This thread was important. I watched Carson so much that he became sort of a friend...but I only saw his show in person once.
Robert Blake and Burt Reynolds were on that show. Blake was drunk, stoned, or something...and told Carson that he'd never been on the other side of the desk. At the break Fred DeCordova came up and talked to them, they switched places. Blake interviewed Carson, who did nothing but burp, then dropped his pants....
My date and I got home in time to see the show on TV. It's neat to laugh twice.
One time Carson told a joke which really bombed, someone in the audience did a whistle, like incoming artillery. Carson laughed and said "Give me a break!", somebody else yelled back "where?". Johnny's look was priceless, as was Ed's laugh at that point.
The next show was filled with jokes about how mean and nasty the other crowd was. Great comedy!!