Comedian and consummate late-night talk show host Johnny Carson was a television institution on the Tonight Show for thirty years. With his natty style and acerbic wit, he became an American icon. He has appeared in only a couple feature films such as, Cancel My Reservation (1972); he also hosted several videos and has been the subject of numerous video anthologies.
Johnny Carson
Share on
Biography by AllMovie
Movie Highlights
Factsheet
- Wrote a humor column for his high-school newspaper.
- While still in college, made his radio debut on a Nebraska station, creating a Western comedy show.
- Senior thesis at the University of Nebraska was titled "How to Write Comedy Jokes."
- Made his TV acting debut on a 1957 Playhouse 90 adaptation of the stage farce Three Men and a Horse. The cast also included Jack Carson and Carol Channing.
- Hosted the Academy Awards five times (1979, '80, '81, '82 and '84).
- Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992) and a Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award (1993). Was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1987.
- Is the celebrity with the second most TV GUIDE cover appearances, with 29 (Lucille Ball is first, with 34).