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Johnny Carson was hands down the best late night host ever.
His timing, delivery, and self deprecating humor was priceless.
I can't watch any late night show without hearing his opening music and thinking, "This poser couldn't lift Johnny's shadow".
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Carson is the most flattered man on TV.
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+ 1970
When I was older I was allowed to watch the monolog before going off to bed. Years later I'd watch the whole show.
When I toured the NBC production lots here my host showed us the Jay Leno studio (really nice) but we asked him about the historical side of the lot and got to see the room where Carson was shot, the Donna Reed show ... and lots of others shows from the early days of Hollywood. There's lots history preserved in tiny displays on all the back lots of Hollywood (Burbank and Pasadena) and wandering around on parts of the set of All In the Family, Hogan's Heroes, MASH, and Mission: Impossible was a hoot. Often outside a sound stage there will be a list of productions that were filmed in the building and a list of some of the biggest movie stars.
I'm not all that into the Hollywood culture but to walk through the same door that Johnny Carson, John Wayne, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, or even Elvis did is a hoot.