Day 73: Johnny Carson King of Late Night

Today I watched an amazing documentary on the career of Johnny Carson, host of the Tonight Show for 30 years. The film, from PBS, chronicled his life from the heart of Nebraska to his rise as one of the most famous television personalities in America. At its height The Tonight Show garnered 15 million viewers a night which is more than the combined current viewers of Leno and Letterman combined. Carson's complicated personality is discussed and the dichotomous relationship between his onstage persona and his off-screen lifestyle.

My dream in life is to be the host of my own talk show. I've wanted to do it since I was a kid. The idea of getting paid to talk to people and crack jokes is still hard to fathom. I've spent countless hours watching late night shows, trying to learn what I can from men like Conan and Colbert. Now my interests are growing further, I want to learn more about the men who came before- Steve Allen, Jack Paar, and Johnny Carson. This gave me more information than I could ever want.

What I learned: A lot about Carson's personal life. A notoriously private man, I had never known a lot about his life or relationships. This film does a good job of balancing his career with his private life; his tumultuous relationship with his parents, his multiple marriages, and his less than strong connection to his sons. Again and again the film pressed the theme of dichotomy; on stage Carson was a virtuoso able to talk to anyone about anything. But off stage he was cold and distant, preferring solitude over the company of friends and family. Carson admitted it was because of social anxiety; never really knowing where to fit in at parties or with people. It's a feeling I can easily relate to.

 “I can get in front of an audience and be in control. I suppose it’s manipulation. Offstage, I’m aloof because I’m not very comfortable.”

What I liked: All of it. Not only was it a well put together documentary, I loved Carson. A talented, hard working person with strong morals and a clear idea of what he wanted. He credits most of these traits to his Midwestern upbringing, which I can definitely relate to. The Midwest knows how instill those virtues. I was continuously impressed with him throughout the movie. He goes up against NBC for creative control of his show and doesn't back down, eventually getting the amount of control he thought he deserved. It's a great lesson to never compromise on something you care about.

Watch this if you want to be inspired, while at the same time do some laughing.

It's available on the PBS website. Watch it here

There's a lot of amazing clips I could show you, but here's a fun one with Steve Martin:

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