tonight" did not avoid a messy, bitter
tug-of-war between Leno and fellow comedian David Letterman to take
over his throne. Leno took over on May 25, 1992, becoming the fourth
man to hold the job after Steve Allen, Jack Paar and Carson. Letterman
landed on rival CBS.
Born in Corning, Iowa, and raised in nearby Norfolk, Neb., Carson
started his show business career at age 14 as the magician "The Great
Carsoni."
After World War II service in the Navy, he took a series of jobs in
local radio and TV in Nebraska before starting at KNXT-TV in Los
Angeles in 1950.
There he started a sketch comedy show, "Carson's Cellar," which ran
from 1951-53 and attracted attention from Hollywood. A staff writing
job for "The Red Skelton Show" followed.
The program provided Carson with a lucky break: When Skelton was
injured backstage, Carson took the comedian's place in front of the
cameras.
Producers tried to find the right program for the up-and-coming comic,
trying him out as host of the quiz show "Earn Your Vacation" (1954),
the variety show "The Johnny Carson Show" (1955-56), the game show "Who
Do You Trust?" (1957-62).
A few acting roles came Carson's way, including one on "Playhouse 90"
in 1957, and he did a pilot in 1960 for a prime-time series, "Johnny
Come Lately," that never made it onto a network schedule.
In 1958, Carson sat in for "Tonight Show" host Paar. When Paar left the
show four years later, Carson was NBC's choice as his replacement.
After his retirement, Carson took on the role of Malibu-based retiree
with apparent ease. An avid tennis fan, he was still playing a vigorous
game in his 70s.
He and his wife, Alexis, traveled frequently. The pair met on the
Malibu beach in the early 1980s; he was 61 when they married in June
1987, she was in her 30s.
Carson's first wife was his childhood sweetheart, Jody, the mother of
his three sons. They married in 1949 and split in 1963. He married
Joanne Copeland Carson that same year, but divorced nine years later.
His third marriage, to Joanna Holland Carson, took place in 1972. They
divorced in 1985.
On the occasion of Carson's 70th birthday, former "Tonight" bandleader
Doc Severinsen, who toured with musicians from the show, said he was
constantly reminded of Carson's enduring popularity.
"Every place we go people ask `How is he? Where is he? What is he
doing? Tell him how much we miss him.' It doesn't surprise me,"
Severinsen said.
Carson won a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest
civilian honor, in 1992, with the first President Bush (news - web
sites) saying, "With decency and style he's made America laugh and
think." In 1993, he was celebrated by the prestigious Kennedy Center
Honors for career achievement.
His nephew said there will be no memorial service.
___
AP Writer Jeff Wilson contributed to this report.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
28 Jan 2005 02:34:39 AM |
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Funny (I think) Johnny Carson social security skit:
----------------------------------------------------------
For those of you who are not old enough to remember, there was a
"Tonight Show" host BEFORE Jay Leno. Nebraska's own Johnny Carson (UNL
alumnus) hosted the show for about 25 years before Leno's debut. One
of Carson's many characters, was "Carnac The Magnificent."
Carson's Carnac The Magnificent skit, with the assistance of his
cohost, Ed Mcmahon, would typically go something like this:
ED MCMAHON: And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the
all-knowing, the all-caring, the all-seeing, and former part time gas
station attendant, CARNAC THE MAGNIFICENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Applause as east Indian music plays. Carnac enters wearing a robe and
turban, trips on the steps and crashes into his desk. The audience
applauds enthusiastically at his fall.)
CARNAC: (After he collecting himself, he looks at the audience and
says), May a sick camel leave a deposit in your yogurt.
(Laughter)
ED: Are you okay?
CARNAC: Carnac fine.
ED: You know how this game is played. Carnac The Magnificent, with
his mystic and sometime borderline powers will tell us the answers
BEFORE he reads the questions!! I hold in my hand, the envelopes
containing the questions. These envelopes have been hermetically
sealed in a mayonnaise jar and stored at Funk & Wagnall's since NOON
today! NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE GREAT CARNAC has seen them! Are you ready
to play?
CARNAC: Carnac ready.
ED: I hold in my hands, envelope number one.
(Ed gives the envelope to Carnac. Carnac holds it to his forehead and
closes his eyes.)
CARNAC: Carnac must have absolute silence.
