(Note: The below contains some excerpts from my book Love Johnny Carson, Dutton Books, 2025).

Dolly Parton was a guest on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show fourteen times. But it took several years for Carson’s producer, Peter Lassally, to finally agree to book her. Lassally was sure Dolly wouldn’t work well with Carson. The chemistry would be off.

But then Dolly’s manager Billy Sammeth told Lassally, “Johnny can play with her. She doesn’t take herself seriously.” That convinced Lassally to book Parton with Johnny.

When Dolly finally made her Carson debut on January 19, 1977, the two sparkled from the get-go. Dolly was a smash, singing “Higher and Higher” and “Me and Little Andy”.

Their back-and-forth was whimsically flirtatious. Especially her appearance later that year with Carson on December 12, 1977.

Dolly, referring to her ample bosom: “I’ve always been pretty well blessed. People are always asking me if they’re real . .

.”Johnny: “Oh, I would never . . .”

Dolly: “You don’t have to ask—I’ll tell you what. These are mine.”

Johnny, his head meekly turned downward, playfully said, “I have certain guidelines on the show.”

Dolly: “You do?”

Johnny: “But I would give about a year’s pay to peek under there!”

Discussing her rural upbringing along with eleven siblings, Dolly said, “Mama, she could get pregnant just by having Daddy explain the advantages of the Pill to her!”

By the time Parton won her first Grammy, in 1979 for “Here You Come Again,” she and Johnny had bonded. Mocking his frequent absences as host, she said, “You said one time, once I got to be real famous, I probably wouldn’t come back on the show. But I always will. I’m here about as much as you are.” With that, she took Johnny’s hand and caressed his cheek.

That was also the night Parton credited Carson for her crossover success. She picked up her guitar and sang:

“I have a come long way from the hills of Tennessee /

and I’ve worked hard to make the folks back home real proud of me /

Now everybody knows my name no matter where I go /

But I never really made it ‘til The Johnny Carson Show/

Now I have dreamed of stardom since I was just a kid /

A million-dollar dream beneath this $13 wig /

and my bell bottom jumpsuits with my rhinestones all aglow /

I became an overnight success from The Johnny Carson Show.”

Sources
Mark Malkoff, Love Johnny Carson (Dutton Books, 2025).

Orbiting a Star, an unpublished manuscript by James McCawley Jr.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, January 19, 1977, NBC.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, December 12, 1977, NBC.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, September 19, NBC.

Thanks for subscribing to Here’s Johnny Carson. Woo-hoo! Below are new posts I’ve published today about Johnny and his Tonight Show.

3 of the posts are free. The 1 post why Johnny cut Bill Maher and Bill Cosby from a 1991 sketch can be partially viewed or read fully as a paid subscriber.

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The Johnny Carson book King of the Night: The Life of Johnny Carson by Laurence Leamer in 1989 was a New York Times Best Seller. Here are 8 things you didn’t know about Leamer’s book about Johnny.

Johnny changed a man’s life at Wimbledon 1988. He shared with me his fascinating encounter with Johnny.

Here’s why Johnny cut Bill Maher and Bill Cosby out of a taped sketch in 1991. It was a simple task, but the two made it difficult.

Lastly, Morgan Fairchild talks about almost marrying Johnny and finding comfort from Bette Davis after her and Johnny broke up.

Thanks for your kind support in keeping Johnny’s and his Tonight Show legacy alive!

Yours In Sis-Boom-Bah,

Mark Malkoff

p.s. If you can please help me spread the word on my Substack. Thanks for considering it!

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(Photo Credits: Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty; Gary Null/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty; Bret Lundberg/IMAGES/Getty)

Morgan Fairchild spoke about her break up with Johnny and nearly getting married. Fairchild got comfort from the breakup from an unlikely person: Actress Bette Davis.

Here’s the full article in Entertainment Weekly posted this morning.

Source:

Rance Collins, “What Bette Davis told Morgan Fairchild after her breakup with Johnny Carson”, Entertainment Weekly, August 29, 2016.

