Johnny Carson's last TV appearance 

Oh wow! You should make a video and tell us about all the celebrities you've met!

That’s awesome.

Mr Malibu that is very neat. How lucky you are to have such a cherished memory.

nah man he had laryngitis so his throat was messed up but he's still tha goat

The Greatest Of All Time, indeed. 🙂 I remember when Dave called up Johnny for permission to revive an old Tonight Show game called "Stump The Band." That was where Johnny would pick random members of the studio audience who'd then try to stump Ed, Doc, and the rest of the band with little known songs. If successful, they won gift certificates to local restaurants. Anyway, Dave initially asked Johnny how the weather was out in California. Johnny replied (and I quote): "Oh, it's wonderful. The mudslides have put out the forest fires." And, Dave yelled to Paul: " _He's still got it_ !"

..and filling in for Johnny tonight is...

ABSOLUTELY/ He was the KING of late night.

Johnny ain't no goat. Or sheep. Coyote, maybe

Breath is the key word....... Carson just could not kick the Smoking, and it got him with lung cancer and Emphysema......., sad. He was/is the All Time G.O.A.T of that facet of entertainment.....

This is the legend of david letterman

Carson hardly saying a word added to the experience, and when he leaves the desk the audience deflates. Very emotional moment in late night.

I know this comment is three years old but I wound up here because I wish I had grown up being able to watch Johnny. Leno was great too and I miss him incredibly too, but nobody could touch Johnny. And the fact that he didn’t even say anything and got that applause was so special.

15 years and still watching this, nothing can come close to the response when Johnny walked out and sat down..He been gone now for 18 years and is still remembered as the greatest late night host.

​@@rnise1961You mean Johnny

The man was his idol.

YESSSSS thats for sure

great quote

Yep!

things I thought I would never see again, until I saw them again

What did we ever do before You Tube? It's great for fans of classic TV especially.

I think he was hoping Johnny would say something, but the way it played out worked to perfection.

He was an entertainer for everyone. He didn't pick sides and go down that hole, like ALL the bums do these days. He kept that stuff to himself when he was working.

Right winger projecting, Carson despised conservative populism.

@@johnmoeller8654 True, but I was talking about him on his show. He made political jokes but they were generally light and not terribly mean spirited.

Carson when he did political humor gave it equally to both Democrats and Republicans....which with the Colbert, Fallon, Kimmel, Noah crowd it's appalling how bad their bias are(and any time someone calls them on it they are like "Hey this is comedy...lighten up"). Shows they Carson's greatness and the respect that he got the crowd already in somewhat a frenzy kick it up a notch twice.

Except his wife, who he beat the shit out of, when he was drunk.

What a nice analogy.

Except that this wasn't his studio. His was given over to Jay Leno.

Well Johnny had many different desks over the years. This was just a different desk. He would have made it work, if he decided to host again

Johnny took air out of the room when he entered. He was the man!

Yes!!

He was a star, simply the best. Dave would say exactly that.

The desk?? Hell, he owned the STUDIO!!!

Right, he owned any studio he was in. That's charisma.

Actually several people have.......🤡

@@jx-dama9611Not really

Robert Pick n

The very best of all time!

Johnny Carson reruns are on every night 7 days a week from 10:30 to 11:30 Saturday and Sunday 10:30 till 12 better than any other night show they have Channel 9. 2

To be honest the best ever. Talk shows are a dead medium. Every thing is internet based and no one really gives a shit about tv anymore.

Amen

100%. I don't even understand why NBC didn't value Carson's opinion or offer him the opportunity to choose his successor. I mean, he was the KING of Late Night.

Because in the end it was NBC's show.....not Carson's. The show was successful before JC -he added to that. But in the end the network exercised its control. And from has been rumored he angered the NBC brass a long time back because of the 3 day work week. And BTW Joan Rivers was supposed to be his successor but she ticked Johnny over getting the show on FOX and not telling.JC-he BANNED from the show because of that.

