-My own vintage recording of the moment when the all-knowing Carnac came out and......things went somewhat awry! Hilarious example of how Johnny was the best in these kind of moments.
It was just perfect how Ed howled with laughter when Johnny whispered to him what happened and then you can hear him say "he doesn't have the answers" to the crew. He doesn't whisper it but says it just loud enough to make it out, which makes the whole thing hilarious.
The ritual of it, the fumbling with the curtains, heading the wrong way down the stage, tripping on the riser, Ed’s preamble, is so freaking satisfying.
And the audience is part of the skit. Carson is an expert at pacing and playing the reactions of the crowd. Also I think some of the answers are written to be groaners, so he can play the audience.
Yes, Johnny Carson had a gift for laughter & telling jokes!!. I love the segment of Carnac that includes "Sis boom Bah!" That one was sooo funny. Even after he finished the punch line, Both himself & Ed bursted out laughing!. It's one of my favorites. They are both missed!!.
Dan, I'm 59 years old. I grew up watching two late night shows: Johnny Carson and Saturday Night live! I watched the first Saturday Night live ever! And continued to this day! I used to sneak out of bed, go downstairs away from my parents bedroom, and watch Johnny Carson since CHRISTMAS 🎄⛄, 1973 ! YES !, I Was 11yrs old ! **The week before New Year's in 1972, my father let me stay up late and we watched Johnny Carson together. I was hooked! For the next year, every chance I got, I would sneak out of bed and listen to Johnny Carson while my parents watched him on the only television we had. In February of 1974, we moved from New Jersey to Connecticut. We now had two televisions, one in the downstairs rec room. And thus, the legend lived on! I watched "Johnny"through my adolescent years, puberty, and ultimately adulthood till his last show! What a shame that he died shortly thereafter, the side effects of his alcoholism. THANKS FOR BRINGING BACK GREAT MEMORIES! BLESSINGS...
When they break character to shame each other over their bits it cracks me up. That hard cut from breaking down in laughter to Judy Garland face got me too.
Those jokes were soooo brutal - but Johnny cracking up beforehand because Ed told Freddy on a live mic he didn't have the answers, plus the horrible writing & Johnny's stuttering to salvage the bit - my 2nd all-time fave Carnac. Second only to "Sis-boom-bah".
This might be the best Carnac segment of them all, for all the obvious reasons. Making lemonade out of lemons, or knowing how to recover when a joke bombs or you forget the material... 🤣
Carson was beyond legendary. I don't believe the show will ever get old to those of us who were lucky enough to watch it live. And WTF was the deal with the vacuum??? I can't remember this episode. Musta really been high. ☮️🇺🇸😺
That was the absolute worst 5 minutes of Carson's career. And it was perhaps the best 5 minutes of suckage in the history of TV. Johnny is still The King of Late Night
5:03 - This has to have been the biggest silence from an audience reaction to a Carnac joke. Utter silence of the forgotten tomb, and Johnny knew it by his reaction. Poor writing on this Carnac night - still great fun!!
Makes you wonder if Johnny mangled the next one "Sweet and sour shrimp" on purpose to get a quick recovery laugh. Which shows how brilliant he could be when moments like that happened.
@@epaddon I like the little movement he did with his mouth and tongue during that bit. It is these little things which go together to make good comedy moments.
@@kennywagner4025 As Johnny said, they could not try these routines out on test audiences. Writers came up with the jokes very quickly, and Johnny said that something that sounds funny when said in his office could turn out to be the biggest joke bomb ever, as every studio audience is different. It was literally pot luck. This is why Ed being there was so important. To help when routines bombed.
Several foul ups happened in this one skit. And yet these two walk away with an audience still howling with laughter. I guess they believed in the old saying about lemons.
I was born 1975 in Germany. I lived in the USA in a difficult time from 1999 to 2001. I discovered Johnny Carson later in life (my time in the Navy ended in 1997) and just love to see his shows-especially in today`s flat landscape of entertainment. If I talk to young people about The Tonight Show, they have never heard of it(here in Germany) and it is always funny to see their faces when you show them some segments . This is America at its finest. Never forget that. It is such a sad story that the US went from landing on the Moon ...to Joe Biden. The USA went from having the highest regard in the world ...to be the absolute laughingstock of the world. But hey...opposite to me here in Germany -where everything is screwed already-there is still hope in the US if #45 makes a return.
@@CRCO1975 See , its a public platform. It was made, so that anybody could publish whatever he thought to be important. I have the same right to an opinion than you.I have noted your opinion, but what is your argument?
For every Carnac appearance, a page would be ready in a folder for Johnny to read - you will notice in all Carnac appearances he always turns over a folder the moment he sits down. On this occasion some poor intern forgot to include the sheet he needed.
For every Carnac appearance, a page would be ready in a folder for Johnny to read - you will notice in all Carnac appearances he always turns over a folder the moment he sits down. On this occasion some poor intern forgot to include the sheet he needed
One intern and three writers were dragged out of the NBC studios and executed after this Carnac routine went down the toilet faster than a dog could drink out of one.
I thought the "Born in the USA" joke was hilarious. But I guess that's because I grew up in CA during the 80s and remember the lottery hysteria "The Big Spin" and people holding up the giant checks.
0:45 Is this when he realizes the answers aren't there (flipping the papers and looking towards the band), then stalling with the cloak schtick as Ed calls it?
Part of the genius of Carson was to make these goof-ups look like they were actually goof-ups. The reality is that this whole skit, including the missing answers, Ed laughing at him then turning to the crew and saying "he doesn't have the answers" just loud enough for the mics to pick it up, was likely all planned by Carson. Carson was well aware of the fact that seeing a comedian screw up a skit was hilarious, and he used that to his advantage often.
As Carnac begins to walk off after the last question, in front of him (to his left as he walks) is an upright vacuum cleaner sitting near the back stage wall (see 7:47). It is also visible when he comes onstage from behind the curtain. After he passes it, and leaves the stage, it is no longer there (see 7:49). Carson apparently noticed it and moved it or covered it up as he walked by as Carnac.
Possibly the worst Carnac ever. And still a thousand times funnier than the garbage vomited by today's late night hosts. Ed and Johnny, you are greatly missed.
@@jkl542 The exploding sheep is the best Carnac. And that's my point. This wasn't the best and it's still better than anything from Colbert, Kimmel. etc. Gutfeld comes closest to Carson but not quite.
"Carnac now feel how L.A. Raiders feel!" Even when Carson's shtick was going down the drain, he was so good he could come up with zingers to salvage it. Much preferable to Jimmy Fallon horse-laughing his way through every lame punch line.
For every Carnac appearance, a page would be ready in a folder for Johnny to read - you will notice in all Carnac appearances he always turns over a folder the moment he sits down. On this occasion some poor intern forgot to include the sheet he needed
I said Johnny Carson was for frontier than all the late-night show's around in 2023 no I said he was SAR no I said Farr funnier than all the late-night show's around in 2023!
