There's Johnny

I was sad to learn of Carson's death. I watched him religiously while living in NY, all through the sixties and seventies, and into the eighties before California somehow made me into an early riser. His hokey, midwestern humor was sometimes a bit sexist, but he was insightful and quick and totally on top of things in an understated way.

He always made his guests shine. He was shy and that came across yet he was completely loose and spontaneous at the same time. The guy was a mass of contradictions, but mostly I remember his quick and agile mind, how he could make a guest funny.

He was a voice of the nation in a way noone will ever be again. We will never see that kind of market share or longevity again. The guy was a class act. He left the spotlight still strong, pursued his many interests and enjoyed a quiet private life. It's not easy to leave such power and prominence so completely, but Johnny didn't care about the external power.

As Phyllis Diller said, "He didn't want to do small talk unless it was worth a few million". How ironic that he hated small talk yet made it an empire for 30 years. On his show, he'd do it and do it well. But what interested Johnny was the world around him, a world of knowledge and ideas. He knew that knowledge is power.

Talk about your real deal..... Bye Johnny, thanks for all those late night laughs, your jaded yet gentle eye, all the great comics and musicians to whom you gave careers and for living a life worth exemplifying.