It all began on October 1st, 1962. That night, Johnny Carson started his reign as the King of the Monologue and Late Night TV. America's classy comedian turned writer turned talk-show host launched his career and the beginning of many others when he became host of NBC's The Tonight Show.

The night of his premiere comic legend Groucho Marx visited Mr. Carson. In fact, he introduced him.

The show began at 11:15pm and lasted ninety minutes. In 1980, it was cut back to an hour.

Five nights a week Carson made us laugh, sometimes, many times, hysterically.

One commentator remembering him today said, " If Steve Allen invented late night television, and Jack Parr refined it, Johnny defined it."

Carson had two obsessions: magic and comedy.

From 1962 to 1992, Carson created his legacy with the show's announcer, Ed McMahon, putting the spotlight on more than 24,000 guests who appeared on NBC's program throughout those thirty years.

Together, they defined the late-night talk-show format.

Finally, in May 1992, Bette Midler serenaded Carson with One for My Baby. It was the second-to-last night we would see the King of Late Night reign.

Carson's teary final episode, taped in Burbank, California, took place on May 22nd, 1992.

Bette Midler and Robin Williams were Johnny's final guests.

Forty million people tuned in to say goodbye that night.

On that night, Johnny said:

I am one of the lucky people in the world.

I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it.

Needless to say, he went out on top.

While it has been fourteen years since we said, "Good Night" to Mr. Carson, it was not until yesterday morning that we would say goodbye.

On Sunday morning, Janurary 23rd 2005, Johnny Carson passed away of emphysema.

He was seventy-nine years old.

One blessing, as we say our goodbyes, is that Carson will say hello again to his son, Rick, who died in a 1991 car crash, a year before Johnny left television.

While Carson has requested no memorial service, at the time of this post, already 2,420 stories in Google News alone have been published about his death and the celebration of his life.

Celebrating The Life of Johnny Carson

While many think the beginning of Carson's career took off in 1962 with the premier of The Tonight Show, it was actually 1954 that this star was born.

For those of you not "in the business," do you know who is responsible for "giving birth" to Johnny Carson's television career?

Bernard Richard Skelton (1913 - 1997).

Fondly know as "Red Skelton", who was also from the midwest, deserves the credit, unintentionally.

In 1954, Skelton knocked himself unconscious just one hour before his live show went on the air.

As a result, Carson, who at-the-time was one of Skelton's writers, replaced the well-known comic that night on The Red Skelton Show and a star was born.

Midwestern Guy Takes New York and Los Angeles

Carson was born John William Carson in Corning, Iowa, on October 23rd, 1925.

He was raised in Norfolk, Nebraska.

Carson's genial Midwestern charm was apparent early on, when he started performing at local rotary clubs as a singer, ventriloquist and magician at age 14 using the stage name "The Great Carsoni."

From 1943-46, Carson served in the U.S. Navy.

He attended the University of Nebraska, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1949.

In 1948, Johnny made his first mark as a KFAB radio announcer in Lincoln, Nebraska before graduating to the Los Angeles-based KNT-TV sketch comedy show "Carson's Cellar" in 1951.

His first TV show lasted from 1951 until 1953.

The next year Red Skelton unintentionally put Johnny Carson "on the map."

In 1954, Carson became master of ceremonies for the TV quiz show "Earn Your Vacation."

A year later, he got busy writing the script for "The Johnny Carson Show" on CBS.

His five-year gig hosting the game show "Who Do You Trust?" began in 1956.

On October 1st, 1962, Carson took over as the host of NBC's "The Tonight Show".

At 36, Carson replaced Jack Paar.

Steve Allen premiered the hour-long show on September 27, 1954.

Ed McMahon, his longtime announcer, was with Carson from the beginning of "The Tonight Show."

Always To Be Remembered on The Johnny Carson Show

On December 17th, 1969, Tiptoe Through The Tulips singer, Tiny Tim married "Miss Vicki" Budinger on the Tonight Show. Their wedding drew an American Idol-sized audience. That night, 45 million people watched the most attended wedding in television history.

Tiny Tim's first appearance on the Tonight Show and his wedding to Miss Vicki are highlighted in The Heeere's Johnny! Special Collector's Edition.

