While many may associate this well-known phrase with Jack Nicholson in the movie “The Shining,” it was first made famous by the Tonight Show, as the introduction of Johnny Carson, the “King of Late Night.”
Carson passed away the morning of Jan. 23, leaving behind him a legacy in the show business that has not been equaled by another talk show host. He died from emphysema in Los Angeles surrounded by friends and family at the age of 79.
Born in Iowa in 1925, he and his family moved to Nebraska when was 8 years old. Carson’s showbiz career unofficially began when he was 14, when he would perform magic tricks as “The Great Carsoni” at local venues.
Beginning in 1943, he served briefly in the Navy. Afterward, he attended the University of Nebraska, graduating in 1949 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio and speech with a minor in physics. He was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. After graduation, Carson worked as a disc jockey at an Omaha radio station.
In 1951, he produced a skit program called “Carson’s Cellar” on Los Angeles station KNXT-TV. While working on “Carson’s Cellar,” he also worked as a writer for the sketch-comedy program “The Red Skelton Show.” Carson gave his first on-stage monologue in front of a national audience when Red Skelton was injured and Carson stood in for him.
Carson hosted the daytime game show “Who Do You Trust?” from 1957-62, teaming up with long-time sidekick Ed McMahon in 1958.
Carson then went on to be a writer for “The Tonight Show,” which was hosted by the controversial Jack Paar. On Oct. 2, 1962, Carson took over hosting duties after Paar resigned, having sat-in for Paar in 1958. Carson went on to win six Emmy awards.
Unlike Paar, Carson’s jokes and monologues were good-natured, focusing on politicians and celebrities. His famous “Carnac the Magnificent” sketches, in which Carson played a mentalist, were a reprise of his childhood magic show. Carson’s self-awareness as a comedian made him unique among 1960’s monologue comedians.
Whenever a joke during his monologue bombed, he would casually make a self-deprecating remark before moving on, a technique used by many stand-up comedians and talk show hosts today.
This sign of humanity in a television star helped to endear Carson to his audience and guests.
According to the Internet Movie Database, in the 1970s, a joke Carson made about a shortage of industrial grade toilet paper caused a national panic, a run on all grades of toilet paper, and a shortage of the product that he had joked about.
Unfortunately for Carson, his national identification with “The Tonight Show” made it difficult for him to work in other media. He did, however, make over 30 guest appearances (usually playing himself) on shows including “Mary Tyler Moore,” “Cheers” and “The Simpsons.” He also played host at five Academy Awards telecasts from 1979 to 1984.
He retired from “The Tonight Show” in 1992, and the show was handed over to current host Jay Leno.
Carson made a walk-on appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” which many took as a sign that he preferred Letterman to Leno. It was also recently revealed that Carson had been sending Letterman material for his monologues. Carson has never appeared on Leno’s show to congratulate his successor.
The same year he retired, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 1993, he won Kennedy Center Honors.
Though he had a successful career, Carson’s life was not free of trouble. He went through three divorces, and lost a son to a car accident in 1991.
His personal and professional lives were closely examined by publications like The National Enquirer and People magazine. At least seven biographies, official and unofficial, have been published.
In addition to emphysema, Carson’s other health problems included a heart attack in 1999, for which underwent a quadruple bypass surgery.