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It should have been an easy task for six Carson guests. In November 1991 Carson’s show over the course of a week filmed a pre-taped comedy sketch. “The Burbank Triangle” (take off of The Bermuda Triangle) featured famous people as themselves recounting strange stories that happened to them in Burbank. These were all Carson guests that were already at the studio to appear on the show and recorded their taped bit prior to showtime. Each guest was filmed by themselves and had a few paragraphs of dialogue. Cue cards were provided. Four of the guests, Bob Newhart, Bob Uecker, Cathy Guisewite, and Barry Levinson, filmed their parts. They had no trouble. They did as was asked. It was quick and easy. But two other guests unfortunately made things difficult for Carson’s show.

According to Carson writer Andrew Nicholls in his book Valuable Lessons both Bill Maher and Bill Cosby independently, refused to stick to the provided script. They believed their own personal changes would make the piece better. Cosby was of course a huge star, but Maher in 1991 was not a big name. The fact that Maher wouldn’t read the lines as written is baffling.

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Laurence Leamer’s 1989 book about Carson was a New York Times Best Seller. King of the Night: The Life of Johnny Carson spanned Carson’s entire life from growing up in Nebraska to becoming a TV icon as host of The Tonight Show. Here are 8 things you likely didn’t know about Leamer’s book about Carson.

8. All three of Carson’s sons, Rick, Chris, and Cory, spoke to Leamer for the book off the record without their father’s knowledge because “they were afraid” (according to Leamer).

7. Everyone Leamer spoke with said it was clear Joanne Carson in 1970 was having an affair with race car driver Peter Revson in a secret NYC apartment. There was no mention ever of Frank Gifford being involved with Joanne by anyone. Joanne over the phone to Leamer denied the existence of a secret apartment for several hours. But the secret apartment had been confirmed to Leamer by numerous individuals.

6. Leamer stated TV shows wouldn’t book him to promote his Carson book because people so feared Carson, whom he called “the most powerful person in Los Angeles.”

5. Carson read Leamer’s book and was furious. Yet Carson couldn’t sue Leamer because he knew the book was factually true. Carson stated about the book: “We’re currently in an era of trash television and trash journalism. You should put as much credence in this book as you would the tabloids”.

4. In October 1987, Leamer while working on the book snuck past security to attend Carson’s anniversary party on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. Leamer was afraid of being recognized. He sat with the lowest level looking people at dinner and said he was a producer and was invited.

3. Carson after reading Leamer’s book phoned Marilyn Katleman who he had previously been romantically involved with. Katleman had said positive things about Carson in the book and Carson thanked her for it.

2. Leamer (though not mentioned by name) was insulted by Carson on the Tonight Show. Carson said in his monologue, “The book about me came out, by some pea brain, about a year ago. The guy had the brain the size of a brontosaurus,” and about Leamer’s physical appearance said, “The guy had no chin. He sold his chin to England.”

1. According to the Palm Beach Post when Leamer was working on his Carson book and got together with Joanne Carson at her home the below occurred.

Joanne Carson handed Laurence Leamer an urn filled with one-quarter of Truman Capote’s ashes, then she began pleading aloud, begging Capote to speak to her from the great beyond.

“Oh, Truman, Truman, where do you want to be?” the ex-wife of Johnny Carson exclaimed. “Where should we put you?”

Leamer could hardly believe it. He was in the process of writing his 1989 book “King of the Night” about Joanne’s ex-husband. Now, with a scoopful of Capote in his lap and ideas bubbling in his storyteller brain, Leamer found himself playing a supporting role in Truman’s final chapter.

Little did Leamer realize at the time that decades later he’d write his own Truman Capote book in 2021, Capote’s Women, which would later be the basis for the 8-episode 2024 FX series, Feud: Capote vs. The Swans. Joanne Carson in the series was portrayed by actress Molly Ringwald.

Sources:
Phone call with Laurence Leamer with Mark Malkoff

Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, April 10, 1991.

Ron Grossman, “King of the Night”, Chicago Tribune, July 16, 1989.

Carson statement through NBC publicist about Leamer’s book

Brian Lowry, “Former ‘Tonight Show’ Host Stays Far Away From Spotlight, Los Angeles Times for Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), May 19, 1997

Jan Tuckwood, “Palm Beach author’s book inspires new miniseries”, Special to the Palm Beach Post, USA Today Network, Jan. 28, 2024

Transcript for American Masters, “Johnny Carson: King of Late Night”, PBS, 2012.

