TV and Movies

[Ifeelwicked]

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@LyndaGee wrote:

His shows are fun to watch.  Love his characters. esp. Art Fern, who showed the old movies and co-hosted with the Matinee Lady!

The Ed Ames incident is classic and still hilarious !!!!!

I've seen interviews where Johnny described himself as being shy.  

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He was much more than shy. Off camera he was a completely different person. Much has been written about him and it is very eye-opening, though his on-air talent was undeniable.

[Moonlady]

We watch that nightly. I was concerned a couple of months ago when it wasn't on, but they had just changed the time it airs.

Carson was the best. As others have noted, he was funny without being vulgar. Moreover, in one of his few interviews, he said that he was careful not to delve deeply into politics, and hosted few politicians, because he didn't care to alienate half of his audience. What an astute observation! In his monologues, too, he was even-handed, went for laughs instead of applause, didn't *dwell* on politics, and most importantly, was never *mean spirited*.

The focus was on his *guests* instead of himself--unlike the hosts of today, Carson's gift was that he made his *them* shine. He was the best with everyday folks, too. Who could forget when that chip-picker lady was on with her collection of "artistic" potato chips which didn't pass quality control, and JC pretended to eat one while Ed McMahon distracted her lolol!

If anyone has an opportunity to see the PBS American Masters episode, "King of Late Night," with Carson as the subject matter, do so. In fact, get the DVD lol. We have it (Amazon still has it, in various formats, a bargain at about $9-$12, depending on your choice), and watch it often. It's about 2 hrs long. They go into his upbringing, family, wives lol, early career, clips of how he launched the careers of various comedians--you name it.

They knew what we all know: Johnny Carson was, indeed, the King of Late Night TV, and there's been no one like him since he retired.