It was the original “must-see” TV. The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
Two decades after his death, Carson’s name remains in the news. For 30 years, he was the gold standard in late-night TV. For 30 years, he drew tens of millions of Americans (when the country was half its current population) to the boob tube (as we fondly called it) for Johnny’s take on America. His humor was good-natured, no matter who he riffed on. Sometimes, the best moments on the show were the pregnant pauses where Carson could say a million words with the expression on his face. A joke could fall flat, and he’d still get laughs by promising the audience a visit from “the bird of paradise” or some other mythical creature.
Johnny’s opening monologue was essential show prep for morning radio hosts like me. Before the internet, Carson’s monologue told America what was important, interesting, or fodder for the next day’s coffee klatsch at the office.
Johnny Carson was the original influencer.
Others inheriting the late-night chat slots learned from the Master and followed his example. While no one was Johnny, Jay Leno kept it glib but friendly. David Letterman was funny and broke great comics like Norm Macdonald.
Conan O’Brian was successful to a lesser degree. Perhaps none of the late-night hosts was better than John Stewart when his facial expression could crack up a crowd in a manner reminiscent of Carson.
Then somehow, the midnight chair descended to the likes of Stephen Colbert (fired) and Jimmy Kimmel.
Jimmy Fallon navigated Johnny’s Tonight Show to horrendous ratings, managing to draw less than one million viewers to an evening of lame jokes and kissing celebrity keisters.
What happened?
Johnny Carson had politicians of note (and notoriety) on his show regularly, but to this day, I couldn’t tell you who the man voted for. Whether it be a movie star or a Governor, Johnny was The Star. He was bigger than any guest, who were grateful to have an audience with him. Johnny would prompt them to reveal a side of themselves America was not likely to see through the prism of news. Johnny Carson was there to entertain us. Every one of us.
Kimmel and Colbert’s demise came not from politics or politicians. It can solely be attributed to their insistence that we tune in for a nightly lecture on what they thought we should believe. They told us who they approved of at the ballot box. They turned their studios into echo chambers for one-sided brainwashing sessions. Kimmel lost 72% of his audience (since 2015) but didn’t seem to care. The left wing was the only welcome opinion.
Early in President Trump’s first term, Jimmy Fallon made the “mistake” of asking DJT if his hair was real. That was the kind of moment Carson would soundly approve. No politics. Fun. Yet Fallon faced a maelstrom of shrieking leftist objection, condemning him for being nice to a man who somehow gets more votes every election. Fallon said, at the time, “I don’t know if I want to blow off 50% of my potential audience by taking sides.” Sadly, Fallon fell in. He’s no better than Kimmel or Colbert. He just smiles better than the other two.
Back in the 80s, in a 60 Minutes interview with the acerbic Mike Wallace, Johnny prophetically warned his successors. Wallace wanted to know why Johnny refused to take a stand on “important issues”.
Without hesitation, Carson said, “Tell me the last time Red Skelton, Jack Benny (Johnny’s fave), or any comedian used his show for serious issues. THAT’S NOT WHAT I’M THERE FOR! Can’t they understand that?”
Wallace retreated. Why? Because Carson was spot on, and it needs to be said- a BIGGER star than Mike Wallace ever dreamed of being.
The deluge of one-sided, late-night opinions has been bad enough. Colbert’s harping cost him his job as CBS got tired of losing $40 million a year! Like it or not, his opinions were not very popular.
Kimmel? He was not fired for free speech. He was taken off for telling the biggest lie in late-night history. He said conservative activist Charlie Kirk was taken out by “one of his own from the MAGA crowd.” In fact, Charlie was assassinated by someone more aligned with Kimmel/Colbert. MAGA isn’t a political party. It’s a slogan on a hat.
Kimmel works for ABC/Disney, which operates the network at the consent of WE, the governed. They hold a publicly entrusted license regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC largely leaves operators alone and lets the market decide what’s good and what isn’t. Telling an outrageous falsehood drew the Commission’s attention- as it should have. The FCC can pull that license if it determines the public’s interests have not been served or the public trust has been violated. If they take that piece of paper, the public permission to broadcast, you have empty studios and dead cameras because you’ve lost permission to use them.
We, the governed, deserve better.
Rest in peace, Charlie. Give our love to Johnny.
Greg Budell has lived in Montgomery for 20 years. A 50+ year veteran of radio, TV and writing, Greg hosts the Newstalk 93.1FM Morning Show with Rich Thomas, Susan Woody, and Jay Scott, 6-9 AM Monday – Friday. He returns weekday afternoons from 3-6 PM for Happy Hour with Pamela Dubuque and a variety of sidekicks. His favorite topic is life!
Greg can be reached at gregbudell@aol.com.