There Goes Johnny!

There Goes... Johnny!

Johnny Carson, the man who shared more of our bedrooms than any other late night entertainer has died from emphysema - an unfortunate result of smoking all those years. Recent photos showed him looking overweight because he finally kicked the smoking habit, but apparently it was too little too late (although he did live to a ripe old age of 79).

So here's the paradox. You stop smoking to avoid dying of cancer or lung disease, but you get fat and run the risk of stroke and heart disease. What a conundrum. Death sucks.

I recall watching Johnny as a young child. Sitting on the family sofa and watching my parents laugh, not quite understanding the jokes myself, but joining in the laughter just the same. When I became an adult I watched the show occasional out of curiosity (or insomnia), but not really becoming a steady fan. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but like the man and I am sad to see him go.

Watching the news interviews of those who knew him, some would say the man was a saint. While others (like Dick Cavett who worked for him as a writer) say he could be tough. The truth I'm certain lies somewhere in between.

What I recall the most about the man and his humour was his telepathic turban-toting character known as "Carnac The Magnificent", who could divine answers to questions sealed in envelopes. If the audience booed any of Carnac's responses, he would fight back saying something like:

A typical skit would open with announcer Ed McMahon stating "I have in my hand an envelope, a child of four can plainly see these envelopes are hermetically sealed. They've been kept since noon today in a mayonnaise jar on Funk & Wagnalls' porch. No one-but one!-knows its contents. In his mystical and borderline way, Carnac will now ascertain the answers having never heard the questions." Carnac then placed the white envelopes to his forehead to sense the answers to the questions within. The following are some examples of the answer/question exchanges:

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