(pictured: Johnny Carson, his wife Alex, and Steven “Gnarley Charley” Fitzgerald)
(photo credit: Steven “Gnarley Charley” Fitzgerald)

Longtime Radio Personality Steven “Gnarley Charley” Fitzgerald shared with me a story about the above photo in which he met Johnny in London in 1988 at Wimbledon while working for NBC Sports.

“In 1988, while working as a gopher for NBC's Wimbledon broadcast team, I had a life-changing encounter with Johnny Carson. At the time, a career in radio wasn't on my radar. Seizing the opportunity, I approached Mr. Carson and asked, "How do I get your job?" He graciously spent 45 minutes walking with me, offering invaluable advice. Following his guidance, three months later in California, I volunteered at my favorite radio station, helping to sort their extensive album collection. This initiative led to a fulfilling career in radio, including hosting a successful country morning show and performing stand-up comedy—all sparked by that serendipitous meeting with Johnny Carson.​”

Furthermore he posted more about his Carson encounter on his Facebook:

“ Mr Carson walked and talked with me for 45 min. He suggested I get into radio if I was serious .... because that’s how he started. I didn’t know at the time but his words changed my life path. Today 32 years ago Johnny Carson gave this silly kid from central California the confidence to chase his dreams.”

I’ll be posting more of people’s encounters with Carson over the years. Stay tuned.

Thanks for subscribing to Here’s Johnny Carson. Woo-hoo! Below are posts I’ve published in the last few weeks about Johnny and his Tonight Show.

4 of the posts are free. The 2 posts with Johnny Banning Muhammad Ali & Joan Baez wanting to hit Johnny over the head with her guitar can be partially viewed or read fully as a paid subscriber.

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Johnny disliking Bob Hope has often been repeated. Here I break down why that’s not true and delve into Johnny and Hope’s actual relationship.

Johnny’s NBC Special, Johnny Goes Home aired in 1982. Here are 7 things you didn’t know about the special. 🌽 🚂 🛤️

Numerous times Joan Baez stated she hated going on Carson’s show. At one point she even wanted to hit Johnny over the head with her guitar. 🎤 🎵

Here’s an NBC Press Release from June 1962 listing Guest Hosts leading up to Carson’s debut. As you’ll see 2 of those guest hosts were cancelled. Also included are which guests hosts scored according to TV critics and others who they say weren’t up for the job.

Carson in 1971 publicly banned Muhammad Ali from his Tonight Show. This made national news. Thankfully the ban didn’t last long 🥊

And lastly here’s what Rip Taylor told me about his Tonight Show appearances. I was stunned by what Rip revealed about Carson.

I’m currently working on a post about Johnny’s producer, Peter Lassally, who recently passed away. He was very kind to me. Such an extraordinary life.

Yours In Sis-Boom-Bah,

Mark Malkoff

p.s. If you can please help me spread the word on my Substack. Thanks for considering it!

“Johnny Goes Home” aired on NBC on February 15, 1982. Filming took place in June and October 1981. Here are 7 things you didn’t know about the special and filming:

7. Carson following filming sent his six classmates inscribed Rolex watches for filming with him at their former school with teacher Faye Gordon.

6. The boy who lived in Carson’s former boyhood home and was featured in the special, Wayne Kumm Jr, also appeared as a guest with Carson on the Tonight Show on February 12, 1982.

5. Norfolk resident Bob Means, a steel-mill worker who restored Johnny’s former boyhood car, a 1939 Chrysler Royal, had planned to only lease the car to Carson Productions during the filming. However, for Carson’s 56^th birthday, Means let NBC buy the car as a surprise birthday present for the host.

4. When Carson arrived for filming in June 1981 he asked director David Lowe Jr. and J.J. McMahon, President of Carson Productions, to go with him to his boyhood home. It was the night before filming was to begin and there were no cameras. Both McMahon and Lowe said Carson got overwhelmed with emotion being inside his boyhood home and began crying. Lowe Jr. said Carson came into his arms.

3. During filming Carson had 3 hotel rooms at The Ramada Inn: a Bedroom, an Office, and a Playroom with his drum kit. Johnny had a poker game at least one night.

2. Director Lowe Jr. was nervous to show the first cut to Johnny. Lowe Jr. envisioned Johnny having pages of notes. Following the screening the lights came up. Carson was crying and said, “I don’t want anything changed.”

