PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: INSIDE MEDIA: AMERICAN MASTERS: JOHNNY CARSON: KING OF LATE NIGHT {LONG VERSION ANAMORPHIC} {NY}
Summary
One in a series of seminars presented by The Paley Center for Media in New York. This evening celebrates "American Masters: Johnny Carson: King of Late Night," one in the documentary series that explores the lives and achievements of America's most celebrated artists and performers, focusing on Johnny Carson, the famed comedian and thirty-year host of "The Tonight Show."
Host Ron Simon (television curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks, noting the recent 50th anniversary of Carson's first "Tonight Show" and the 20th anniversary of his last, and then introduces "American Masters" executive producer Susan Lacy. Lacy brings producer/writer/director Peter Jones to the stage, and he reads several letters detailing his long struggle to secure the rights to make a documentary about Carson, including a response from Carson. The episode is then screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 107784.)
After the screening, Simon introduces the panelists: Lacy; Jones; and talk show host and longtime Carson associate Dick Cavett.
The panelists touch on such topics as: Carson's infamously "cool and aloof" nature; Cavett's friendship with Carson since junior high, when he saw him performing as a magician; a joke devised by Carson based on a lofty comment from Joan Crawford; Lacy's preference for delaying a star's biography to amass more sources and information; the documentary's score, composed by Earl Rose; the episode's recurring theme regarding Carson's difficult relationship with his distant mother, Ruth; Cavett's surprise at Carson's fondness for him; Carson's lifelong problems with alcohol, as explained by his fourth wife Alexis Maas; lawyer Henry Bushkin's negative impact on Carson's marriage to Joanna Holland, "the love of his life"; Carson's decision to forego treatment for his emphysema; the challenges of dealing with subjects' estates, who often want to "whitewash" facts, during the creation of an "American Masters" episode; speculation that Ruth was jealous of her son's success in comedy; and the agreement of Carson's four wives' on his lifelong sadness over the unresolved relationship between him and his mother.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics among others: Carson's editing talents and strict teacher-like regard for his writers, including Cavett; his grief over the deaths of his idols Stan Laurel and Jack Benny; the death of his son Richard in 1991 and its profound effect on his demeanor; his "brief" attempt at therapy and later reconnection with Copeland; his skill at finding new talent; young comedians' memories of getting their start on his show; Carson's involvement with many charities, including some based in his home state of Nebraska, largely unknown until after his death; his friendly advice to Cavett when their shows were in competition; and Cavett's memories of the genuine "thrill" of making Carson laugh.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: May 10, 2012 6:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 2:41:42
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 107540
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Host
- Peter Jones … Panelist
- Susan Lacy … Panelist
- Dick Cavett … Panelist
- Jack Benny
- Henry Bushkin
- Joanna Holland Carson
- Johnny Carson
- Richard Carson
- Ruth Hook Carson
- Joan Crawford
- Stan Laurel
- Alexis Maas
- Earl Rose