Carson Johnny

American TV personality who began as the host of The Tonight Show on 1 October 1962, reportedly for $100,000 a year, retiring on 22 May 1992 at a $25 million per year salary. In 1979 he bought into 17% of NBCs earnings, which insured his billionaire status. With his nonchalant, inventive wit, he was one of the most popular and enduring figures on American TV, a household icon for millions of Americans. He was reliable, respected, reassuring - and funny, a familiar figure who was part of many lives. Keeping his finger on the common pulse, he instinctively knew when to pull back to avoid hurting anyone. On 11 December 1992, then-President George H. W. Bush conferred on him the Medal of Freedom. A year later, Carson was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Kennedy Center. The son of a power company district manager and a homemaker, Carson grew up in a typical Midwestern four-bedroom white frame house with a brother and sister in the town of Norfolk, Nebraska. He and his brother Dick skinny-dipped and fished in the Elk Horn River. Growing up, he worked as movie theater usher and a soda jerk. Learning mail-order magic tricks at 14, he performed his first magic gig, earning three dollars. In the Navy, he entertained every chance he got. While attending the University of Nebraska he got his start in local radio. He was known as an ambitious disc jockey and talk show host in Omaha in 1949. In 1951 he moved his wife and first son, Chris, to Los Angeles where he worked as an announcer at a local CBS affiliate. In 1957 Carson became the host of ABCs Who Do You Trust? game show gaining notice for his quick wit and repartee. Carson was selected to replace popular Jack Paar as host of the The Tonight Show in 1962. In over 30 years as its host, Carson interviewed thousands of guests from royalty to the ordinary, introduced dozens of new personalities to the public, and will always be known as Americas humorous late-night friend, a mid-Western boy not afraid to poke fun at himself as well as the powerful. He easily outlasted an array of competition. Dubbed the "naughty but good-natured son," Middle America liked him. When arrested for drunk driving he said on The Tonight Show, "I regret the incident, and Ill tell you one thing: Youll never see me do that again." Carson married his first wife, Jody Wolcott Buckley, during his senior year at the University of Nebraska in 1949. They had three sons: Chris, Richard and Cory. Carsons second son, Richard, born on 18 June 1952, was killed when his car ran off the road down an embankment on 21 June 1991. Carson and Jody divorced in 1963 after a four-year separation. The relationship was difficult and his early marriages were reputed to have suffered from his abuse, alcoholism, and neglect. Carsons second marriage was to Joanne Copeland (1963-1972); his third to Joanna Holland (1972-1983) and his fourth to Alexis Maas (1987-his death). His divorces were fuel for his late-night humor and he commented, "If I had given as much to marriage as I gave to The Tonight Show, Id probably have a hell of a marriage." Despite a few off-hand remarks about his divorces, Carson was a private man, generally quiet about himself. His many friends from all walks of life hold his confidence and trust, attesting that Carson is a loyal and generous friend. Without publicity, Carson contributed to humane causes and amassed an impressive art collection. Many comedians credit Carson for their first Read less