Danny Blankenship
I over the years may have watched from time to time "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" on a rare occasion when I would set up perhaps from not having school or being on school break, yet mostly my mom made me go to bed. Still thru classic footage and clips and old rerun shows on digital TV I've saw some episodes of Johhny Carson. And his show was a delight a treat the man was very funny and wise as the skits on his show were thoughtful and well done and his sidekick Ed MacMahon was always a good buddy what more can you say Carson ruled the late night airwaves for right at thirty years. Johnny helped pave the way for Jay Leno and David Letterman as they made appearances on his show many times doing stand up and even guest hosting when Johnny was out or away. And the guests of Carson were always A list from Hollywood's best, and he had sports and political figures on and many of today's well known comedian's got their first light of the TV camera on his show. So anytime you see an episode your looking at TV history and pop culture entertainment at it's best.
jf2k
I haven't seen the movie itself but I understand it's an overall view of JC's 30 years on the show. I lived in FLA one year and watched it sometimes during the week. What I saw was funny, smart and bright. I always liked the "monologue" and I wonder who actually started that tradition, or was it JC himself? And the big guy on the settee-McMann? what exactly was his function? I was sorry to see JC finish his run and thought he could have lasted at least another 5-10 years. He was a brilliant host - the best ever. When he paid tribute to his late son, it was very poignant and reserved.God bless Johnny Carson.
catnipsmile
Dorothy "Stratten" is said to be on this collection of tapes. I have the whole set and did not see her. Her name is spelled as "Stratton" on the Johnny web site-this is wrong. If I'm wrong please let me know. I was really looking forward to seeing her in some form on one of the collection tapes. Although I didn't get to see her I still enjoyed the whole collection. I grew up with Johnny and will miss him very much.
John Langbein (medrjel)
As great as Steve Allen and Jack Paar were, Carson took the ball, reshaped it, and sent it in for a shot heard round the world. There is a reason he hosted the show for 30 years, 4 times longer than his 2 predacessors behind him. He was brilliant at making anyone seem interesting. Steve could do it, and so could Jack (though not as well from what I've seen), but Johnny really had a grasp of finding the way to question people to fit their response style. He really was the first true King of Late Night. If others say it's Paar or Allen, then I say Carson became Emporer!The skits were done cheaply, but they were so much fun, you laughed with them, not at them.Originally, the Carson's show was 90 minutes, and it was trimmed to 60 in the early 80's since he felt he could not keep the level up like he had in the past, which made the way for David Letterman. Thank You Johnny!