1. Carson was furious at ABC who had told him (or he at least believed) they wouldn’t put strong competition against his special. ABC did the opposite and aired the network TV premiere of the popular film The Jerk starring Steve Martin. The film ended up overpowering Carson’s special. The Jerk was #7 in the ratings that week while “Johnny Goes Home” was #26.

   Sources:
   The Carson Podcast, J.J. McMahon, December 17, 2017.
   The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, NBC, February 12, 1982.
   PBS American Masters, Johnny Carson: King of Late Night, Transcript, interview David Lowe Jr.
   Frederick Burger, “‘Johnny Goes Home’ is a sentimental journey”, Miami Herald, Feb 15, 1982.

   “NBC’s surprise reunites Johnny and his Chrysler”, Lincoln Journal Star, February 16, 1982.
   Ray Benson, “‘Dallas’ makes no. 1 in Nielsen ratings, first time in 2 months”, Columbia Record (Columbia, South Carolina), February 24, 1982.
   
   

In 1975 Carson on air was upset at his 34-year old female guest. The offender? Folk singer Joan Baez. Carson tried to mask his anger, but it was useless. It got tense on air between Carson and Baez. So much so that Baez days later sent an apology letter to the host. Carson later said the two nearly had the “Shootout at the O.K. Corral”, referencing the historic gunfight from 1881. It was a bit ironic considering Baez’s preaching of peace.

Negative mail routinely poured into Carson’s show about Baez appearances. Still, they continued to book her. But there was concern. A 1972 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer shed some light: Bob Dolce of Carson’s staff phoned Joan, her manager, and her record company with the same urgent message: Remember, this is an entertainment show. Take it easy on the politics, and please- don’t even mention Nixon!

Baez didn’t like going on Carson’s show, but knew it helped her career. Baez in 1975 begged her Buffalo concert crowd, “Please buy my new record so I won’t have to do the dumb things like go on the Johnny Carson Show…”

Baez’s main issue was Carson’s show shortening her appearances. She claimed numerous times the show had promised her 20 minutes and due to the show running long her allotted time was cut down by more than half. The singer told a journalist. “If I had just broken the guitar over [Carson’s] head, which is what I was going to do because I do that sort of thing every once in awhile, everything would have been all right. He’d have a migraine, and I’d have been out of some g’s. But I was polite, and I went on and started to sing. So when I went back after, I sat down, all dressed up, I was going to be cute and do impersonations- and every time I opened my mouth…I was just really hostile…” and “The history is that the last three times before I came on and was rude- unwittingly, I didn’t mean to be rude at all- I had been promised 20 minutes.”

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It was March 1971. Carson was furious. He was in his 7^th floor office at NBC in New York. 45 minutes until showtime his main guest had just cancelled by phone. Without any explanation why. But it wasn’t just any guest. It was Muhammad Ali. The 29-year-old boxer was the current World Heavy Weight Champion.

Normally Carson wouldn’t make private matters behind the scenes public. But this was different. It was the second time Ali had cancelled. Both times with virtually no notice or reason for pulling out. If Ali was home in bed sick with a temperature of 102 Carson would understand. But after being burned twice Carson wasn’t going to give Ali’s unprofessionalism a pass.

It didn’t matter that Ali was one of the biggest stars in America and the self-proclaimed “Greatest of All Time”. It didn’t matter that Carson had never publicly banned a guest. Yes, he had called out Tuesday Weld and Heddy Lamar for having poor performances as guests, but Carson never outright banned them.

Carson pulled his emotions together and calmly addressed Ali’s absence on the air.

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I Miss Johnny Carson

Hello, I’m Mark Malkoff. I’m a podcast host and author in NYC.

It was Friday May 22, 1992. It was the night Johnny Carson said goodbye to America. At 16, I was devastated. Like many of the 55 million viewers that tuned into Carson’s final Tonight Show, it felt like losing a friend. Though Carson had vanished, I had endless questions about Carson and his show.

How did Johnny put his show together? What was it like being a guest? Who held the curtain open for Johnny?

Then in 2013 I set out to get answers. I found myself in Mel Brooks’ office in Culver City hearing about being a guest on Johnny’s first show.