ED: (Says,quietly) Hermetically sealed.....mayonnaise jar.....noon
today.....
CARNAC: "Over 105 in Los Angeles"
ED: "Over 105 in Los Angeles" (repeating the answer to the audience)
(Carnac opens the envelope and reads the question)
CARNAC: Under the Reagan plan how old will you have to be to collect
Social Security?
(Audience laughs)
ED: Envelope number two . . .
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec00/funnies_8-17.html
http://www.huskerpedia.com/huskerdan/20031105dan.html
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| User: "Douglas Berry" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
28 Jan 2005 05:01:25 PM |
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On 27 Jan 2005 18:34:39 -0800, drained his
beer, leaned back in the alt.atheism beanbag and drunkenly proclaimed
the following
For those of you who are not old enough to remember, there was a
"Tonight Show" host BEFORE Jay Leno. Nebraska's own Johnny Carson (UNL
alumnus) hosted the show for about 25 years before Leno's debut.
It was actually just shy of thirty years.. October 1962 to May 1992.
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
29 Jan 2005 08:27:24 PM |
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On 27 Jan 2005 18:34:39 -0800, said in
alt.atheism:
ED: You know how this game is played. Carnac The Magnificent, with
his mystic and sometime borderline powers will tell us the answers
BEFORE he reads the questions!! I hold in my hand, the envelopes
containing the questions. These envelopes have been hermetically
sealed in a mayonnaise jar and stored at Funk & Wagnall's
Wasn't it something about "mayonnaise jar on the back porch of Funk &
Wagnall's"? Or the front porch? Or something?
--
"Atheism is the world of reality, it is reason, it is freedom. Atheism is human
concern, and intellectual honesty to a degree that the religious mind cannot
begin to understand. And yet it is more than this. Atheism is not an old
religion, it is not a new and coming religion, in fact it is not, and never has
been, a religion at all. The definition of Atheism is magnificent in its
simplicity: Atheism is merely the bed-rock of sanity in a world of madness."
[Atheism: An Affirmative View, by Emmett F. Fields]
(random sig, produced by SigChanger)
rukbat at verizon dot net
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
30 Jan 2005 11:47:03 AM |
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Al Klein wrote:
On 27 Jan 2005 18:34:39 -0800, said in
alt.atheism:
ED: You know how this game is played. Carnac The Magnificent, with
his mystic and sometime borderline powers will tell us the answers
BEFORE he reads the questions!! I hold in my hand, the envelopes
containing the questions. These envelopes have been hermetically
sealed in a mayonnaise jar and stored at Funk & Wagnall's
Wasn't it something about "mayonnaise jar on the back porch of Funk &
Wagnall's"? Or the front porch? Or something?
--
In doing a quick search on Google, I think you're probably right. Or,
maybe they varied it a little bit from show to show. Here's a quote
from
http://www.politicalgateway.com/main/columns/read.html?col=235
"A typical skit would open with announcer Ed McMahon stating "I have in
my hand an envelope, a child of four can plainly see these envelopes
are hermetically sealed. They've been kept since noon today in a
mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnalls' porch. No one-but one!-knows its
contents. In his mystical and borderline way, Carnac will now ascertain
the answers having never heard the questions." Carnac then placed the
white envelopes to his forehead to sense the answers to the questions
within. The following are some examples of the answer/question
exchanges:
Answer: The Moonies.
Question: Name the religion that drops its pants?;
Answer: The Zip Code.
Question: What do CIA agents have to remember to go to the bathroom?
Answer: A pair of Jordache jeans and a bread box. Question: Name two
places where you stuff your buns?;
Answer: Ovaltine.
Question: Describe Oprah Winfrey in High School;
Answer: Fondue.
Question: What do you get on your Fon if you leave it out all night?;
Answer: Ben Gay.
Question: Why didn't Ben Franklin didn't have any children?
When the announcer Ed McMahon said, "I hold in my hand...the last
envelope." The audience usually cheered, as if to say "Thank God this
skit is over."
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| User: "raven1" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
28 Jan 2005 08:43:26 AM |
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On 27 Jan 2005 18:34:39 -0800, wrote:
Funny (I think) Johnny Carson social security skit:
----------------------------------------------------------
For those of you who are not old enough to remember, there was a
"Tonight Show" host BEFORE Jay Leno. Nebraska's own Johnny Carson (UNL
alumnus) hosted the show for about 25 years before Leno's debut. One
of Carson's many characters, was "Carnac The Magnificent."
