The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson’s Best Moments

Johnny Carson's 30-year tenure as host of The Tonight Show was both remarkable and momentous. It was the venue for a number of memorable television moments recalled by viewers of all ages. Carson was known for his comedic characters and sketches, but he was not one to shy away from contentious themes when they were something he sincerely believed in. Many of his most famous moments have been caught on classic TV DVDs, allowing Carson fans to relive their favorite moments again and over.

Two years after starting his stint on The Tonight Show, one of Johnny Carson's most famous moments occurred, demonstrating to the world exactly how sharp his wit was. Carson had Ed Ames of the Daniel Boone television series as a guest on April 29, 1965. Ames was showing how to throw a tomahawk with the help of a wooden silhouette of a guy, and the hatchet landed directly in the silhouette's crotch as he tossed it. Carson joked, "I didn't even realize you were Jewish," as the audience chuckled. This classic television comedy was so successful that it was frequently rerun on the anniversary of the program.

Other iconic Tonight Show moments focused around some of Johnny Carson's regular roles, which he played with the aid of Ed McMahon. Carnac the Magnificent, a mentalist portrayed by Carson who claimed to be able to answer questions sealed in envelopes without ever seeing the question, was perhaps the most renowned of these vintage television characters. Of course, the responses would never be straight answers, but rather jokes. When the crowd didn't laugh at one of his jokes, he'd answer with similarly bizarre curses, such as "May a diseased yak befriend your sister." Floyd R. Turbo, Ralph Willie, and Aunt Blabby were some of Carson's other well-known characters.

These repeated characters were not included in all of Carson's comic routines. Carson's depiction of Hamlet delivering the famed To be or not to be soliloquy was one of a handful of one-shot gags that occurred on the popular television show. However, a lot of product advertising flowed straight from the renowned Shakespearean lines in the Johnny Carson version, making it one of the funniest renditions of the play to date.

In addition to providing laughs and unexpected punchlines, Carson would from time to time use his show as a means of exposing scams and fakes who were taking advantage of the public at large. Famed psychic Uri Gellar appeared on the show in 1973. Carson himself set up the props for Gellars act without Gellar or his manager being able to see them before filming. Despite Gellars claims of having genuine mental powers, he was unable to reproduce his usual tricks with the props that Carson provided. This method of proving Gellar a fraud had been suggested by Carsons friend James Randi, a trained stage magician (like Carson himself) who later appeared on the show in 1987 to expose the supposed faith healer Peter Popoff. Though Popoff claimed that his knowledge of the audiences problems came from Godly visions, Randi provided Carson and his audience with video that showed Popoffs wife describing the people for him to heal via a microphone which broadcast to a speaker hidden in his hearing aid.

Other classic TV moments on The Tonight Show included visits from zoologists such as Joan Embery and Jim Fowler. They brought animals which Carson would often interact with in some way; many episodes featured Carson being crawled on by smaller animals. One famous incident often shown as a clip featured Carson leaning down too close to a panthers cage which caused the cat to swipe at him with its paw. Carson ran across the stage and jumped into Ed McMahons arms for comedic effect.

When Johnny Carson retired from the show, his final episodes were considered major events. The most sentimental moment came on the next-to-last of his episodes. Bette Midler and Robin Williams were his guests. After Carson revealed in conversation some of his favorite songs, Midler began to sing one. The song soon became a duet between her and Carson. She finished her appearance by singing One for My Baby (and One More for the Road). An emotional Carson began to tear up on camera. This historic and touching moment was caught on film using a long camera angle never used in the previous 30 years of Carsons run. One of his most emotional classic moments became a historic milestone in late night television filming.

Carson was an amazing entertainer, a charismatic personality and a moment maker. His appeal as a celebrity and a comedian carries on to future generations as classic television shows become available on DVD.