David Letterman's tribute to Johnny Carson the other evening neatly bookended the official mourning period for The King of Late Night. I liked Jay Leno's a bit more, in part because it was so immediate (Dave was on vacation at the time) and in part because lately, I've enjoyed Leno's show more than Letterman's…though, truth to tell, I think both programs have gotten way too repetitive. Maybe it's because they do more shows per year than Johnny did, but neither man strikes me as possessing the Carson flair for keeping the show fresh.
Johnny's death, of course, reminded us of how much we miss not just him but another generation of show business. A lot of folks wrote me how wonderful it was to see Don Rickles and Bob Newhart on Jay's show. They were appropriate not just because they were friends and frequent guests of Johnny but because they were part of his era…an era that is becoming painfully shy on practitioners. We lost Buddy Hackett, we lost Alan King, we lost Rodney Dangerfield, we've lost Johnny…how long before the elder statesman of comedy is Pauly Shore?
Those of us in the comic book field have been experiencing something similar with our "legends," most notably the recent passing of Will Eisner. And just a few weeks ago, I sat with a group of animation buffs and ticked off a very short list of the greats of that art form who are still with us. Since I dwell in all these areas, I've written a painful number of obituaries here.
Losing Johnny was a special jolt because he was such a part of our lives for so long. At the same time, I think it reminded us how much we missed him, and it finally made a lot of folks realize he wasn't coming back.
Some folks talking about him last week on TV seemed to think that when Johnny left The Tonight Show, he took some sort of blood oath to never again appear in public. Not exactly, as I understand it. On his last show, his next-to-last words suggested the opposite…
…I can only tell you that its been an honor and a privilege coming into your homes all these years to entertain you. And I hope when I find something I want to do and think you would like, I can come back and [you will be] as gracious in inviting me into your homes as you have been.
As far as I know, Johnny's subsequent TV appearances consisted of two silent cameos with Letterman, a couple of phone calls to Dave, a voice role on The Simpsons, an appearance on the American Teacher Awards, a bit on a Bob Hope anniversary special, plus the Kennedy Center honors. Most of these were within the first year or so of his leaving Tonight. There was apparently some talk that he would become like Hope, doing the occasional special, but he ultimately decided to not even do that.
Which meant that the Absence of Johnny pretty much snuck up on most Americans. There was never a moment when it became official…not until it was announced he'd died. Much admiration has been expressed for how "classy" it was for him to leave when he was at the top of his game, and I certainly admire that. But I think the part I admire the most is that he did it without really announcing it or calling attention to it. He just left and let us figure it out for ourselves. Another example of the masterful Carson timing.