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In Thousand Oaks, I lounged with Paul Anka at his home surrounded by gold records on the wall, as he told me about composing Carson’s theme song. Carson producer Peter Lassally, who the New York Times called, “The Host Whisperer”, and I met in his office at CBS Television City. The Code of silence had crumbled down before me!

Most shocking, a different Johnny Carson quickly emerged. You mean he really wasn’t cold and aloof? And he actually had friends?

So The Carson Podcast was born.

In February 2014, I released my first episode…BANG!

Fast forward to 8 years later and nearly 400 episodes with over four million downloads. It received a Webby Award nomination for best comedy podcast.

My book, Love Johnny Carson was a USA Today National Best Seller and a Vulture “Best Comedy Book of 2025”. When CNN did their acclaimed docuseries, The Story of Late Night, I was featured as the Carson expert.

Though I never met the man, I have interviewed more people that knew Johnny—and knew him intimately—than anyone alive.

There are still MANY stories to tell about Carson and his Tonight Show. Which is why I’ve launched my Substack: Here’s Johnny Carson.

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What to Expect

You’ll get new details/interviews/commentary about Johnny Carson and his Tonight Show and unearthed stories buried in news archives of thousands of newspapers, Hollywood trade publications, and books. You will be helping to preserve TV history.

🎙️ Free Subscribers Receive:

• A free weekly post/article about Carson and his Tonight Show

• Partial views of Paid-only posts/articles to hopefully entice you to upgrade

🎙️ Paid Members (Subscribers) Receive Much More:

• Subscriber-Only content

• Access to full achieve

• Ability to Comment on posts and join the community

• Submit questions for Q&A posts

• Letter of Gratitude From Mark handwritten on Fred de Cordova’s personal Tonight Show stationary (just have to send me your mailing address)

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Here’s Johnny Carson will continue to set the record straight in this comprehensive portrait of Carson’s life, show, and career. It’s also a love letter to show business and comedy history. I invite you to come along with me on this journey.

“If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and the impersonators would be dead.”
-Johnny Carson, Tonight Show, March 21, 1991
(Written by Andrew Nicholls & Darrell Vickers)

Love Johnny Carson

In October 2025 my book Love Johnny Carson was published by Dutton Books. I still can’t believe I’ve interviewed over 400 individuals about Johnny and his show.

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About Me

Mark Malkoff is a comedian, writer, and podcast host. He has been featured on Today, Good Morning America, CNN, NPR’s Weekend Edition, and for eight years hosted the popular podcast The Carson Podcast. His website can be found at www.markmalkoff.com. Currently he hosts Inside Late Night with Mark Malkoff for LateNighter.

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Numerous times while promoting my book interviewers mentioned Carson’s dislike of Bob Hope. This was simply untrue. Johnny was a huge Hope admirer and grew up loving his films. Johnny’s true feelings about Hope are summed up in a handwritten letter from Johnny to Hope in 1997.

December 3, 1997

“Dear Bob,

I’ve been meaning to write this letter for a long time. I was watching a retrospective of your career on the movie channel recently and was reminded again of what a remarkable performer you are. The Road pictures with Bing are still classics—a great blend of physical and hip comedy. But your work in “The Seven Little Foys” and “Beau James” really demonstrate the depth of your talent. What a pleasure to watch you perform. I’ve learned a lot from you.
My best to you and Dolores for the holidays.

Johnny Carson

Other evidence of Carson’s admiration for Hope:

Hope phoned a retired Carson in 1993 to ask him to appear on his NBC 90^th Birthday Tribute. Carson instantly agreed (which says a lot considering it was Carson’s final ever televised monologue and he didn’t want to be back on television).

Carson on his final show chose a clip of Hope as a guest from 1982. It featured a duet with Carson and Hope singing Hope’s signature song “Thanks for The Memory”.

In Hope’s 1972 film Cancel My Reservation, Carson filmed a cameo (Carson almost always turned down film appearances)

Johnny always allowed Hope to make surprise walk-on cameos and to be a guest to promote upcoming specials. This included allowing Hope to use Carson’s studio audience following Tonight Show tapings where Hope would do his monologue for his upcoming special.

