Letterman Pays Special Tribute to Carson

AP via Earthlink ^ | January 31, 2005 | AP

[Richard Kimball]

Carson was the dean of late night talk shows. Letterman, Leno, Cosby, Freddie Prinze, etc., all got their starts from him. It's only natural that they (those who have shows modeled after Carson's) would talk about their mentor after his death. Also, Carson's death was something of a surprise. All the others were known to be in bad health.

However, if you don't think John Wayne was mourned after his death, you weren't in Texas. he's danged near a saint, here.

[conservlib]

I watched Johnny for many years, and liked him, and his show. But, there was Dick Cavit competing with him some times head to head. I watched many of Leno's Show, and I think that he has better writers.

[onyx]

ROTFLOL!
I'm so glad you watched him...
naughty little boy weren't you?

I went to bed with Johnny Carson
for YEARS, even tho I never met him.

[conservlib]

Carson had a vindictive personality that is not mentioned. He did not speak to his child for a decade, to his brother for a decade, to Leno for two decades.

[Petronski]

He had the best timing. Ever.



It was so hot in Burbank today....

[how hot was it?]

It was so hot in Burbank today, the people at Burger King were saying "if you wanna have it your way, make it yourself."

[onyx]

SO WHAT?
YOU do NOT know his reasons either.
Oh, and you omitted Joan Rivers.

The others you listed are suspect.
Leno liked him.
His brother worked for him
and his sons were at his bedside.

Another son died in an auto accident
and Johnny was devasted.

[Pylon]

The smog in L.A. was so bad today.

How bad was it?

It was so bad, I saw tourists from Iowa sucking the air out of their tires on the side of the road.

[onyx]

LOL!

Yes, his timing and his looks into the camera.
Cute guy.
Wanted to take him home. :)

[mupcat]

He had the ability to keep a show going for 30 years with basically no controversy. Content was clean, but sharp. Don't think I was ever bored with any part of it during those years. He also had, IMO, the best timing of anyone in the business. He had the great gift of truly listening to his guests, and in doing so he was able to play off them with some of the most priceless facial expressions ever.

One other thing outside of his skits I never found his humor forced or obvious as I do Letterman.

[IGOTMINE]

You reek of troll.

[SoCal Pubbie]

The money part is definitely true, but I can't agree about Johnny having a bigger audience over the years than Lucille Ball. I Love Lucy has been on the air continuously for over fifty years, all over the world.

[SoCal Pubbie]

"The Tonight Show was the first of its kind "- started by Steve Allen, continued by Jack Parr, and perfected by Johnny Carson. People tend to forget the pioneers.

[SoCal Pubbie]

For the life of me I cannot see why anyone thinks Letterman is funny.

[conservlib]

You reek of troll.

What is that mean?

[Petronski]

For the life of me I cannot see why anyone thinks Letterman is funny.

He was great in the 80s.

[Petronski]

For the life of me I cannot see why anyone thinks Letterman is funny.

He was great in the 80s.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

You just reminded me of this from a Carson monologue;

"We've got a new restaurant out here called "Fist In The Box." You drive up to the fist and tell them what you want, and the fist tells you what you're going to get. And if you don't like it, well they put sesame seeds on your buns."

[djf]

It's even worse, since they tapped Conan as a replacement for Jay.

Conan's about as funny as a pair of dirty socks.
I don't even watch his crap anymore.

[FreedomCalls]

Letterman's opening monologue was comprised entirely of jokes that Carson had quietly sent to him over the past few months from retirement in California. Letterman didn't tell the audience until after the monologue was over who wrote the jokes.

Notice that they were jokes he had not used before. I can only conclude that Carson sent them in, but Letterman's staff didn't think them good enough to put in the monologue. If so, Letterman needs some new staff.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

I guess you have to be of a certain age to appreciate what it meant to watch The Tonight Show when it was in its prime. In those days before cable TV and the Internet, that was why you stayed up late on weeknights. Carson was the innovator. He never stopped being funny and kept it real throughout his long career.