Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye
I just read that former late-night icon Johnny Carson died this morning at the age of 79. I realize that Carson was never anything more than an entertainer and a celebrity, but I feel a sense of loss all the same.
He made me laugh. He made me feel like a grown-up when, as a kid in the '60s, I got to stay up late enough to watch The Tonight Show. In the mid-'70s, I went with a couple of my buddies to Burbank and actually got to sit in the live audience watching the taping of one of those shows. The guests that night were Bob Hope, Michael Landon and whoever the current Miss America was at the time. It was a moment I've always cherished, one that I've always seen as emblematic of the special province that many of us who grew up in southern California had -- the closeness of Hollywood and the television and movie industry. I don't consider myself much of a celebrity-worshipper, for the most part, but Carson always had my respect and admiration.
And he made me laugh. Thanks for that, Johnny.
He made me laugh. He made me feel like a grown-up when, as a kid in the '60s, I got to stay up late enough to watch The Tonight Show. In the mid-'70s, I went with a couple of my buddies to Burbank and actually got to sit in the live audience watching the taping of one of those shows. The guests that night were Bob Hope, Michael Landon and whoever the current Miss America was at the time. It was a moment I've always cherished, one that I've always seen as emblematic of the special province that many of us who grew up in southern California had -- the closeness of Hollywood and the television and movie industry. I don't consider myself much of a celebrity-worshipper, for the most part, but Carson always had my respect and admiration.
And he made me laugh. Thanks for that, Johnny.
posted by Generik at 11:40 AM
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