Johnny Carson 1925-2005

Johnny Carson has been gone from our television screens since May 22nd, 1992, but hearing of his passing this weekend age 79 still feels like a death in the family. His nephew said it was from emphysema, probably connected with many years as a smoker. When Johnny took over for Jack Paar as the host of the Tonight Show in 1962 he had no idea that the format he would create with sidekicks Ed McMahon and Doc Severinsen would endure for three decades. In fact, he originally turned down NBC's offer. There will likely be much coverage and many tributes to the man who has been called the Jimmy Stewart of television and America's every-man. But the essence of his success was his ability to make his guests the center of attention. If you made it to the Tonight Show, you were sure to look good. He loved launching new talent, and even when something went wrong, like the night Ed Ames accidentally circumcised a cardboard cowboy with a tomahawk, Johnny could make it right. His monologues chronicled our times, and in the rare minutes when he took center stage as Carnac the Magnificent, movie host Art Fern or as a dead on impressionist of Karl Maldin, Ronald Reagan and other notables, he elevated the art from. NBC quickly realized that he was irreplaceable and when he retired, Jay and Dave didn't even try. Now that the man himself has left us we'll echo the words of his long time producer, Fred DeCordova: He was one of a kind.