Comedic legend Johnny Carson, who made viewers laugh through skits and wise cracks for 30 years as host of “The Tonight Show,” died at the age of 79 on Sunday, Jan. 23 from emphysema at his home in Malibu. Carsonʼs nephew, Jeff Sotzing, publicly commented on Carson ʼs death last week. “Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning,” Sotzing told the Associated Press. “He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable.” Sotzing released few details concerning the death. Carson debuted on “The Tonight Show” in 1962, and his witty brand of humor and skits wooed audiences across the nation. Once Ed McMahon announced the famous slogan “Heeereeeʼs Johnny!” at the beginning of the show, Carson took the stage. The comedian created laugher and smiles for his viewers with a weekly dose of monologues, skits and various guests.
“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 posted on the MSNBC Web site last Sunday. Carson made headlines several times as host of “The Tonight Show.” In 1969, he had a marriage on his show between singer Tiny Tim and Miss Vicki. During Nixon ʼs fall and the Watergate scandal in 1974, Carson took shots at the president, and his monologues often drew on the political events of the time.
Though the show was successful and made Johnny Carson a household name, the comedian did have some quarrels with NBC. In 1967, Carson walked out of the NBC studios several times until the network agreed to pay him more. Carson also faced personal problems. He was married four times and divorced three times and one of his three sons died in a car crash in the early 1990s.
Johnny Carsonʼs job as “The Tonight Show” host came to a close in May of 1992. “You people watching, I can only tell you that itʼs been an honor and a privilege coming into your homes all these years to entertain you,” he said during his last show. “I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it.” After farewells from famous guests on his final show, Carson bid his audience goodnight and good-bye. After a heated struggle between comedians David Letterman and Jay Leno to succeed Carson, Leno took over as “The Tonight Show” host at NBC in May of 1992. Letterman landedhis own late-night show on CBS.
After retiring from late-night television, Carson rarely appeared in the spotlight again, and he allowed “The Tonight Show” to stand as his career finale and trademark. “I just let the work speak for itself,” he said in Esquire magazine in 2002. Carson was born in Iowa and later raised in Nebraska.
He started his career in entertainment early, at the age of 14, when he dazzled people as the magician “The Great Carsoni.” He also served in the Navy during World WarII, and then he worked at various local radio and TV stations in Nebraska.
After landing some small acting roles, Carson sat in for “Tonight Show” host Paar in 1958. A few years later, NBC hired him to be the permanent host of the show.
During his retirement, Carson traveled with his wife, Alexis, played tennis and relaxed at his Malibu beach house. He also wrote humor pieces for New Yorker magazine. Before he died, Carson won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992, the countryʼs greatest civilian honor, which is symbolic of the comedianʼs eternal legacy of late night comedy and laughs.