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Johnny Carson (1 Viewer)

17seconds

17seconds

root of all aliai
Fantastic bio on Carson which has been airing on PBS. You can watch the whole thing online now:

My link

 
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I really liked this- no commercials was a plus as well.

The most telling thing from this doc was not just how Carson walked the fine line between the public and private life of a television personality, but also how it's unlikely that someone will ever have this much control over a network or a show have as much a place in its viewers lives as he and his show did.

Conan tried his hardest to try and recapture that magic, but Carson just seemed to be in the right place at the right time, and had the knowledge and respect of his guests that he could say almost anything and get away with it. Ferguson is the only guy I see now that can toy with his guests and try to catch them off-guard and do things in the moment because he feels like it.

 
Saw this the other night. Good show. It did a good job showing the balance between Johnny's public persona and his private life.

 
It does highlight the temporary nature of television superstardom. A handful of movie stars became iconic and have grown in fame over the years (e.g. Bogart, Dean, Monroe) as their films are watched again and again.

Carson's art lies locked away in a vault and is largely unseen. He's remembered fondly by a people who watched him on the Tonight Show but he's been off the air for twenty years now and a whole generation of viewers know him today only by reputation. Even that will fade away in the decades to come.

 
'ditkaburgers said:
It does highlight the temporary nature of television superstardom. A handful of movie stars became iconic and have grown in fame over the years (e.g. Bogart, Dean, Monroe) as their films are watched again and again.Carson's art lies locked away in a vault and is largely unseen. He's remembered fondly by a people who watched him on the Tonight Show but he's been off the air for twenty years now and a whole generation of viewers know him today only by reputation. Even that will fade away in the decades to come.
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Had this on my DVR; watching it now.When I was a kid my parents would let me stay up on Friday nights to watch Carson.No one today approaches Johnny's iconic status for me.
 
Saw it the other night and thought it was horrible. I guess some people might enjoy it but it felt really sad and heavy. All comedians have a dark side and Johnny was an alcoholic, thought a lot of this was pretty contrived. It took 15 years or however long it's been since Carson passed and this was the best they could put together for a tell all bio on the guy?

It was well done in one sense that I must give the film credit for even though overall I didn't like it. They made the 70s look vibrant thru HD...it would be awesome if they could go back and redo eras in HD. A lot of these films the old photos look ancient but these photos presented in HD were really interesting to watch. I found myself replaying parts of those segments but the story about Johnny I found kind of dull.

 
'Ministry of Pain said:
Saw it the other night and thought it was horrible. I guess some people might enjoy it but it felt really sad and heavy. All comedians have a dark side and Johnny was an alcoholic, thought a lot of this was pretty contrived. It took 15 years or however long it's been since Carson passed and this was the best they could put together for a tell all bio on the guy?It was well done in one sense that I must give the film credit for even though overall I didn't like it. They made the 70s look vibrant thru HD...it would be awesome if they could go back and redo eras in HD. A lot of these films the old photos look ancient but these photos presented in HD were really interesting to watch. I found myself replaying parts of those segments but the story about Johnny I found kind of dull.
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I could be wrong, but I don't think they even hoped for a tell-all, as most of the immediate family still didn't want to grant permission to certain material, and I don't think his sons had any direct input themselves (think I heard that on NPR). His ex-wives obviously were involved, but I think that was it.As much as it would be nice to get a retrospective featuring Carson's favorite moments from the show and candid talk from Ed or Doc, I don't think such material was ever captured or available. Carson was protective of himself and I think many others didn't want to go too far into it to respect his memory. I thought Angie Dickinson was about the most candid of any of those interviewed directly. Coverage of a guy who was well respected but excessively aloof can't help but end up being aloof in some areas.
 
'The Kuhn said:
'Ministry of Pain said:
Saw it the other night and thought it was horrible. I guess some people might enjoy it but it felt really sad and heavy. All comedians have a dark side and Johnny was an alcoholic, thought a lot of this was pretty contrived. It took 15 years or however long it's been since Carson passed and this was the best they could put together for a tell all bio on the guy?It was well done in one sense that I must give the film credit for even though overall I didn't like it. They made the 70s look vibrant thru HD...it would be awesome if they could go back and redo eras in HD. A lot of these films the old photos look ancient but these photos presented in HD were really interesting to watch. I found myself replaying parts of those segments but the story about Johnny I found kind of dull.
Click to expand...
I could be wrong, but I don't think they even hoped for a tell-all, as most of the immediate family still didn't want to grant permission to certain material, and I don't think his sons had any direct input themselves (think I heard that on NPR). His ex-wives obviously were involved, but I think that was it.As much as it would be nice to get a retrospective featuring Carson's favorite moments from the show and candid talk from Ed or Doc, I don't think such material was ever captured or available. Carson was protective of himself and I think many others didn't want to go too far into it to respect his memory. I thought Angie Dickinson was about the most candid of any of those interviewed directly. Coverage of a guy who was well respected but excessively aloof can't help but end up being aloof in some areas.
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Excellent points Kuhn, maybe I am being harsh. You say his ex-wives were the main source for info...yeah that would explain why I didn't like it as much, felt kind of one sided so this makes sense.
 
