Week of May 18: Memorable Carson Moments

By Sylvia Gurinsky

It doesn't seem possible that 20 years ago next Tuesday (May 22, 1992), Johnny Carson bid America "a very heartfelt good night" and walked off our television screens.

The number of appearances he made after that - a Bob Hope birthday celebration and Kennedy Center honor in 1993, a couple of appearances on "Late Show With David Letterman" - before his death in 2005 can be counted on one hand. We still miss him.

This week, PBS featured Carson in its "American Masters" series. Viewers were reminded yet again what made him so enjoyable to watch night after night for 30 years, and why he remains an untouchable in entertainment today.

It's a good time to revisit some of Johnny's most memorable moments. We'll leave out his emotional two final shows - the May 21, 1992 show that featured Bette Midler and Robin Williams, and the May 22 finale.

Here are some more:

-Ed Ames' tomahawk chop, April 29, 1965: Known for his lovely baritone singing voice, Ames also starred on the western series "Daniel Boone" as Mingo, a Native American. (In real life, Ames is a member of a different tribe; he's Jewish.) Ames was attempting to teach Carson how to throw a tomahawk properly, and well......Let's just say the whole scene was a gem - particularly Johnny's response:

Tomahawk


-Copper Clapper Caper, February 19, 1968: Jack Webb was as serious as a heart attack on the long-running "Dragnet." Here, he had a chance to make fun of it. Both Webb's and Carson's timing were impeccable:

Copper Clappers


-Tiny Tim's Wedding, December 17, 1969: Tiny Tim was an entertainment curio of the late 1960s, playing his ukelele and singing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" on a number of talk and variety shows, including "The Tonight Show." After he mentioned to Carson on one visit that he was engaged, the offer was made to host his wedding to Miss Vicki, as she was known:

Ceremony


--The King of Late Night and the Chairman of the Board, November 12, 1976: Johnny Carson had played emcee for the Rat Pack for concerts during the 1960s (One of those concerts has recently been shown as part of PBS' pledge drives.). But he was genuinely nervous having Frank Sinatra on "The Tonight Show," in what turned out to be Sinatra's only visit. Mutual friend Don Rickles came on and smoothed things over:

Johnny, Frank and Don


-Cigarette Case Confrontation with Don Rickles, December 13, 1976: Don Rickles was a genuine friend to Johnny Carson, and what Bob Hope once called his "black belt in comedy" made for a lot of very funny moments on the show. During the 1970s, Rickles was a frequent guest host on "The Tonight Show." He broke Carson's cigarette case, which had made the "Tonight Show" move from New York to Los Angeles, and Johnny decided to confront Rickles on the set of his show, "CPO Sharkey":

Johnny & Don

-Johnny and the Marmoset, 1979: Starting in 1972, Joan Embery of the San Diego Zoo frequently brought animals onto "The Tonight Show." Even more impressive than the animals was Carson's reaction. Here's a classic with a marmoset (It's the second video on the bottom line.):

Marmoset


-Jimmy Stewart, July 28, 1981: The legendary actor was one of Carson's favorite guests. Here, he reads his classic tribute to his dog, Beau:

Beau


-Ronald Reagan Skit, 1982: Abbott & Costello came to the White House - sort of - as the Mighty Carson Art Players featured the star as Ronald Reagan, figuring out his schedule:

Reagan & Baker

-Bill Clinton, July 28, 1988: Clinton was best known as the governor of Arkansas who had just bungled the introduction of fellow governor - and Democratic presidential nominee - Michael Dukakis at the party's convention with an extremely long speech. In having Clinton on the show, Carson poked fun by giving a long introduction, and then put out an hourglass after asking, "How are you?" In return, Clinton played "Summertime" on the saxophone.

The appearance is generally credited with giving Clinton a positive re-launch on the national stage. Alas, the clip is not available online, but can be seen in the highlights of The Tonight Show released on DVD.


-Michael Landon, May 9, 1991: Michael Landon, longtime star of three television series, announced in April, 1991 that he had liver and pancreatic cancer. Landon looked good when he appeared on "The Tonight Show" the following month, but it turned out to be his last appearance on the show; he died in July, 1991.

-Bonus: Betty White: Carson used to joke that television's first lady would appear in any skit in which he was half-dressed. The best Johnny Carson/Betty White sketch was probably the 1981 "Tarzan" skit, but this 1979 Adam & Eve palimony skit is pretty good, too:

Adam & Eve


And finally, Southland viewers:

Art Fern

YesterTube will go on a hiatus for the Memorial Day weekend. See you June 1st. Until then, Happy Viewing!