Pops Read a Book: JOHNNY CARSON

 I’ve been watching old TONIGHT SHOW episodes (rebranded as JOHNNY CARSON) for a while now, and it’s whetted my appetite to know more about the show and its host (and yes, I’m old enough to have watched it as a kid into adulthood; in Elementary School, I knew I was up too late if I heard the theme, with its distinctive opening blast of brass, coming from my parents’ bedroom). 

The succinctly titled, JOHNNY CARSON (Mariner Books, 2013) is written by Carson’s lawyer and friend (as much as he had them), Henry Bushkin, and it’s a highly subjective angle for the story. Rather than a straight biography, this book focuses on the years Bushkin worked and played with Johnny, dishing the dirt on his failed marriages, his contract negotiations, his business dealings, and his surprisingly laissez-faire attitude towards his own finances. 

It’s interesting, but it’s not really what I was looking for. There’s a sprinkling of biographical background (his mother was a nightmare and he was a distant father himself), but there’s almost nothing about the actual production and evolution of THE TONIGHT SHOW, or any kind of discussion about the sociological and cultural impact that it had. So, this one won’t be staying on the shelves. Luckily, this fall, the late Bill Zehme’s CARSON THE MAGNIFICENT, a book ten years in the making, will be released, and will no doubt be a far more satisfying dig into the life and work of the enigmatic superstar.

Originally posted on social media, April 23, 2024