JOHNNY CARSON

FAN PAGE

Common misspelling: Jonny Carson, Johny Carson

Table of Contents

Biography ▪ News ▪ Websites ▪ Discography ▪ Filmography ▪ Books ▪ Posters ▪ Other Items

JOHNNY CARSON BIOGRAPHY

•  Johnny William Carson was born in Corning, Iowa on October 23, 1925 to Ruth and Homer "Kit" Carson. He has a brother Dick (director) and a sister Catherine.

•  When Carson was a toddler, the family, which included the boy's sister Catherine and brother Richard, moved to Clarinda. Later came moves to Red Oak, Avoca, and, finally, Norfolk, Neb., when Carson was 8. As a youth he had an interest in magic – even performed on the side during High School and College. He also did ventriloquism.

  •  Carson has never forgotten his days in Iowa. He has donated to community projects in Avoca, Corning, Clarinda and Logan, where his grandfather, Christopher Carson, served as mayor.

•  Served with the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946 on the USS Pennsylvania.

•  Carson graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1949 with a degree in radio drama.  He also worked at the college radio station (KFAB) as a disc jockey in Lincoln, Nebraska.

•  In October 1949, he was married for the first of four times.  His first marriage was to Joan Morrill Wolcott, his college sweetheart and assistant in his magic acts.  The marriage lasted fourteen years until they were divorced in 1963.  They had three children together: Chris, Cory and Richard (d. 1991).

•  He took a job as a disc jockey at Omaha radio station WOW, which soon offered television coverage.  He received his first job on screen as the host of an afternoon talk show called The Squirrel's Nest.

•  Success in Omaha led Carson to Los Angeles and he hosted a small time local show called Carson's Cellar.

•  Carson became a writer for the Red Skelton Show and received his first big break to appear on national television when Skelton ran into a door and knocked himself unconscious.  Since Carson new the material, the producers put him on in Skelton’s place.

•  Because of some mild success with hosting some local shows, he was given a shot at his own series named The Johnny Carson Show, however, it did not receive great ratings and was cancelled after only a short time.

•  Carson's second major break came when he first subbed for "Tonight" show host Jack Parr in 1958.

•  Carson took over the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on Oct. 1, 1962, His first guest was Groucho Marx.

•  His second marriage was in August 1963 to actress Joanne Copeland.  This marriage lasted 9 years until their divorce in 1972.

•  In 1972, Carson was married for the third time to model Joanna Holland without telling many friends, nor the media.  The marriage lasted until their divorce in 1985.

•  He was married in June 1987 to Alexis Maas, who he remained married to until his death in 2005.

•  In 1987 he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame

•  Johnny Carson made his final farewell to the Tonight Show Audience on May 22, 1992 after 30 years as its host.  His last guest was Bette Midler.

Biography by Ian Ripley, PopStarsPlus.com, Sr. Staff Writer

 

This biography may be copied in part or in whole for non commercial purposes online or in hard copy and must contain: (1) the name of the author, (2) the text "copied with permission from PopStarsPlus.com" and (3) a link to the page that contains the original biography.

JOHNNY CARSON NEWS

Johnny Carson News Resources

ContactMusic.com

FindArticles.com

Google.com

NewsLib.com

Topix.net

JOHNNY CARSON WEBSITES

For information about submitting a site, or about how these websites are ranked, please CLICK HERE.

Official Johnny Carson Websites: The Official Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Website

Johnny Carson Fan Sites:

Rating: Highest = 4 J's

Celebrity & Commercial Sites:

Rating: Highest = 4 J's

JJ Johnny-Carson.com

JJJ ½ IMDb.com
JJ ½ About.com
JJ ½ www.PopStarsPlus.com

JJ ½ Johnny Carson on TVGuide.com
JJ E!Online.com
JJ Museum of Broadcast Comm.
JJ NNDB.com
J ¾ InfoPlease.com
J ½ Biography.com
J ½ TVTome.com
J DesMoinesRegister.com

J ETOnline.com
J Kennedy-Center.org
J OKSection.com
J QuotationsPage.com
J Salon.com
J Who2.com
¾ BostonPhoenix.com
½ NetGlimse
N/A Tonight Show Staring Johnny Carson

Johnny Carson Articles and Interviews

• Esquire Magazine: Heeere’s Johnnny! (Bridget Byrne: EOnline.com: April 29, 2002)

• Johnny Carson Gives $5.3 Million to Alma Mater (PND News: Nov. 14, 2004)

• Johnny Carson: Now Appearing in Tanzania (Joal Ryan: EOnline.com: April 30, 1998)

• Late-Night Lord Johnny Carson Dies (Joal Ryan: EOnline.com: Jan 23, 2005)

• Letterman’s Secret Writer: Johnny Carson (Reuters: CNN.com: Jan. 19. 2005)

• Where’s Johnny? (Bob Shayne: AARP.com: July 2002)

Johnny Carson Multimedia, Downloads, Wallpaper, etc.

Like Television

JohnnyCarson.com (podcasts)

Johnny Carson Link Pages

Celebrity-Link.com

MenCelebs.com

Johnny Carson Related Websites

Johnny Carson: A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress
The Official Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno
The Official Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson Website

JOHNNY CARSON ON VIDEO (FILMOGRAPHY)

If you are interested in writing movie reviews, CLICK HERE.

Year

1949

1953

1954

1954

1955-1956

Selection N/A

Selection N/A

Selection N/A

Selection N/A

Selection N/A

Title

Squirrel's Nest

Carson's Cellar

The Morning Show

Earn Your Vacation

The Johnny Carson Show

Role

Host

Host

Host

Host

Host

Year

1956

1957-1962

1962 - 1992

1982

1993

Selection N/A

Selection N/A

Selection N/A

Selection N/A

Title

To Tell the Truth (TV)

Who Do You Trust? (TV)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (TV)

Johnny Goes Home to Nebraska (TV)

The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom

Role

Host

Host

Host

Himself

Cameo-Himself

JOHNNY CARSON BOOKS & MAGAZINES

Here's Johnny!

Great Comedians Talk About Comedy

More Than Laughterx

JOHNNY CARSON AUCTION ITEMS