When I heard the news of Johnny's death, while riding in the car with the family, I jerked back against the seat and grabbed my wife's arm as if I we were about to make impact with an approaching object. Johnny had been out of the public eye for more than a decade, but I still reacted to the news as if a close friend had died.
Johnny was my friend. I was lucky enough to be allowed to stay up almost every night to catch Johnny's opening monologue and commit a few of his jokes to memory so that I could use them at school the next day. Throughout Junior High and High School I must have shared (or stolen) thousands of Johnny's jokes and skits. I even did a great Carnac homage for an Honor Society convocation my senior year. Johnny helped me be a better class clown.
I always wanted to be Johnny Carson. To get to interview and interact with all those famous (and the occasionally quirkily obscure) people and make the nation laugh at and with you every night would be a dream come true. In this day and age of everybody and his brother getting a talk show, maybe I still have a shot. Quit laughing, a guy's gotta dream.
He was a TV legend and rightly so. He was successful because he wasn't afraid to be laughed at or to be the straight man for his guests. He was a perfect blend of Midwest charm, east coast savvy and west coast zen. He had brilliant comedic timing and unerring impromptu skills. He was a debonair bumpkin. My wife had a great one word description for Johnny... dapper.
Thanks, Johnny. I'll miss ya.
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