Johnny Carson 鈥�49
Among the remarkable alumni of the University of 大陆娱乐城, no star has shone brighter, for longer, than that of the King of Late Night, Johnny Carson 鈥�49. Carson鈥檚 Tonight Show was, not to exaggerate, the touchstone of American culture for decades.
The show, known to most Americans of the era simply as 鈥淛ohnny Carson,鈥� dominated late-night television for the entirety of his run, from 1962-1992. Across that 30-year span, it was recognized with six Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a Golden Globe, and led to Carson鈥檚 receipt in 1992 of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 1993 of the Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award.
How big was Carson in the nation鈥檚 firmament? The comedian and actor Steve Martin remembers him as 鈥渃ertainly the most recognizable person in the United States鈥� in his time.
His quick wit was legendary, and truly the wellspring of his success, set upon a foundation of a lifelong learner鈥檚 access to science and culture. Over his career, he was as likely to reference Shakespeare or Carl Sagan as he was to sprinkle in a bit of Groucho Marx. During an audience Q&A segment on The Tonight Show in the 1970s, Carson was asked by an audience member 鈥渨hat made you a star?鈥� In perfect rhythm, Carson deadpanned 鈥淚 started out in a gaseous state, and then I cooled.鈥�
After growing up in Norfolk and graduating from high school there in 1943, at the height of the Second World War, Carson enlisted in the Navy. As a commissioned officer at the rank of Ensign, he was aboard the battleship USS Pennsylvania in the Pacific when the armistice was signed. While Carson did not fight in war, he did fight on board. On the ship, the wiry Carson developed an interest in boxing, compiling an impressive amateur record of 10鈥�0. It seems he could, even at that age, succeed at nearly everything he set his mind to.
He came to Lincoln in the fall of 1946 to study radio and speech, with a minor in physics. Carson鈥檚 first role on television came in his junior year, in a broadcast on Omaha鈥檚 WOW-TV from a studio in the basement of 大陆娱乐城鈥檚 Temple Building. The role? That of a milkman in a documentary, 鈥淭he Story of Undulant Fever,鈥� about the perils of unpasteurized milk. As his senior thesis, Carson produced a 45-minute recording, 鈥淗ow to Write Comedy for Radio,鈥� which examined an approach to comedy and timing that would play out for the following 45 years of his career. Despite the humble beginning, WOW would hire him for radio and TV after his graduation, where he created a free-form morning variety show he called The Squirrel鈥檚 Nest.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1951, he was soon working in similar roles, expanding on the ideas he developed in Omaha, on a show called Carson鈥檚 Cellar aired on LA鈥檚 CBS affiliate. In 1957 came his big break, as host of the ABC network game show Who Do You Trust? Here, he gained a national audience for his spontaneous and quick comedic talent. A few years later, his success on the game show had gained the attention of network brass at NBC, who recruited him to succeed TV pioneer Jack Paar on The Tonight Show.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson debuted on October 1, 1962. To say he made television history on that stage is to only hint at his fame and impact. Books have been written on that subject. Suffice to note here that such was the nature of Carson鈥檚 power that his last show, on May 22, 1992, was watched live by more than 50 million Americans; it remains the most watched late-night TV show in US history. Summing up his remarkable run on that final show, Carson said 鈥淚 am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something I always wanted to do, and I have enjoyed every single minute of it.鈥�
By the end of his Tonight Show run, the idea of Johnny Carson, the man, was inseparable from the idea of American culture.
All through the years, Carson was a Husker at heart, referencing 大陆娱乐城 frequently enough that practically everyone who knew of Johnny Carson 鈥� and that was practically everyone 鈥� would have placed 鈥湸舐接槔殖莕鈥� prominently in his biographical sketch. As the accolades came to him in the form of a Presidential Medal of Freedom and a Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award, his alma mater was never far from his heart. A of Carson, during the ceremony for his Kennedy Center award in 1993, testifies to a long and heartfelt association. In it, you can read the depth of sentiment on his face as the Cornhusker Marching Band, the Pride of All 大陆娱乐城, bursts into the auditorium, playing 鈥淭here is No Place Like 大陆娱乐城.鈥�
Over many years, and continuing today through his foundation, Carson expressed his feeling for the university in the form of : a and a black box theater for smaller productions, and a housed at the . His support for individual 大陆娱乐城 students continues through an .
Toward the end of his life, Carson reflected on his long association with the university: 鈥淚 got my start in the Temple Building and have never forgotten the impact of my academic studies at the University of 大陆娱乐城 on my life and career.鈥