History of Late Night TV

Johnny hosted the Tonight Show for 30 years straight, from 1962-1992. From 1962-1972 the show was based out of New York City. The studio in New York was previously used as for radio shows, so it was small. Therefore, the show had a limited studio audience and not much room for the performers. Around 1970, producer Fred DeCordova suggested moving the show to the west coast. He said that moving close to Hollywood would make it easier to book the big stars. A studio was avaiable in Burbank that had been used by Bob Hope in the past.  From 1972-1992 the show was based out of Burbank, California. The show was a whopping 105 minutes in length from 1962-1966. From 1967-1980 it was 90 minutes. From 1980-1991 it was shortened to 60 minutes. His last season, 1991-1992 NBC added some time, making it 62 minutes. The show has a total of 4531 episodes with Johnny.

 

In 1979, Johnny had was criticized by the new head of NBC, Fred Silverman. The two had a relationship that was combative, and Johnny almost left The Tonight Show. His lawyer, Henry Bushkin, drew up a deal that would have Johnny working 4 nights per week and his production company would own the rights to the show. With this deal in place, Johnny stayed with the show and continued as the undisputed king of late night. 

 

From 1970 to the end of the show, Johnny's producer was Fred DeCordova, who had a long and impressive background in show business. He had worked as a film director with such greats as Bob Hope, Humphrey Bogart, Rock Hudson and even Elvis Presley.

 

Johnny had been married four times, (his wives were Jody, Joanne, Joanna and Alex), and would frequently make jokes about his large alimony payments. He did not appreciate the newspapers printing his alimony amounts in the papers, but they did.

 

He was a good friend of drumming icon Buddy Rich, who presented Johnny with a drum set as a gift. Johnny enjoyed listening to jazz at home and drumming along with the recordings. Johnny had developed manual dexterity from doing card tricks, and that helped him with drumming. 

 

His sidekick/announcer was Ed McMahon. Johnny would often joke about Ed being a heavy drinker. But, some accounts say that there was a time where Johnny drank more than Ed. Johnny told 60 Minutes that when drinking, he (Johnny) would become angry and belligerent. In his book, "Here's Johnny" Ed said that Johnny was a perfectionist and highly competitive in every aspect of his life. He set high standards for himself and always wanted to be the best. Ed said that Johnny's slogan could have been "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better". Carson's mother was the same way. When she played cards against Johnny, it was a fierce battle. Carson did everything 100% or not at all. Ed mentioned how Johnny had a thirst for knowledge and self improvement. When he went to Russia, he learned Russian. When he visited Africa, he learned Swahili. When he played tennis, he wanted to win. Johnny even took some private tennis lessons from the great John McEnroe.

 

Johnny's original bandleader was Skitch Henderson. The next bandleader was Milton DeLugg. Then in 1967, Doc Severinsen became bandleader and held that position until Johnny left the air in 1992. Doc was known for his colorful outfits and his virtuoso trumpet playing. If Ed was gone, Doc would step in as announcer and sax player Tommy Newsom would be the bandleader.

 

Like David Letterman, Johnny was a recluse who had few close friends. He seldom socialized with celebrities before or after the show. He wanted the positive attention of his mother who was never impressed with all of his success. His longtime manager, Henry Bushkin, wrote a book about their relationship. When Bushkin took over Johnny's career in the late 1960s, his finances were in a shambles. In the late 1960s his salary was $5 million per year but he only took home about $150,000 per year.

 

Sometimes Johnny would perform skits on the show. These segments were billed as performances by the "Mighty Carson Art Players". Recurring characters included: Carnac the Magnificent, Art Fern, Aunt Blabby, Floyd R. Turbo and more. Carson would sometimes portray President Ronald Reagan.