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So where did the myth that Johnny Carson disliked Bob Hope originate? Author Richard Zoglin’s biography Hope: Entertainer of the Century, featured interviews with Carson staff that stated when Hope got older Johnny disliked having him on his show. Personally, Carson liked Hope. But by the late 1980’s Hope was declining as a performer.

Carson’s Tonight Show writers on The Carson Podcast provided more insight.

“Johnny loved Bob and idolized him,” Tony DeSena recalled. “It was sad for him to see Hope the way he was. He always said, when I retire, I am not coming back if I look like this. That is why he never came back.”.

Darrell Vickers mentioned, “Hope didn’t see very well. He was practically deaf when he was on. Johnny dreaded it. Bob had four specials a year, so he had to be on four times a year. Questions had to be done in the order and you couldn’t skip any because Bob couldn’t hear you. He just waited till your mouth stopped moving. Then he would say the answer whether you’d ask that question or not. Johnny once said, ‘Bob, in these specials you’ve had some of the most beautiful women in the world. Can you name some of these great beauties?’ Bob said, ‘Yeah, a lot of beautiful women.’ That was it. So next question.”

“Johnny would go on about how addled Hope was and losing his memory and all his comedic talent,” said Patric Verrone. “One time in the writers meeting Johnny said, ‘Oh my God, Bob is on this week. I love him, but he’s just so hard to talk to. I have to yell for him to hear me. He doesn’t get it. You really got to help him. I don’t want to do that. I’m going to retire and stay retired.’”

The other thing Carson couldn’t get past was Hope’s entire life being about “Bob Hope” the star and having no real interests outside show business.

“Hope would literally go anywhere if you paid him,” Kevin Quinn, Carson Stage Manager, told me. “Johnny said Hope would go to an opening of an envelope if you paid him. Johnny said, I will never be Bob Hope.”

Verrone commented, “Johnny told us the story. It was a Christmas special, Bob Hope’s Christmas in Hawaii. They went to commercial, and Johnny leaned over and said, ‘Why would you do a Christmas special in Hawaii? Why wouldn’t you want to be home with your family and your kids? Why would you go all the way out to Hawaii to do this show?’ Hope said, ‘They really lay it on you.’ This is a guy worth hundreds of millions.”

Still Hope had an impressive 138 appearances on Carson’s show (according to IMBD) with Johnny and at least 11 guest hosts such as McLean Stevenson, Joey Bishop, Freddie Prinze, Joan Rivers, & Jay Leno. These appearances included Hope’s surprise cameo walk-ons as well as surprise walk-ons with Hope joining Bing Crosby, Don Rickles, and Red Skelton.

Hope’s oddest surprise walk-on cameo was March 1976, when Hope did a walk-on during the closing credits while the band was already playing music and Hope wasn’t able to say anything (nor was Johnny able to introduce him).

Thankfully 60 of Hope’s visits with Johnny still exist from 1972-1992, and the 1969 famous episode with George Gobel and Dean Martin.

Here’s a fascinating clip of Hope and Carson spoofing Carson’s Tonight Show in a 1965 Bob Hope Special. In the clip Hope and Carson have changed places with Hope behind the desk as host and Carson as the guest playing “Rock Carson”.

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Comedian Rip Taylor’s email stunned me.

While the confetti throwing comic appeared on Carson’s Tonight Show 29 times (according to IMDB), his real big break came in 1961 on The Ed Sullivan Show. Soon he went on nearly every talk show and game show. Everyone from Dean Martin to Jackie Gleason to Merv Griffin. They all wanted Rip.

I was excited at the prospect of having Rip on The Carson Podcast. I had been aware Rip went on with a LOT of Carson guest hosts including Flip Wilson, David Steinberg, Phyllis Diller Joey Bishop, John Davidson, McLean Stevenson, Debbie Reynolds, Joan Rivers, Roy Clark, Sammy Davis Jr., David Brenner, Don Rickles, George Carlin, Bill Cosby, & Jerry Lewis

But how many times did Rip do the show with Johnny? Rip himself emailed me his response.