Carson's Carnac The Magnificent skit, with the assistance of his
cohost, Ed Mcmahon, would typically go something like this:
ED MCMAHON: And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the
all-knowing, the all-caring, the all-seeing, and former part time gas
station attendant, CARNAC THE MAGNIFICENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Applause as east Indian music plays. Carnac enters wearing a robe and
turban, trips on the steps and crashes into his desk. The audience
applauds enthusiastically at his fall.)
CARNAC: (After he collecting himself, he looks at the audience and
says), May a sick camel leave a deposit in your yogurt.
(Laughter)
ED: Are you okay?
CARNAC: Carnac fine.
ED: You know how this game is played. Carnac The Magnificent, with
his mystic and sometime borderline powers will tell us the answers
BEFORE he reads the questions!! I hold in my hand, the envelopes
containing the questions. These envelopes have been hermetically
sealed in a mayonnaise jar and stored at Funk & Wagnall's since NOON
today! NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE GREAT CARNAC has seen them! Are you ready
to play?
CARNAC: Carnac ready.
ED: I hold in my hands, envelope number one.
(Ed gives the envelope to Carnac. Carnac holds it to his forehead and
closes his eyes.)
CARNAC: Carnac must have absolute silence.
ED: (Says,quietly) Hermetically sealed.....mayonnaise jar.....noon
today.....
CARNAC: "Over 105 in Los Angeles"
ED: "Over 105 in Los Angeles" (repeating the answer to the audience)
(Carnac opens the envelope and reads the question)
CARNAC: Under the Reagan plan how old will you have to be to collect
Social Security?
(Audience laughs)
ED: Envelope number two . . .
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec00/funnies_8-17.html
http://www.huskerpedia.com/huskerdan/20031105dan.html
Possibly the all-time classic:
Carnac: "Sis-boom-bah!"
Ed: "Sis-boom-bah"...
<opens envelope>
Carnac: "Describe the sound of an exploding sheep".
The audience was rolling on the floor laughing for nearly a full
minute.
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| User: "Mike Painter" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
28 Jan 2005 11:21:49 PM |
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Randi has a few words about this man on his web site. It's nice to know
that he was a good man off stage also.
No one has ever come close to him as a talk show host.
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| User: "Douglas Berry" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
28 Jan 2005 05:02:45 PM |
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On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 08:43:26 GMT, raven1 <quoththeraven@nevermore.com>
drained his beer, leaned back in the alt.atheism beanbag and drunkenly
proclaimed the following
Possibly the all-time classic:
Carnac: "Sis-boom-bah!"
Ed: "Sis-boom-bah"...
<opens envelope>
Carnac: "Describe the sound of an exploding sheep".
The audience was rolling on the floor laughing for nearly a full
minute.
I remember that one.. My entire family was in hysterics (yes we got
to stay up for Carson.. the monologue at least.)
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
.
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| User: "John Baker" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
28 Jan 2005 11:06:46 AM |
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On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 08:43:26 GMT, raven1 <quoththeraven@nevermore.com>
wrote:
On 27 Jan 2005 18:34:39 -0800, wrote:
Funny (I think) Johnny Carson social security skit:
----------------------------------------------------------
For those of you who are not old enough to remember, there was a
"Tonight Show" host BEFORE Jay Leno. Nebraska's own Johnny Carson (UNL
alumnus) hosted the show for about 25 years before Leno's debut. One
of Carson's many characters, was "Carnac The Magnificent."
Carson's Carnac The Magnificent skit, with the assistance of his
cohost, Ed Mcmahon, would typically go something like this:
ED MCMAHON: And now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the
all-knowing, the all-caring, the all-seeing, and former part time gas
station attendant, CARNAC THE MAGNIFICENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Applause as east Indian music plays. Carnac enters wearing a robe and
turban, trips on the steps and crashes into his desk. The audience
applauds enthusiastically at his fall.)
CARNAC: (After he collecting himself, he looks at the audience and
says), May a sick camel leave a deposit in your yogurt.
(Laughter)
ED: Are you okay?
CARNAC: Carnac fine.
