Posted on 01/24/2005 1:36:15 AM PST by kcvl
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX MON APRIL 29 2002 13:08:27 ET XXXXX
JOHNNY CARSON BREAKS SILENCE: KNOCKS FOX FOR TOO MUCH PATRIOTISM AT SUPER BOWL; THINKS BUSH IN ENRON COVER-UP
**Exclusive Details**
Don't look for Johnny Carson to make an appearance during NBC's 75TH Anniversary Special -- even though NBC head Bob Wright has made a personal plea.
"That ain't gonna happen," the retired Carson tells ESQUIRE magazine. "That ain't gonna happen."
The retired funnyman throws cold water on Wright's May Sweep dreams.
"He means well. I know NBC means well. But I am retired. I ain't going back on television. There's no need for me to go back. It's gonna be one of those self-congratulatory things. Look how good we are! I'm just not going to do it!"
Reporter Bill Zehme has been courting Carson for years and the relationship has paid off in spades: On May 8th, ESQUIRE rolls out an exhaustive exclusive interview with the press-shy Carson, running 10 pages.
Carson rips FOX for its Super Bowl red-white-and-blue coverage following 9/11: "When you look at the production -- give me a break!" Carson says. "Norman Mailer said something about patriotism being a nice thing, but just ease up a bit... It's nice to live in this country, but ease up!"
Carson takes on Bush: "Can you believe this Enron mess? I love how his good friend 'Kenny Boy' suddenly turned into 'Mr. Lay'... Give me a break! It will be a long time before we ever understand what's going on behind that story."
Carson has nightmare dreams that he still is host of the TONIGHT SHOW: "It's show time and I am going on -- and I've got nothing to say! I wake up in a sweat!"
He tells Zehme that the only time he wished he was back on the air and not retired was during the Monica Lewinsky mess.
"It's John. I regret it now," Carson said to Wright in a phone call. "I haven't seen such an abundance of material in my life!"
Developing...
I suspected you were being sarcastic, btw, which I now see you've addressed exhaustively in later posts.
Leno does between 100-150 corporate standup gigs a year. Apparently at about $100,000 a pop.
That's 10 to 15 million a year.
Which is why he's able to bank his Tonight Show salary and live off of his standup money.
And yes, he admits he's a workaholic.
Greg
Agreed, that is why I quit watching Leno, and Letterman, and SNL all hang their politics on their sleaves.
That looks like prednisone.
I heard Carl Reiner talking about it yesterday; evidently the son was leaning on a car, taking pictures of the ocean and the car slid into the canyon. Or something close to that; I had always heard he was taking pictures while driving on the Pacific Coast Highway and ran off the edge because he was taking pictures while he was driving.
I don't think so...
not when compared to the bloat
and distortion of Jerry Lewis's face
a year ago when he was on that medicine.
I think Carson's face looks good and only
see a small pot belly...lol... which I
was sort of happy to see, as I feared he
might have grown thin and gaunt.
He was 79 years old and it's apparent
he thoroughly enjoyed his retirement.
We should all be that fortunate. :)
I know this is evil of me to say at such a time as this but that man sure trashed Bush this election.
23 posted on 01/23/2005 2:38:38 PM CST by BellStar ( I am going to the Inauguration after all!)
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was exposed to the TV and news all weekend. From the coverage, you would have thought Carson's death was the most important happening of the whole weekend (besides the blizzard). I am saddened by his death, but I don't think that the Second Coming would get as much attention.
I'm sorry kcvl, but it is you who are displaying bad taste in this instance. The Drudge story is from two years ago. Today is not the day to bring it up again.
Let's show some character and allow the dead to rest in peace, regardless of whether or not his views differed from our own.
Amen to that.
I remember my fellow-Nebraskan as a guy who made me laugh.
And as a guy who skewered politicians from both parties -- when they earned it.
Rest in Peace, Johnny.
Johnny Carson served in the US Navy during WW 2.
He never struck me as a lefty although he made fun of both sides during election time.
Carson had the unique ability to keep his politics to himself, something that today's "Entertainers" would do well to learn.
He was a good egg. Apparently he had real trouble just being himself when the cameras weren't on him. He lost a son to a car accident some years back. I wish him peace.
Drudge has is posted TODAY at his site, too.
Sheesh
Stop bashing kcvl for posting it.
My mistake.
I still think today is not the day to re-hash this. Others obviously disagree.
It's playing at every house in Nashville right now.
I don't care what Johnny said in the past, he's stll a great man and doesn't deserve to be trashed like this.
The Reagans were friends of many Hollywood lefties, they could see past their politics.
Ed McM. was also talking about it last night, maybe it was the LKL show.
Yes, the son had parked on a cliff overlooking the ocean, so he could take some photos.
Ed's son also died in his 30s, he was saying, from cancer, and the very first person to call him was Johnny.
I remember when Johnny's son died in '91 -- at the end of the Tonight show after that, they showed a photo of the setting sun over the Pacific, probably one of his photos.
It was said that Johnny never got over his son's death (who would?), and that had something to do with his retiring, the next year. It must have been very difficult to go on after that, making jokes every night.
I don't think Johnny boy will have much more to say, unless it's from the other side of eternity, wherever he is.
I saw on fox that the photo in question was taken on Jan 2, when he went to that movie.
Let's do; all of us; stop preaching. It's on Drudge, too.
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