Jonny carson biography
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During a September 23 rally in Pennsylvania, Donald Trump was mid, uh, “weave”—ranting about late-night talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Kimmel, who mercilessly ridicule Trump on a nightly basis. “Where is Johnny Carson?” he asked. “Bring back Johnny.”
Alas, Carson died in 2005. But the next best thing, a new biography called Carson the Magnificent, does an exhilarating job of bringing him back. Even more, it brings back its author, Bill Zehme. Zehme died in 2023 at age 64 after a nearly decade-long bout with colorectal cancer. This book, uncompleted at the time of his death, was his passion project.
Zehme, who wrote best-selling biographies and appreciations of Frank Sinatra, Andy Kaufman, Jay Leno,Regis Philbin, and Hugh Hefner, was particularly fascinated with Carson, the “king of late night,” who dominated his time slot during his 30-year tenure as host of The Tonight Show.
Zehme actively worked on Carson the Magnificent from 2005 until 2
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A long-awaited biography of Johnny Carson proves he’s the Everest of celebrity subjects — tempting but perilous
Book Review
Carson the Magnificent
By Bill Zehme with Mike Thomas
Simon & Schuster: 336 pages, $30
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Johnny Carson, the man who made “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” an American institution, has been off the late-night air longer than he was on it.
For people of a certain age — you can do the math — this is more than a little shocking. When Carson walked away from “The Tonight Show” in 1992, it was a cataclysmic cultural event. For nearly 30 years, he was television’s uber host. Cool rather than warm, mischievous rather than passionate, he all but invented the opening monologue, launched countless comedy careers (including those of David Letterman, Carson’s preferred heir, and Jay Leno, his actual replacement) and gathered mi
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Johnny Carson
American television host (1925–2005)
"The Squirrel's Nest" redirects here. For the nest of a tree squirrel, see Drey.
For the Beach Boys song, see Johnny Carson (song). For other people named John Carson, see John Carson (disambiguation).
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992). Carson received six Primetime Emmy Awards, the Television Academy's 1980 Governor's Award and a 1985 Peabody Award. He was inducted into the Television Academy entré of Fame in 1987. Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993.[1]
During World War II, Carson served in the United States Navy. After the war he started a career in radio, then moved to television and took over as host of the late-night talk show Tonight from Jack Paar in 1962. Carson remained