Johnny Carson, King of Late Night, Dies

[rasermon]

By JEFF WILSON, Associated Press WriterLOS ANGELES - Johnny Carson (news), the "Tonight Show" TV host who served America a smooth nightcap of celebrity banter, droll comedy and heartland charm for 30 years, has died. He was 79. "Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning," his nephew, Jeff Sotzing, told The Associated Press. "He was surrounded by his family, whose loss will be immeasurable. There will be no memorial service."http://story.news.yahoo.com/ne...arsonI use to watch him all the time. Was also sad to see him leave The Tonight Show.

[ragingfish]

Ah DAMN you!Beat me to it. Yes, a huge loss to the late night television and comedy communities. A true gem he was.You will be missed Johnny...you will be truly missed...

[Sputnik]

Wow. I hadn't heard this yet today - probably because I've spent the day on the food network. Was he sick?

[Stang2Vibe]

I hadn't heard of him being sick, so I don't really know about that.I do know that I will surely miss him, I missed him since he retired from The Tonight Show. I really loved some of the skits he did. There has yet to be a late night show host like him.Godspeed, Mr. Carson. You've long been missed by many.

[cohocarl]

That's too bad. I was just reading an article the other day about him and Letterman.

[kostby]

In my best imitation of 'Karnak the Magnificent', holding the sealed envelope to my right temple, "The answer is, 'He reportedly died of complications from emphysema.'"IMHO Ed McMahon would be the logical choice to speak at a funeral service for Carson, but it's doubtful Ed could do it without laughing uncontrollably for fifteen minutes, as he did during thousands of Johnny's monologues for the many years of The Tonight Show. LOL

[jake75]

Carson was a great talent but I always thought he was a greedy ungratetful s.o.b., and even somewhat lazy. More money for "him" seemed to be his interest, and particularly more money for doing less. NBC made him a lot of money but when he retired he refused to be a "guest" for Leno but did so for Letterman and even wrote for Letterman. Leno has more class - perhaps he is too easy. Leno doesn't take off for extended periods every year turning his show over to guest hosts. At contract renewal time NBC makes him a good offer and he accepts it without a lot of fanfare.

[kostby]

And, to his credit, Leno is also a genuine 'car guy'. He owns over 160 vehicles, including a Mercedes SLR, Porsche Carrera GT and Ford GT --> http://www.autoweek.com/articl...00642Amazing story about his first car, a 1955 Buick Roadmaster, lovingly rebuilt with a C-5 Corvette and a 620 hp GM 572 crate motor in it --> http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=7693 Carson had a white Corvette in the 1980's when I took the NBC Studios Tour in Pasadena. He commuted from his mansion in Malibu to the studio every afternoon.