Johnny Carson!

[revolver59]

All of the followers after Johnny Carson left the Tonight show kind of seem like Elvis impersonators to me. His way of approach to his profession was a talent and a gift that left with him which no one can replace, just like Elvis!!

 

[sheepdawg]

I glad they show the reruns now. He was the king of late night TV, nobody else comes close.

 

[Watchdog]

Johnny Carson ruled the late night talk shows for years, but before Carson, there was Jack Paar.

Paar's run on the show was comparatively short, but he's the one who took what was a sort of run of the mill variety show and turned it into something special for five years or so.

I was only ten-years-old when Paar really began to hit his stride, but his type and level of humor, along with the intellectual variety of his guests really appealed to me even then...it was something new to me as a kid who'd grown up watching mundane cookie-cutter stuff like Ozzie and Harriet and Father Knows Best. I'd stay up late, pretending to be doing homework, to watch his show on our old Emerson black and white TV.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Liked Carson...Always watched his monolog(sp?) before going to sleep.........He once commented that LOTS of babies were created during his monolog.

.......BTW......Never cared much for elvis then.......Still don't.....

 

[Targets Guy]

I enjoyed Jack Paar. Johnny took it to a new level.

 

[amazingflapjack]

He was the absolute best with animals.

 

[bill2000]

Carson was a master. Was the best at what he did and always will be.



[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuH1PhzOVR4[/ame]



[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L5QC9ZJkM8[/ame]

 

[chopshopcop]

Johnny Carson was a sort of rite of passage for a lot of kids growing up. When your folks let you stay up to watch Carson on a school night, then you knew that you had just made the transition from kid to adult. Especially if Charo was a guest that night! Coochie coochie!

Here's one of my favorites

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CRfuTTd09vo[/ame]

 

[walkin jack]

Jack Parr was good and he did a lot to popularize the tonight show. But the very first Tonight Show host was Steve Allen. He was funnier than Parr. Par was kind of serious and emotional. He left the show because when he used the word "water closet" on the air they cut him off. TV censors were totally paranoid back then and they pulled the plug on him. A few minutes later it came back on and Parr was very upset and crying. He blessed the network and walked off the show never to return. That opened the door for Johnny Carson who turned out to be the very best. Who ever comes in 2nd isn't even close.

 

[Marshwheeling]

Carson was great, and deserves the accolades, but Steve Allen was funnier, and Letterman funnier still.

 

[RobertJ.]

Johnny was the greatest!

But when someone says no one after him could fill his shoes, I'm not sure exactly what that means. I think it has more to do with the viewer's age than anything else.

Johnny is still my favorite. But David Letterman made me laugh, Conan makes me laugh, and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon is the most entertaining show on network TV at this moment. I don't have regular TV, but I'm subscribed to his YT channel.

Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

 

[Watchdog]

Jack Parr was good and he did a lot to popularize the tonight show. But the very first Tonight Show host was Steve Allen. He was funnier than Parr.

Well, Allen was funnier because he was a comedian. Paar was more along the lines of a social commentator. Comedians are usually looking for the punch line, the one liner, the quick laugh. Paar was a sensitive guy, sure. Then Carson came along and combined the commentary and the comedy into something new, and he was a tremendous success at it.

I liked Letterman, but never took him or his show seriously.

I liked Dick Cavett and Tom Snyder, too. Both of them brought more depth to the host/talk show format. Cavett's still around somewhere, but I don't know what he's doing now.

 

[Will Carry]

I used to do the Johnny Carson Sneak. When I would hear the intro music, I would sneak out of my bedroom and peak around the den door and watch Johnny's monolog until my parents would say, "Go back to bed!" Sometimes dad would let me sit on his lap and watch. Johnny was part of my mother and fathers generation, sometimes called "The Greatest Generation." Mom and Dad met in an Army hospital when dad was recovering from wounds received during the Battle of Manila. (That was World War 2 for you young folk) mom was a nurse. Dad went to college for free after the war and became a country doctor in Rockdale County Georgia.

 

[the ringo kid]

Jack Paar was before my time-but Lord above-Carson ruled till he retired.

 

[coltle6920]

I watched Carson for years and (IMHO) he laid a few eggs in his time.He didn't really have any competition at the time he was on (again IMHO).

I miss Leno...I think he had better writers.Never did care for bucktooth Letterman.The rest of these newer wannabes are childish at best and show too much partisan bias for me to watch any of them.

Again...IMHO.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Johnny, who was a good drummer, stated many times that this was his favorite song. I thought it was a great tribute given by Doc, Tommy and Ed.

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f6FF1zk6c0w[/ame]

 

[QED]

Johnny Carson, as a comedian and a late night talk show host, was indeed a natural talent. The current crop of "replacements" are obviously trying but falling quite short of the standard he set. However, similar unfavorable comparisons can be made about current actors, singers, politicians, etc. But, can't bring back "the good old days."

 

[dave holl]

Johnny Carson had a quick wit, and often took advantage of a guest's innocent statement.
Mrs. Palmer, Arnie's wife, was a guest, and to make conversation Johnny asked her, "What do you do to wish your husband good luck before a big tournament?" She responded, "I kiss his balls."
Johnny couldn't resist......... "I bet that made his putter stand up."
The audience went wild with laughter.

I really enjoyed his show, music too.
Dave

 

[Texas Star]

Almost all of these guys have been liberal and quite biased in their "comedy." Leno was the least offensive and the funniest. The worst may be the current CBS host, Steven Colbert. He's a total shill for liberalism. Can't say more here. But all three of the biggies and the guys who are on later are about as bad. I think Carson may have been ashamed of some of the things that NBC made him say and do. He was sure no friend of hunters or the NRA!

Fallon is an adolescent slapstick ninny. The other Jimmy is as bad politically, but is more mature and funnier.

I usually watch any of them only if they have a worthwhile guest. That normally means a hot actress or interesting animals. I often watch Fox News re-runs of Megyn Kelly and Sean Hannity then, having seen other shows when they were on earlier that night.

Animal Planet had a good show this week on exploring whether the thylacine (Tasmanian "tiger") may not be extinct.

 

[bgrafsr]

Carson was very good, Letterman so so, and as far as Conan is concerned, he's an idiot and I can't even stand to watch his commercials.