Johnny Carson
| Johnny Carson | |
|---|---|
Carson in 1965 | |
| Birth name | John William Carson |
| Born | October 23, 1925 Corning, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | January 23, 2005 (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Medium | Television |
| Alma mater | University of Nebraska–Lincoln |
| Years active | 1950–1994 |
| Genres | |
| Subject(s) | |
| Spouse | Jody Morrill Wolcott
(m. 1949; div. 1963)Joanna Holland
(m. 1972; div. 1985)Alexis Maas (m. 1987) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relative(s) | Dick Carson (brother) |
| Signature | |
| Website | johnnycarson |
John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and widely known as the King of Late Night. Carson received six Primetime Emmy Awards, the Television Academy's 1980 Governor's Award and a 1985 Peabody Award. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993.
During World War II, Carson served in the United States Navy. After the war he started a career in radio, then moved to television and took over as host of the late-night talk show Tonight from Jack Paar in 1962. Carson remained an American cultural icon even after his retirement in 1992. He adopted a casual, conversational approach with extensive interaction with guests, an approach pioneered by Arthur Godfrey and previous Tonight Show hosts Paar and Steve Allen but enhanced by Carson's lightning-quick wit. Former late-night host and friend David Letterman, as well as many others, have cited Carson's influence.