So Long, Johnny! : Three Decades of Carson Memories

So this is it.

Tonight, America has an appointment with Johnny Carson as he bids farewell to NBC’s “The Tonight Show” after nearly 30 years.

All over the land, VCRs will be whirring; bars and restaurants with TV sets will be tuned in, and viewers in bed will be drifting off to sleep to Carson’s voice for the last time.

In Beverly Hills, a spokesman for the Tribeca restaurant says extra TV sets will be brought in and “we’ll have a few laughs with Johnny.”

A few laughs with Johnny. . . .

Hmmm.

Not a bad tag line.

But this is not another rundown on the life and times of Johnny Carson. There have been so many lately, in so many publications, that even he expressed some surprise in his Tuesday show this week, wondering, typically, if the coverage was overkill.

No, it wasn’t.

What we offer today, however, are just some personal memories. . . .

Memories of some clues as to why there has been such an emotional outpouring over his departure.

And memories of a few chats we had with Carson--on his 25th anniversary as host of “The Tonight Show,” when he had almost called it quits, and again a year ago, when he told us at his home in Malibu that he finally had decided to leave the show in 1992.

The living room in Malibu is quite a sight--immense yet comfortable. A friend reports that when Bob Newhart took a look at it for the first time, he said, “Where’s the gift shop, John?”

Carson’s essential appeal, even at age 66, is that he still somehow has retained the flavor of Peck’s Bad Boy.

Fred de Cordova, his executive producer, told us a few years back: “In spite of the fact that he is no longer a kid, there is a puckish quality in him.”

And another telling observation from De Cordova: “He doesn’t take many cheap shots, and if you don’t take cheap shots, you build up a level of confidence with the people.”

More from De Cordova on Carson’s longevity on “Tonight”: “He is absolutely a master at sniffing out pretension.”

Nothing was more important than that bond of trust with viewers. It was the basis of the monologues that punctured the pompous in public life and made Carson, in the minds of many, perhaps the most powerful political commentator in America.

In our talk last year, he said with certainty:

“I don’t think most people could tell you really whether I’m a Republican or Democrat. I’ve found that performers who get in the political arena get taken advantage of.

“I’ve always tried to distance myself because I want to keep an open mind when I go out and do a monologue. It’s one thing for a movie star to get identified politically because you’re kind of removed. But when you’re on television every night, you could use that forum, that desk, I think in the wrong way.”

Distancing. It became a kind of self-directed joke after a while, with Carson needling the descriptions of him as cool and aloof.

When the City of Burbank, home of “The Tonight Show,” announced it was naming a park after him, Carson said that the water in the drinking fountain would be cool and aloof.

“I think,” he told us, “that I distanced myself a little bit sometimes from people on the show to keep a certain edge. I never like to talk to people before I get on the show.”

Not long ago, we interviewed Jay Leno, Carson’s sub, who spoke to us in his “Tonight” dressing room right up until a few minutes before he went on the air.

And it seemed to us later that this was not such a good practice by the talented Leno, no matter how relaxed he is. For that special privacy and concentration that Carson has insisted on before his performances may be the edge that gives his monologues--and even the botched jokes--a gem-like finish.

Memories. . . .

There was the night in the ‘80s when Carson mentioned the word condom in his monologue. As usual, he made no fuss. But it helped open the door to frank discussion about condoms on TV, because if Carson said it, why, then, obviously it was all right to talk about.

He doesn’t like fuss, particularly about himself.

When it seemed he might retire on his 25th anniversary on “Tonight,” there was talk of a big, star-studded tribute.

“That’s not what made the show,” Carson told us at the time. “I thought that when the last show comes, it should be the way it started.”

Tonight’s final show won’t be precisely the way it started, but it is scheduled to be characteristically simple and low-key, with the comedian’s longtime sidekick, Ed McMahon, and bandleader Doc Severinsen as his guests.

Actually, Carson’s very first “Tonight” show, on Oct. 1, 1962, featured Groucho Marx, Joan Crawford, Mel Brooks, Rudy Vallee and Tony Bennett.

And Carson stuck pretty much to his philosophy on Tuesday when Brooks and Bennett--the only surviving guest stars of the inaugural telecast--were invited back, along with Jack Lemmon, in a splendid outing.

In truth, even though he kids about it now, the final decision to end his reign was probably not easy for Carson, who remains youthful and in excellent shape.

On Tuesday, there was a wistfulness to his joking about leaving: “Is this really our last week, or did the governor call yet?”

Then, moments later, he added: “Don’t forget, after I leave, these plants have to be watered twice a week.”

While he joked about leaving and noted that some audience members had been waiting since 2 a.m. to get in, there was also a poignancy in the air. The emotion seemed to be getting to him at times. He flubbed some lines. And he appeared to be working a little harder than usual to keep his trademark casualness.

It was quite touching and human--and certainly not cool and aloof.

Bennett sang one of Carson’s favorite songs, “I’ll Be Seeing You.” Sentimental? Sure. But why not? The singer amazingly created the atmosphere of a bunch of old friends hoisting a few in a late-night saloon.

So a few things are ending. With McMahon’s departure, for instance, the era of talk-show sidekicks is just about over.

But Carson’s view of what a “Tonight Show” host should be is as valid as it was on his 25th anniversary: “It’s the end of the day. People don’t want someone who looks like they’re going to have a nervous breakdown.”

In a sense, the host of “The Tonight Show” pulls America together every night, tells us that things really aren’t so bad after all and sends us to sleep feeling a little better.

It was Carson’s job. He delivered. And we don’t have to get all teary-eyed to simply say what should be said:

Thanks.