The following was published on Friday, May 22, 1992 in the UCLA Daily Bruin precisely as transcribed below, as you can see in the blurry scan to the right.
Tonight’s the night. When the clock shows 11:35 p.m. the countdown begins and 60 minutes later, television will never be the same.
We won’t ever hear “He-e-e-e-re’s Johnny” again. We’ll no longer wonder if Ed gets bored just sitting on that couch. We’ll no longer laugh at Doc’s outlandish wardrobe. But most importantly, never again will we hear “We’ll be right back” from Johnny carson.
30 years is a long time. I’ve only been around for two-thirds of it. My parents were just beginning college. John Kennedy was President and Vietnam had not yet “officially” begun.” Julie Roberts wasn’t born and “60 minutes” wasn’t on the air.
Television was still a relatively new medium, and now 30 years later …. 30 years. He’s ruled the late-night airwaves. “The Cosby Show” just concluded an eight-year run and that’s an amazing achievement. But 30 years as the king! Alan Thicke couldn’t topple him. Merv couldn’t either. Neither could Dick or Joan. And Pat got laughed off the air. Arsenio’s taken a bite out, and the ratings aren’t what they once were, but “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” was still the ruler. And no matter how good Leno is, when it finally becomes “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” on Monday, it will never be the same.
I liken Johnny to George Burns and Bob Hope. The time has arrived and I still can’t imagine late night without Johnny. I can’t imagine a year without a Bob Hope special on NBC. I can’t imagine George Burns ever dying. It’s not that I rush to my TV every night around 11:30, and I haven’t actually watched a Bob Hope special for years, but I always knew they were there. Call it a type of television security — something to fall back on.
Carson’s achievement is simply amazing. He’s not the greatest stand-up comedian, and he’s not the greatest interviewer. Most of his various impersonations sound exactly alike, and his skits often bomb. But in fact, bombing was Carson’s greatest talent. No one gets out of a joke or a skit like Johnny. No one can make his failure funnier than the actual joke quite like Johnny can.
It all started Oct. 1, 1962. Back then the show was produced in New York, each program was 90 minutes long and up to seven guests would appear any one night. And Carson was actually the show’s third host after Steve Allen and Jack Paar.
Now he has the work week we’d all kill for: It’s the equivalent of the upcoming holiday weekend — three days long. Even through his three well-publicized divorces, he’s still a multimillionaire. And unlike virtually everyone on television, he wasn’t cancelled.
What is it about this man which captured millions of people’s attention every night? Why have so many people positioned the TV in order to perfectly see the screen between their feet?
Maybe the qualities which did make Johnny so compelling during his heyday in the ’70s and early ’80s are what we’ve seen in this final month of the show. It’s been kind of eerie hearing every night that he was leaving the air, they were “winding things down.” It was difficult to believe.
But unlike the responses I’ve seen from people on Carson’s staff the last month or so, it <i>has</i> been a different Johnny on the set, and the guests have definitely been in a different mood as well.
It’s simple actually — Johnny’s been having fun. It doesn’t look like he’s “working” anymore. He knows there’s only so much time left and he’s going to take advantage of it. The guests have been there more to say goodbye than to plug a movie or TV show, so they’re just having fun too.
Virtually everyone who has come through the past month — which has also been the first time in years that Johnny has shot <i>four</i> original shows in one week — has said what an honor it is to be asked on the show for the final stretch, or how much Johnny has meant to them. Michael Keaton, for instance, gushed about how on the plane to L.A. he told everyone he was going on “Carson” and he couldn’t believe he was invited. And Don Rickles actually was serious part of the time.
The best moment was probably also the shortest. David Letterman made his final appearance last week. As Johnny was saying thank you to all the guests who came, he got to Letterman who said “Thanks for having me.” Then as Carson continued down the couch, right as he was beginning to thank the next guest, Letterman said, “And thanks for my career.”
In a way, it was a touching moment, especially coming from the man who did not get the coveted “Tonight Show” position. But it’s true for so many people, especially comedians.
It’s still hard to believe. The guests have all come and gone. Tonight none are scheduled. It’s just Johnny and Ed and Doc. Reminiscing. And at 12:35 a.m., into the morning of May 23, Johnny will say goodbye. An institution will come to a close. This one TV safety net will no longer exist. They’ll never “be back” and there’s no “more to come.”
See ya later Johnny. It’s been fun.
Out of Focus 