I love the fact that he would fax jokes to Letterman and then get excited like a little kid when Lettermen would use them. :thumbup:

 
'17seconds said:
Fantastic bio on Carson which has been airing on PBS. You can watch the whole thing online now:

My link
Click to expand...
Wow... thanks for posting this.

I just watched the entire show online.

Three years older than me, my brother earned a B&W set when he was 13 in 1969. And just about every night since then, I've watched the Tonight Show. Even now.

Right before Xmas of my sophomore year in HS, my dad moved us to Burbank, and my brother took me to at least 35 shows in the three years we lived there. Such great times. My youngest son turns 16 next April, and we already have made plans to go and see the show live.

I've got between now and then to break out and show him my old Johnny DVD's :thumbup:

I liked the show. Didn't have a problem seeing more of the other side of him.

 
The IFC (Indie Film Channel) ran some Johnny Carson interview highlights recently and they were absolutely terrific, the guy was a great interviewer. The interview was actually interesting, something to be watched, with an actual dialogue, amazing.

Seems like the substance has completely changed over the years, every single question is about getting a laugh now (and so many miss).

Just a note following up on the news and thread about Letterman retiring.

 
SaintsInDome2006 said:
The IFC (Indie Film Channel) ran some Johnny Carson interview highlights recently and they were absolutely terrific, the guy was a great interviewer. The interview was actually interesting, something to be watched, with an actual dialogue, amazing.

Seems like the substance has completely changed over the years, every single question is about getting a laugh now (and so many miss).

Just a note following up on the news and thread about Letterman retiring.
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Some of it is also that the guests are changing. Carson's guests were there to talk and do their plug but the priorities have reversed now. Carson also had a smaller cadre of guests with whom he shared more history.

Fallon had the great magician Ricky Jay on as his guest earlier this week. Jay is an old school raconteur who has always had a tendency to ramble. Carson who knew and loved magic would have been able to engage Jay and improve on the story. All Fallon could do was sit back and overlaugh at the punch line.

You can see some of this familiarity when Fallon or Kimmel have their friends as guests. I think Kimmel manages to keep enough distance to make it interesting for the audience while Fallon frequently devolves into inside schtick. Craig Ferguson is very good when he has his friends on.

 
Eephus said:
SaintsInDome2006 said:
The IFC (Indie Film Channel) ran some Johnny Carson interview highlights recently and they were absolutely terrific, the guy was a great interviewer. The interview was actually interesting, something to be watched, with an actual dialogue, amazing.

Seems like the substance has completely changed over the years, every single question is about getting a laugh now (and so many miss).

Just a note following up on the news and thread about Letterman retiring.
Click to expand...
Some of it is also that the guests are changing. Carson's guests were there to talk and do their plug but the priorities have reversed now. Carson also had a smaller cadre of guests with whom he shared more history.

Fallon had the great magician Ricky Jay on as his guest earlier this week. Jay is an old school raconteur who has always had a tendency to ramble. Carson who knew and loved magic would have been able to engage Jay and improve on the story. All Fallon could do was sit back and overlaugh at the punch line.

You can see some of this familiarity when Fallon or Kimmel have their friends as guests. I think Kimmel manages to keep enough distance to make it interesting for the audience while Fallon frequently devolves into inside schtick. Craig Ferguson is very good when he has his friends on.
Click to expand...
Great comments.

Yeah, I think Ferguson is the best out there right now.

 
Johnny Carson was a tv god. Nothing will ever compare to him and that whole scenario again since there were only 3 channels and public access for a long time when he was on. I grew up on him and loved it when I could stay up to watch him and the show. It was the only place to see stand ups as a kid really, except for the Sullivan show and most of the guys he had on where of the old school - Shecky Green type. The guy was a cat - really one of the coolest people around, even to the stars.

The new book, "Johnny Carson" by his attorney, Henry Bushkin was a great read though I was really disappointed to find out the darker side of the guy. Bushkin has an axe to grind, but the book is a perfect example of why I read non-fiction almost exclusively - I want to know "what really happened and/or what were they really like/what was it like backstage/dugout, etc."

George Goebel/Bob Hope ...drunk Deano walk-on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLiEVvGMjhk

Can't find any with Uecker and Carson - the only thing I can find is an old Letterman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ0rIYl4w6Y

Ueker was always killer on there as well.

 
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