ED: You know how this game is played. Carnac The Magnificent, with
his mystic and sometime borderline powers will tell us the answers
BEFORE he reads the questions!! I hold in my hand, the envelopes
containing the questions. These envelopes have been hermetically
sealed in a mayonnaise jar and stored at Funk & Wagnall's since NOON
today! NO ONE, NOT EVEN THE GREAT CARNAC has seen them! Are you ready
to play?
CARNAC: Carnac ready.
ED: I hold in my hands, envelope number one.
(Ed gives the envelope to Carnac. Carnac holds it to his forehead and
closes his eyes.)
CARNAC: Carnac must have absolute silence.
ED: (Says,quietly) Hermetically sealed.....mayonnaise jar.....noon
today.....
CARNAC: "Over 105 in Los Angeles"
ED: "Over 105 in Los Angeles" (repeating the answer to the audience)
(Carnac opens the envelope and reads the question)
CARNAC: Under the Reagan plan how old will you have to be to collect
Social Security?
(Audience laughs)
ED: Envelope number two . . .
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-dec00/funnies_8-17.html
http://www.huskerpedia.com/huskerdan/20031105dan.html
Possibly the all-time classic:
Carnac: "Sis-boom-bah!"
Ed: "Sis-boom-bah"...
<opens envelope>
Carnac: "Describe the sound of an exploding sheep".
The audience was rolling on the floor laughing for nearly a full
minute.
Here's an example of Carson's quick wit. I believe this practice was
probably unique to late-night talk shows, at least I've never seen it
done anywhere else. Back in the "old days" (late '60s, early '70s),
rather than cut to an actual commercial, thus interrupting the flow,
the host would often simply hold up a product for a few seconds, do a
brief plug, and then continue with the show. One night, Carson began
such a plug, for Kraft salad dressing, with the line, "I know a lot of
you like salad..", at which time a stagehand was supposed to hand him
a bottle of salad dressing. When the stagehand mistakenly handed him a
spray can of deodorant, Carson, without batting an eye, quipped, "..
and if you want it to smell good, use this."
And yes, I actually saw this as it happened. <G>
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| User: "Douglas Berry" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
24 Jan 2005 01:25:07 AM |
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On 23 Jan 2005 15:07:47 -0800, "Auric Hellman"
<adhellman@volcanomail.com> drained his beer, leaned back in the
alt.atheism beanbag and drunkenly proclaimed the following
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/obit_carson
Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79
29 minutes ago Television - AP
By LYNN ELBER, AP Television Writer
LOS ANGELES - Johnny Carson (news), the quick-witted "Tonight Show"
host who became a national institution putting his viewers to bed for
30 years with a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter and heartland
charm, died Sunday. He was 79.
Wow, i grew up watching Carson (when I could hide scuccessfully as a
young child and stay up that late.
His last show came during the annual BayCon SF convention. The
normally busy party floor stopped cold at about 2320, and everybody
was glued to the set for the last few moments of Johnny.
--
Douglas E. Berry Do the OBVIOUS thing to send e-mail
Atheist #2147, Atheist Vet #5
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as
when they do it from religious conviction."
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Pense'es, #894.
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| User: "satyr" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
25 Jan 2005 10:13:20 PM |
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On 23 Jan 2005 15:07:47 -0800, "Auric Hellman"
<adhellman@volcanomail.com> wrote:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/obit_carson
Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79
29 minutes ago Television - AP
Reputed to have been an atheist, though he would never admit it
publicly.
--
satyr #1953
Chairman, EAC Church Taxation Subcommittee
Director, Gideon Bible Alternative Fuel Project
Supervisor, EAC Fossil Casting Lab
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| User: "towelie" |
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| Title: Re: Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79 |
25 Jan 2005 10:50:36 PM |
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TV's satyr wrote:
On 23 Jan 2005 15:07:47 -0800, "Auric Hellman"
<adhellman@volcanomail.com> wrote:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/obit_carson
Late-Night King Johnny Carson Dies at 79
29 minutes ago Television - AP
Reputed to have been an atheist, though he would never admit it
publicly.
I noticed that there won't be a memorial service.
I liked Johnny because he wasn't afraid to make fun of himself. A lot of
comics are too egotistical to do so, but not ol' Johnny. He will be missed.
--
"Shake says that books are from the devil, and that TV is twice as fast" -
Meatwad
"The Constitution was written on reefer by dudes with wooden teeth" - OG Loc
aa #2133
ap #19
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