Former long time host of "The Tonight Show", Johnny Carson died at his home this morning from emphysema. His family was with him at the time and they say it was peaceful death.
I knew he was almost 80 but still, he was an invincible show business legend. Much like Jimmy Stewart, he was a man you never imagined would leave us.
His presence on the TV was virturally unassailable from 1962 to his final broadcast in 1992. That's thirty years! 4,531 episodes!! Who lasts that long on TV now? Who's that popular and that entertaining now? Only Letterman comes close.
There's a lot of memories: Carnac and the "Sist, Boom, Baa" joke, the many guest appearances of Don Rickles (another VERY funny man!), Jim Fowler and Joan Embry's animal guests, and of course the staple of the nightly opening monologue.
Although Johnny's been retired and out of the spotlight since 1992 his presence still looms large in comedy and late night TV circles.
It's gonna take a while for this one to sink in.
Thank you Johnny for all the laughter. You'll be missed.
DP