@Poklando You are delusional if you think that Jay Leno was better at anything than Johnny Carson. Leno was horrible.

@@zenstain well......one thing Leno holds over Carson and Letterman is that he's a better standup comic than those two....but to be fair, Letterman was primarily a writer who dabbled in stand up and Carson was never a stand up comic and also had comedic writing chops even before his days as Tonight Show host. I think it was Jimmie Walker who put it perfectly.....Letterman respected Leno's fearlessness in performing in front of an audience and Jay respected Dave's writing ability and joke craftsmanship. All of that being said, Jay's team of writers (with Jay as head writer) wrote the most obvious jokes for his monologues. It was the low-hanging fruit of comedic talent, the Nickelback of comedy writing if you will. Carson's writers were much better with funnier material. Also, and this is Jay's most glaring fault.....Out of the three mentioned here, Jay Leno is by far THE WORST interviewer of the three. Most of the time, Jay can't even look at his guests in the face as he's interviewing them. He's constantly looking at the cue cards containing the questions to be asked. Many times, guests have felt awkward as there's no real connection being made by Leno to them to facilitate a semi-decent interviewer. This was also pointed out by none other than Peter Lasally, who's worked with all three guys in their careers. Carson was the best interviewer of the three, in spades. Carson had an innate ability to connect with not only the guest and have engaging conversations, but he also connected with the audience and the home audience. Letterman also achieved this in his own unique way (self-deprecating style) as the years went on. This startling contrast between Leno and Carson / Letterman gave the impression that Jay was/is a joke-telling robot devoid of emotion and connection and that isn't that far off the mark. Yes, Leno had the ratings and the title of "highest-rated late night show" for many years. You also have to realize that Jay didn't come into this as a complete unknown like say, a Conan O' Brien.....Jay was the permanent guest host for Johnny for the previous five years before Carson's retirement. You can have the ratings, but substance and class is something you can't buy or manufacture and Carson and Letterman had both of those attributes in abundance.

@@navblue20 IIRC correctly, the show was technically Carson's until he quit and the rights reverted back to NBC. It was part of a deal to keep him on in the late 70's. I think he or his agent asked for it in response to NBC wiping so much of his earlier shows, not expecting that NBC would actually give the show to him. That's why clips are on RU-vid and back on the air. His nephew still runs Carson Tonight and they license clips for TV and movies.

+MrPete8680 i think he left because the crowd were acting nuts and what he had to say was not that funny. FYI carson used to watch letterman at home and write jokes for him all the time

Spot on, sir.

Mr.Pete - Johnny should have stayed sitting for that whole show - and every other show too .....

Vincent Mancini I think that the temptation to come out of retirement would have been too great, had he started speaking on that set. Judging by the crowd's reaction, Johnny probably could have kept going for many years. The response of the crowd proved that Johnny was getting too old, or was no longer "hip." It's also sad that no show since has used a big band, from the height of the swing era. That was a loss also.

MrPete8680 I felt the same way when he touched the desk.xo

This is CLASSIC !!! we're blessed to have been in the best Era of Late Night TV ....📺 🎬...... The tonight show with Johnny Carson and Late Night, with David Letterman !!! .............

Johnny looked a little lost when his cigarette box and pencils weren't there.

@@robc.5745 I can still remember some of monologue jokes and skits from back in the 80's from the Tonight Show and Late Night with David Letterman......... RIP, Johnny Carson and Thank You and David Letterman (retired) for wonderful entertainment and being part of our lives !!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏!!!!

Allegedly, Johnny was still under a non-compete contract, meaning that he legally couldn't have said anything on the show, or else NBC could have sued him for it. Dave knew this, so he and Johnny worked it out for Johnny to still appear and at least sit at the desk.

Whatever

@@cainster Carson was a free agent

@@gregwatson8219 He had a non-compete clause. NBC wouldn't let him off the hook that easily.

Wasn’t such a class act to Joan.

