I've been busy with this 'n' that but will be posting at my old pace in a day or so. There are still a few seats left for this Sunday's 50th anniversary screening of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. I am told that a few surviving cast members will be present. (We're running out of these people.) Tickets are available here. One friend of mine loves this movie so much that he purchased one even though he's in another city and unable to attend. He wanted to be there in spirit so he spent the money.
I got and am intermittently reading Henry Bushkin's book on his relationship with Johnny Carson. I guess I should take comfort in the knowledge that since I haven't gone through ugly divorces, repeated marital infidelities, messy battles to buy casinos, cutthroat network negotiations, dysfunctional relationships with my family, drunk driving arrests and way too much money to spend, none of my lawyers will ever be able to write such a book about me. I assume that Mr. Bushkin's factual recital is basically accurate but for little mistakes like two we noted here (i.e., saying Jack Benny was on a show produced years after his death) but that the presentation is spun in the author's favor. In other words, it would be interesting to hear the same incidents described by Johnny or some other close onlooker.
Having heard stories like this for years from folks who worked for Johnny — all of them very much afraid of being quoted — I am not surprised by the portrait of Carson as ruthless and mercurial. I guess I am surprised that Johnny didn't demand that Bushkin sign some sort of non-disclosure-even-after-my-death document that would have enabled Carson Productions to block publication. It ain't a pretty picture. If you'd like to view that side of The King of Late Night, here's an Amazon link.
By the way, that link will take you to the hardcover. I bought the Kindle edition and I'm increasingly doing that with books that are not profusely illustrated. I like how handy it is to read books on my iPad on planes and trains, in waiting situations and even at my desk here. I really like being able to search the text because I've rarely found the index of any book to be sufficient. It's also nice not to have to find a place to store another book in this house.