heeeeer's Johnny

It is said that each death diminishes us a little bit. I can honestly say that the death of Johnny Carson has diminished me. There was something profoundly appealing about Johnny's show - an appeal that neither Leno nor Letterman nor the legion of others that have tried has been able to capture.

Johnny Carson was my introduction to North American culture. I arrived in Canada in 1980 and the place seemed a real backwater; also rather confusing. I tuned into Johnny every single night and slowly began to understand and get connected to the American scene. Johnny always made me long to be in the States, L.A. specifically...he was a friend of the stars but none of the fake glamour rubbed off on him. He was just a great comic with a superb sense of timing and it always seemed to me that the stars were in awe of him rather than the other way around. And not just the young comedians whose careers he ignited. Even the old established stars were brought to a more 'human level' in their contact with Johnny. He respected them and listened to them but never wanted to 'be' them. His own man, in short.

I was lucky back in 1986 to visit his Burbank studios and get a behind-the-scenes look, even sit behind his desk. A friend of mine worked as assistant to Fred DeCorodba, the producer of the Tonight show and she took me around the whole lot (including the cafeteria - a frequent butt of Carson's jokes). We looked at Carson's parking spot, shook hands with Fred, walked around the soundstage and, like I said, even sat behind Johnny's desk. The next day we got tickets to his show but there was no favouritism there, even if I knew someone on the production team. We had to line up for two hours with everybody else. I don't recall much from that particular taping. I remember that Joe Jackson was the musical guest. I also remember that Johnny didn't talk to the guests during the commercial breaks. He just sat there, puffing on his cigarette, waited for the break to be over....the lights came back on, as did the "applause" sign and Johnny's face lit up again in a big smile and he resumed the conversation. It was a little strange - but now I understand it. He was not there to pal around with the guests - (though I am certain there were exceptions, such as Bob Newhart or Don Rickles) - he was there to do a job. No one will ever do the job as well as he did...

Even though I live on the other side of the border, Johnny "let me in" every night for an hour and made me hip to a culture that was new to me. Last night, as I heard Larry King and Bob Newhart and others reminisce about Carson, I strongly felt a part of the culture. He helped me grow up in it and grow with it.

He said he would wish for his epitaph to be: "I'll be right back"...what a zinger! Unfortunately, that won't happen. But thank you Johnny for a personal welcome to North America and for countless nights of fun. Heeeeeeeeeer's to Johnny!