***** Because it ultimately wasn't Johnny's call. It was NBC's decision to make, and they thought Jay Leno would be a better option. Judging by the ratings, they were right. From the Hugh Grant interview forward, Leno consistently beat Letterman in the ratings after Letterman went to CBS.

***** I also don't think David Letterman was ever too keen on Stephen Colbert succeeding him. www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/04/david-letterman-late-show-stephen-colbert

+ComedyRoom10 Watch the TV movie "The Late Shift"...

Or better yet.... read the book. It is excellent.

It says Colbert was his 2nd choice after Stewart. Interesting fact is in The Daily Show Oral History book the only reason they were available to takeover for Dave was that Comedy Central didnt give them the years they wanted on their final contract. They wanted to at least go to 2017 and during negotiations both shows almost ended in 2012. So all the they synched up their contracts for Dave's departure is pure bullshit. It was luck.

I bet, I would have too

Marie Baudino Love is universal marie, Johnny was just something we will never see the likes of again. Also im very happy to see, People as young as us relish and admire the likes of johnny.

+Marie Baudino Oh I can certainly feel it alright. The audience reaction here is just something special. I have watched this video many times over, and I have tears in my eyes as well...Not everyone gets an ovation like that. Such was the connection between the great Johnny Carson, and his viewers.

Marie Bdo you are so very right! I feel the same way! Xo

Personally,I feel this is the peak of lettermans career also. Everybody needs a high point. Leno made it believable and letterman made us remember how to wipe our lips after pukeing.

Peak of Lettermans's career? Jesus honey calm down.

I lost mine LONG before, but still had enough left to thorougjly (Ed Sullivan...) enjoy this AWESOME cameo, but I wanted him to stay!!!!!!!

Totally not bias from glued on nostalgia goggles. Totally a grounded opinion

​@bigbay1159 Totally total 😂 you can't type a sentence without being repetitive and Johnny wasn't repetitive for 30 years on live T.V. gtfo

Agree 100 percent - the current guys aren’t even funny

The difference between then and now was that Carson dinged everyone. You never knew his personal politics because it did not matter. He made fun of your guy tonight and the other guy tomorrow. Now nearly all of them - Fallon the exception because he too rarely really displays a political leaning one way or the other and only did what he did regarding Trump because his industry pummeled him for making Trump seem human and not the Hitler the rest of that side want to portray him - are so painfully and obviously of the left persuasion, that it makes their comedy shrill and one sided. Carson was for everyone and these guys are only for about half of us.

@@joes9954 Nah they're not one-sided, they poke fun at Biden too. It's just that Trump does exponentially more stupid and unhinged things that the coverage seems one-sided. There's only so many times you can show Joe falling up the stairs but Trump drops fresh societal turds every day.

You should make a video and tell us about your experiences on The Tonight Show and what it was like to meet Johnny Carson!

me too

@@stevenfarley4738 Me three! Truly special!

Letterman is a class act!

@@LlyleHunter Was. Was. In his later years until just before he retired, and today, he’s a major liberal POS. Although I always loved his mom segments; May she Rest In Peace.

I had read somewhere that Johnny was suffering from a mild case of laryngitis due to a cold and that his voice was extremely hoarse, that was one of the reasons he didn't say anything on the mic. Also, as the user above you pointed out, I think Johnny did get a little caught up in the moment and got emotional. I hope that there's a long-lost interview or something that Carson did in his retirement (1993-2005) that gets discovered as I would love to hear what he had to say about his career and how the whole NBC Leno/Letterman fiasco played out, not to mention his thoughts on the emergence of Conan as Dave's replacement at the 12:30 time slot. I think he would have had a lot to say

@@furnitureconsortium That’s my thinking, I believe with the enormous crowd response that it was so moving for him he might’ve gotten too emotional and broken up if he spoke.

