I meant to post this a week or so ago, when it was exactly twenty-five years to the day that Johnny Carson did his final broadcast of The Tonight Show.
That last one was among the most-watched TV programs ever and yet a lot of people thought Johnny, when he signed off, was pointedly signing off from any future public appearances. A friend of mine used to insist, before I showed him the tape, that Johnny did not say the lines I've highlighted below…
And so it has come to this: I, uh… am one of the lucky people in the world; I found something I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it. I want to thank the people who've shared this stage with me for thirty years. Mr. Ed McMahon, Mr. Doc Severinsen, and you people watching. I can only tell you that it has been an honor and a privilege to come into your homes all these years and entertain you. And I hope when I find something that I want to do and I think you would like and come back, that you'll be as gracious in inviting me into your home as you have been. I bid you a very heartfelt good night.
But say them, he did…and not long after that night, he began looking for that "something I want to do" to the point of developing scripts for TV specials and a few other things. He kept deciding that each plan was a step down and/or a risk of his reputation. His producer Peter Lassally also once told me that Johnny was enjoying not being on TV…
He liked being able to read a book because he wanted to read it, not because its author was an upcoming guest. He liked being able to talk to people without them trying to impress him as potential guests. He liked being able to watch the news without having to constantly think, "What can I say about this in the monologue?"
Most of all, another of his associates told me, he liked that he was free to travel without the show anchoring him down to a schedule. Not long after his last broadcast, Johnny and his wife went to Europe with no itinerary. I believe they started in London and the idea behind the trip was "We'll stay here as long as we want and then we'll decide where to go next." You can do that when you have his kind of money. That had not been possible when he had to be back behind the desk in two weeks. He also loved that his vacation was a vacation and he didn't have to keep talking to the office about the business of the show and whether he'd be doing Aunt Blabby on Tuesday of his return week or Wednesday.
Johnny, I suspect, had a healthier ego than most of the top comedians of his era. Some of them could not have coped with not being in front of an audience, not hearing applause. Maybe that had something to do with how secure is his place in television history. You rarely see an article about late night TV — or just longevity in show business — that does not operate on the premise that Johnny's is the track record against which all others must be measured.
And yet, there was a downside to that achievement: When he exited at age 66, there was no place to go. He was offered specials, movies, live performing venues…if he'd had an idea for a new show he wanted to do, networks would have said, "Whatever it is, we'll buy it." He couldn't come up with anything that wouldn't look like a step down and maybe a gamble of his reputation.
One of Carson's other producers, Fred DeCordova, once told me that Johnny was appalled at the last appearances of some of those great comics of his youth, Milton Berle and Groucho chief among them. He quoted Johnny as often saying of some older performer, "Someone should tell him it's time to get off the stage," and of course he did not book those folks any longer. Apparently, a couple of them — DeCordova only mentioned Berle by name — would call up often and ask, "Why haven't you had me on the show lately?" They would not have taken kindly to a reply of "We're doing you a favor!"
Carson clearly did not want to turn into one of those guys…but leaving The Tonight Show at age 66, he also clearly had a long way to go before that was a danger. In fact, dying at age 79, he probably never got near it.
I often watch the Carson reruns on Antenna TV. Some of them, to be honest, are slow and boring, especially when guests try to be interesting as they talk about their new movie and Johnny pretends to be excited at what they're saying. Sometimes though, you see why the guy was on for so long and why his successors in the field all envy him. He was always in control. He was always interesting. And he knew how to make his guests look good.
Someone once said the measure of the man was not in when he had on a Don Rickles or a Robin Williams. It was when the guest wasn't much of a conversationalist…say, a musician who could be wonderful singing but not so wonderful talking. Or a "civilian" — that's what they called someone not in show business — who was booked because of some interesting experience or achievement. He was real good at keeping them on track and worth listening to. It's a skill most of those in the current crop lack.
As I watch those reruns, I can't help but note how many of his guests are deceased or not appearing much anymore. One reason I believe Johnny quit when he did was the realization that he'd soon be talking to a lot of new stars to whom he could in no way relate. I think of that when I see who Jimmy Fallon has on these days…or Colbert or any of the others. I can't imagine Johnny going to see their movies, listening to their music, being up on their careers…even speaking to them on the same plane of existence. It was probably very wise that he got out when he did…
…and very sad that he never found anything else to do during the thirteen years he had left on this planet. Maybe he couldn't have done something as memorable and important as The Tonight Show but he could have done something before he reached "time to get off the stage." I hope it was because he really and truly enjoyed not appearing.