What Johnny Carson Did for the People Sitting Across From Him

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. Coming to you from the city where the West begins, Fort Worth, Texas. Johnny Carson is widely regarded as the king of late-night television. One of those reasons was how Johnny used his influence to positively change the lives of his guests. Here’s author Mark Malkoff to tell the story.

Johnny Carson had talent coordinators that would get thousands of pieces of mail from people that wanted to be on the show. Their goal was to showcase the most talented people. They didn’t have to have traditional talent. There was somebody who played songs using their hands, and this person dubbed themselves a manualist.

Would you welcome John! To me, John?

And they went on Johnny Carson’s show, and they became so big just playing songs, “Stars and Stripes Forever,” on their hands. They became so in demand that they quit their job as a lawyer in Michigan, and they were making more money in Las Vegas playing lounges, playing music with their hands. There was a potato chip inspector in Indiana named Myrtle Young. She would look at the potato chips, and if she noticed that there were certain potato chips that were in the shape of objects and people and faces, she would collect these potato chips. And The Tonight Show found out about it, and Myrtle Young had never been to California. They flew her out, and she was a sixty-five-year-old potato chip inspector.

Were, we have a, we have a little more time left here. Now, what are some of your prize ones on this?

Uh? Well, I have a pair of dirty sweat socks, that and potato chips.

Folks, if you just joined us, and there again, from the same chip.

Oh, quick to get a pair of something, and that’s okay.

What do we have here?

Oh? This is a calf, but he doesn’t have any eyes. That does look like the shape of a cower.

Cat, right, okay.

And this is a, that’s an eight.

That’s an eight; that’s a letter number eight.

Here’s a camel, a camel. Down a camera.

Sure is! There’s no doubt about that?

And the pair is rather perfect.

Ed McMahon, Johnny’s sidekick, distracted her at one point, and she was showing all the potato chips that, that she collected and all the objects.

Look at this one, drug. No, no, no. And…

She heard Johnny crunch down on a po tape, and she almost had a heart attack. She turned around, and Johnny said, “Oh no,” and he said show that he had his own bowl of potato chips.

Boy, Myrtle thought I was eating your collection. I know they had a bull back here of just regular chips, and I had one of those. I wasn’t picking up your.

And she was another person that traveled the world. She went to Japan, all over America. She became famous for collecting these potato chips. Johnny could take people that had these unique stories, and he never made fun of them. Other late-night show hosts would make fun of them, but he always respected them. He would take people that were senior citizens, kids like Drew Barrymore on E.T., and just be able to talk to them and make them forget that millions of people were watching them and get them just to shine.

Now, let’s talk about—I want to talk about E.T. a little bit.

Why not?

Okay, I shouldn’t tell you this, that I think there’s gonna be a sequel.

You shouldn’t say! Are you telling so much? You weren’t supposed to.

Tell me! Well, I can tell you.

I’ll keep it just between us then. With me, that’s fine with you. There may be a sequel to Etah.

Yeah. Yeah.

Johnny had a rule that was very uniquely Johnny’s. Producer Peter le Sally told me, which was Johnny’s rule: Number one was to make his guests look good, and it’s going to make the show better. Johnny would eventually get last because he was Johnny Carson, and he was a comedic genius, but his goal was to make his guest shine. There were constant talent coordinators going to comedy clubs. People were moving out to Los Angeles just to try to break on Johnny’s show. David Letterman left a very successful career as a weatherman in Indiana in the early 1970s. He got in his red pickup truck and drove out to California with dreams of one thing, and that was getting on Johnny Carson’s show. Didn’t want to do stand-up. He did not like doing stand-up, but he knew to get on Johnny’s show, that’s what he would have to do.

So we met at The Comedy Store.

I was doing stand-up comedy there, year.

This was like the mid- or late-70s, and so Clint would come in, and we’d be very excited because we were just beginners, and you want to impress the important guy in the audience. And so I was up there doing my little—I don’t know what the hell I was doing, and…

After about five minutes, here comes Clint Eastwood, and he walks right up to me and…

Do you have any idea what you said to me?

No?

Oh, it was unbelievable. So he’s—I’m standing right like this, and he comes up to me, and he says, “Where’s the men’s room?”

Punk?

Where were the allent?

I carried that with me.

I think, I think those are the moments. I think those in the moments you treasure.

And everyone would wait, would play the clubs, the comedy clubs, and just dream that Johnny’s talent coordinator would come in, and they would be able to get the show. There were people that I spoke with that did stand-up on Johnny that lives change, that cried to me telling in their stories. It was people that nobody knew who they were. They would go on Johnny’s show, and their lives would instantly change. They would get television shows, they would be going to Las Vegas, they would be opening up for the biggest music acts and arenas. Drew Carrett was a comedian from Cleveland with one goal: to go on Johnny Carson’s show. That’s all he ever thought about. I got to sit down with him in between tapings with The Price Is Right at Television City, and just the emotions of his story. I mean, these were people that had tears in their eyes, some of them crying to me, telling me about their stories.

You know, Johnny Carson introduces me, the curtain opens, and it’s just like I dreamed it. It’s just exactly like I dreamed it. I go on stage, I hit the mark.

Denny says, my favorite thing on the mini—it’s a hot dog with cheese and bacon and not enough night rates and a hot dog. I’ll put some bacon on top of me, and for an extra dollar, they’ll put chili on top of the whole thing.

For people who don’t care anymore. And I heard seeing Johnny Carson holding out of the desk. He’s holding out of the desk because he’s laughing so hard so he doesn’t fall off the chair because he’s like, he’s like convulsing.

That’s a kind of food. Just march is right down your throat. You know, “Call me, boys! We’re going to the heart.” I mean, who’s like this, that?

I go, “Who meat?” And he goes, “Yeah, you.” And I’m like, “Oh no!” Nobody gets called over for The Tonight, Joe. That’s a big thing. It’s like a religious experience.

And then after that, my career was made. Funny as hell. Thanks. I appreciate that. Thanks, you too.

Lives change is going on Johnny Carson’s show. Singers that people didn’t know, like Bette Midler, would go on Johnny’s show, and Bette was considered very outrageous. Johnny actually had Bette Miller open up for him in Las Vegas, and the audience jaws dropped. Johnny told his then-wife she is going to be one of the biggest stars in entertainment, and people did not believe Johnny. It took America a little time to understand who this person was and how unique and special she was. But Johnny’s prerequisite—he was not discriminated. He didn’t discriminate against anybody. His only discrimination was lack of talent. If you were talented, he wanted you on the show.

Kind a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Greg Engler, and his special thanks to Mark Malkoff and his book In Love with Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan’s Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend. It’s available wherever you get your books. And my goodness, what a story he told, and indeed we’ve talked about it many times on this show. What he didn’t like, Johnny Carson, was actors coming on and promoting their movies, promoting this or that. It was all about talent coming on to entertain audience. No politics ever, no news, except to tweak and make fun of what was happening in the news. In other words, to just take care of all of us who had a tough day and wanted some relief at night. What really got Carson going was talent, talent, talent, talent. How Johnny Carson changed the lives of his guests. That story here on Our American Stories.