@@furnitureconsortium I think the only time that Johnny ever spoke to any form of media after this appearance was an interview in 2002 to GQ magazine. Regarding Conan, look up Conan’s tribute to Johnny after his death and he sheds some light into their talks and relationship

I have read, perhaps here, that it was because Johnny was still under a "no compete clause" for his contract with NBC, and had he said anything on-air, he would have legally violated it. By doing it this way, he and Dave could still get Johnny on-camera, on-stage, and yet flaunt that clause in NBC's face.

As much as we all wished Johnny would have spoken there's something magical about him walking on stage, sitting down at the desk, and saying nothing. Very few can pull that off and Johnny did it with grace and class. What an icon.

A class act 100%

Do you know the date of this appearance? Thank you..

eddie lasowsky Exactly. Letterman told Carson, "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have a show. In fact, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have socks."

moongoose mcqueen None of them developed the format

they are all just cheap imitations of Carson. Fallon, Kimmel,and O'Brian aren't even good imitations, just dumbed-down knock offs.

+todd krager Nothing against Johnny because he was brilliant. But I'd say Conan O'Brien has been extremely innovative. He has more of a niche/cult audience than the others because he's a little more "out there." He likes to delve into the weirder aspects of comedy. David Letterman was a great innovator too, especially during his NBC days with his campy, everyman stunts like "Bowling for Eggnog." Johnny always admired Dave. Jimmy Fallon has kind of reinvented the boring celebrity interview by getting the celebrities to DO stuff...which works well in the Internet age. Jimmy Kimmel has leveraged comedy to make bigger statements -- his "Mean Tweets" segment is a reminder to people not to act like jerks just because you're on the Internet. His Ken Burns-style documentaries are excellent as well. Stephen Colbert is still finding his voice now that he's not in character, but he still does a lot of great comedy. His work on Comedy Central was extremely original and struck a perfect satirical chord.

Daniel Dougan comparing jimmy kimmel to ken burns is like comparing michael moore to cecil b demille

Yes, Johnny was the King!

Kind of like Lou Gehrig to Yankee fans, aka the Iron Horse. Always there, then suddenly, gone forever.

I liked Jay as a stand up comic, but he wasn't good at hosting a show.

@@Scott__C I agree, same with Fallon, talented stand up but hack host

I’m sorry but Jay Leno is amazing In my opinion he had a great run in the late night biz and he’s still relevant today doing jay Leno’s garage

@@ryan422423 Leno is a shill and a war criminal.

I agree 100%. Watching the classics of the late 70's, nothing today even matches it. I love the one where Ed is kind of drunk. Classic

When he retired, I regretted every night that I hadn't watched him. Nobody came close. The rest were all clowns at the time, including Letterman; they all thought that THEY were the stars of the show. Only Johnny knew that people tuned in to see the guests, and he made sure that the audience got the wonderful discussion that they had come to see.

An odd moment in the Colbert appearance was Dave thanking Stephen for that but adding that he, Dave, would've never let anyone do that. No one reacted to that but of course literally everyone but Dave was remembering when Dave did this with Johnny.

The microphone on the desk could have been live.

Bob Sewvello That was just a prop

JSYBen Read today that he had an acute vocal cord infection at the time of that appearance, so he could barely talk and didn't want to leave the audience with an unpleasant memory of his final intended appearance on TV.

Ilya Lips However, you can hear him talking to Dave at the end, which could be more audible if he's wearing a lapel.

I think the moment was more powerful because he didn't say anything. He didn't need to. He was the King. The fact he sat at the desk and showed up on Letterman's show on another network when he never did for Leno spoke volumes.

Now 30

He enjoyed his retirement.

Couldn't agree more!

That's called a Road Warrior pop!

😂

Probably the most popular babyface in the entire entertainment business.

Veggie Gamer johnny was way over with all of us

Johnny Cash??? LOL!

yeah sorry, MY favorites are Johnny carson, johnny cash and John wayne and I typoed that

How come you didn't like him? he was superlative in every way imaginable.