From: Rip Taylor <riptaylor@riptaylor.com>
Date: Tue, Apr 11, 2017 at 8:10 PM
Subject: Re: Dear Rippy/Johnny Carson Podcast
To: Mark Malkoff

Dear Mark,
You’d better sit down for my answer. Johnny never had me on and neither
did Letterman. Don’t be surprised. I was! Never had me on. Their loss.
- Rippy

Zero times with Johnny as host?! Could this be true? I did research. Indeed Rip never appeared with Johnny. Still when Rip passed away in 2019, NPR incorrectly reported that Rip appeared with Carson. NPR declared: He was loud, insistent, a force of nature, a spectacle of bright colors and piping laughter, the perfect foil for a placid host like Johnny Carson.

Though he never appeared with Carson, Rip and I were still trying to record for The Carson Podcast. We would have discussed Rip going on with guest hosts, Ed McMahon, Fred de Cordova, and Johnny doing monologue jokes about Rip. Sadly, it didn’t happen. I later discovered Rip wasn’t in good health.

With guest hosts on Carson’s show Rip did his standup and threw confetti, discussed his time as a page in the U.S. Senate, being voted Lounge Act of the Year in Las Vegas, and tickled the audience with his “Crying Comedian” routine which he first did on Ed Sullivan.

Rip’s longevity in showbiz was impressive. This includes co-hosting The Mike Douglas Show, over 40 Merv Griffin appearances (according to IMBD), and game shows like The Gong Show, Match Game, and Super Password.

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One quick note: While Rip was never a sit down guest on Letterman, he did do his stage act on Late Night with David Letterman in 1987 during a week of taping shows at Bally’s in Las Vegas.

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Above is an NBC press release from June 1962 announcing Tonight Show guest hosts leading up to Carson’s debut. As you’ll notice Carson was originally scheduled to premiere on Monday October 8th. Obviously that was changed to a week earlier on October 1st.

For August 13th-17th and August 20th-24th it says “To be announced”. Hugh Downs was brought in to take over hosting the week of Aug 13th. Groucho Marx guest hosted the week of August 20th.

Three changes on the memo were:
Hugh Downs the week of July 2nd was replaced with Jerry Lewis, Red Buttons the week of September 3rd replaced with Joey Bishop, and Arthur Godfrey the week of September 24th replaced by Donald O’Connor. (CBS refused to let Godfrey work on another network so he was cancelled)

Guest hosts not on the press release from April and May (following host Jack Paar’s departure) included Art Linkletter, Bob Cummings, Jack Carter, Merv Griffin, Jan Murray, and Peter Lind Hayes.

Producer Perry Cross on the Carson Podcast recalled when Jack Carter guest hosted that Carter was so nervous he was crying and Cross had to practically push him out on stage.

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Some guest hosts took a beating from TV critics from UPI’s Rick Du Brow who called host Bob Cummings “downright embarrassing”. Du Brow however praised host Steve Lawrence saying the singer set a “delightful tone” and was ‘nearly perfect”. Du Brow called Joey Bishop’s hosting “pleasant, but his humor was a little too local”. Jack Carter and Jan Murray he stated were “often funny, but also overbearing and ill-mannered, interrupting the guests..”. According to Du Brow, Soupy Sales “just wasn’t up to it.” Merv Griffin though, Du Brow wrote, pleased NBC so much they were giving him his own daytime variety show.

Most interesting was Zsa Zsa Gabor being set to guest host the week of May 6th. Tickets were printed. Gabor hosting was in newspaper TV listings. But it never happened and she was replaced with Merv Griffin. Why did Gabor back out? One news report stated it was due to “legal matters in connection with the loss of her West Coast home in the recent forest fires”. Another columnist reported Gabor’s advisers convinced her that she should fly back to Beverly Hills and speak to the IRS in person about “those fire loss tax deductions they want to disallow”.

Here’s Jerry Lewis guest hosting on Monday July 2, 1962. (The date listed on the video is incorrect) Lewis’ guests include Jack Carter, Nancy Dussault, & Henry Gibson. Hugh Downs is sidekick and Skitch Henderson leads the NBC Orchestra.

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Sources:

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “TV Notes and Gossip”, May 4, 1962.

Rick Du Brow, “TV In Review”, UPI, June 22, 1962.

Cholly Knickerbocker, “Zsa-Zsa drops show To discuss tax loss With revenue agents”, Philadelphia Inquirer, May 9, 1962.

John David Griffin, “I See by TV”, Heart Headline Service, September 10, 1962.

Matt Messina, “What’s On?”, Daily News, September 1, 1962.