Johnny Carson

I am sad that Johnny Carson has died - 79 seems much too young for someone these days. I have fond memories of watching Johnny as a very young person - the first time I saw his show was staying up late to babysit on New Year's Eve. Johnny and Ed dressed in tuxedos and gamely shephered in the New Year in a 90-minute special. As I grew older, I appreciated his monologue, his quick wit on the couch, and his eclectic interest in a wide variety of entertainment, news and regular quirky people. He may have lost his cache moving into the late 80s, but he could still get more out of lame joke (or a lame guest) than any other host then, now or ever.

I happened on his "official" web site, johnnycarson.com, where you can search on any guest. I thought of Joe Williams, one of my favorite all time singers, and there he was (many many shows), on July 31, 1980 alongside Bruce Dern, June Carter Cash and Jeff Greenfield.

Tom Shales has a lovely obituary--one of the better ones, and I've read most of them today.

Without devolving too deeply in politics, as Carson was notoriously private and seemed apolitical and equal-opportunity when mocking politicians of all stripes, one wonders what he would think about the current police state. His tribute to democracy from 1991 (after the fall of Soviet Communism) gives a little hint:

Democracy is buying a big house you can't afford with money you don't have to impress people you wish were dead. And, unlike communism, democracy does not mean having just one ineffective political party; it means having two ineffective political parties. ... Democracy is welcoming people from other lands, and giving them something to hold onto -- usually a mop or a leaf blower. It means that with proper timing and scrupulous bookkeeping, anyone can die owing the government a huge amount of money. ... Democracy means free television, not good television, but free. ... And finally, democracy is the eagle on the back of a dollar bill, with 13 arrows in one claw, 13 leaves on a branch, 13 tail feathers, and 13 stars over its head -- this signifies that when the white man came to this country, it was bad luck for the Indians, bad luck for the trees, bad luck for the wildlife, and lights out for the American eagle. I thank you.

Last, but not least, Carson loved the standards. Here are the lyrics to "Here's that Rainy Day" (Johnny Burke & Jimmy Van Heusen), which Better Midler sung to him on one his last shows. It's definitely a little rainy around here.

I should have saved
Those leftover dreams
Funny
But here's that rainy day
Here's that rainy day
They told me about
And i laughed at the thought
That it might turn out this way
Where is that worn out wish
That i threw aside
After it brought my love so near
Funny how love becomes
A cold rainy day
Funny
That rainy day is here
It's funny
How love becomes
A cold rainy day
Funny
That rainy day is here