During his thirty-year tenure as the host of The Tonight Show he not only played himself, a natural comedian and master impersonator with class, talent and a quick-wit, he played:

Johnny B. Good's Alter Egos

The dim-witted "Floyd R. Turbo"

"Aunt Blabby," a character who more than resembled Jonathan Winters as "Maude Frickert."

"Zontar Rather"

The turban-topped "Carnac the Magnificent"

to name a few...

Two of Johnny's Best Impersonations

President Ronald Reagan (aka Johnny as Ronny)

Carl Sagan (a fellow '"billions and billions' of these or those' astronomy buff)

In the '70's, Carson's show won four consecutive Emmys.

He also hosted the Academy Awards five times during the 1970s and '80s.

In 1972, Carson's show moved from New York to Burbank.

In 1987, Jay Leno became Carson's exclusive guest host before he took over the show upon Carson's retirement.

That same year Johnny was inducted into Television's Hall of Fame.

Arsenio Hall

Not until 1987, when stand-up comedian Arsenio Hall, his bandleader Michael Wolff and their "posse" came on the scene, after replacing Joan Rivers, had one late night tv host been able to make a dent in NBC's Tonight Show ratings.

For five years (1987 - 1992) Carson competed with a hip, African American gentleman who got busy every night appealing to a younger urban set made up of all "colors."

I know; I was one of them!

In January 1989, John Rivers' show became The Arsenio Hall Show until their run ended in May 1994.

During that time, Arsenio aired 1,248 episodes on Fox. Late Night With Johnny Carson always reigned number one. Given their syndication limitations, the producers of Arsenio's show must be proud to this day to have ranked second behind Carson.

Carson won the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1992, and received a Kennedy Center Honor the following year.

The brisk sale of the video collection ""Johnny Carson: His Favorite Moments From The Tonight Show," released in 1994, offered proof of his fourteen-year "afterglow."

He spent his retirement years with his family and friends, living in Malibu, California.

He loved sailing, traveling and socializing with a few close friends including media mogul Barry Diller and NBC executive Bob Wright

He once joked that his epitaph should be the line he used before going to commercial: "I'll be right back."

During his lifetime, Johnny appeared on the cover of Life, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, Look and Newsweek, to name just a few.

His memory is etched forever on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where fans showered flowers and other tributes next to his star on Sunday, after hearing of his death.

Few television icons have had as big an impact on the culture of our day -- save Oprah Winfrey.

After learning of Carson's death, Oprah said:

He defined the original talk show, and I think there is not a person who has watched him over the years - or certainly those of us who had the honor of experiencing him in person - who don't realize what a great loss this is.

I remember the very first time I was invited on his show.

His was, in our generation, what 'Ed Sullivan' was to that generation.

And you know the very first time I got invited to the show, that defined, 'You have now made it,'

Oprah learned of Carson's death only moments before an appearance with Halle Berry to promote an ABC movie Winfrey's producing, "Their Eyes Were Watching God"

Careers Launched A La The Tonight Show

Other people whose careers Johnny Carson helped launched:

Paul Anka -- who co-wrote The Tonight Show theme song with Carson

David Letterman

"He was the best," David Letterman declared, in a statement yesterday from St. Bart's, about his mentor.

"All of us who came after are pretenders. We will not see the likes of him again," Letterman said.

Maybe not pretenders. Perhaps always in his shadow, however. A golden one, at that.

Yesterday, David called Carson "a star and a gentleman."

He said there wasn't a night when he didn't ask himself how "Johnny" would have done something.

For the past year, Letterman has had direct inspiration from Carson. Periodically, Carson would send David a joke about some item in the news, and those jokes would sometimes end up in Letterman's monologue.

Other comedians we love well and know better thanks - in part - to Carson's influence:

Woody Allen

George Carlin

Bill Cosby

Billy Crystal

Steve Martin

Eddie Murphy

Richard Pryor

Jerry Seinfeld

Garry Shandling

Robin Williams

Many of the funniest moments in American television history took place on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show.

If you go to his web site today, it says "Johnny won't personally read your email but someone from Carson Productions will."

I'm sure Johnny is up in Heaven today having a bit of a laugh over that one.

Dick Cavett, fellow talk-show host, entertainer and previous writer for Carson, said tonight on the Jim Lehrer show said this about Johnny:

He was a born showman.

He was studying it when he was a kid.

He wrote a thesis at the University of Nebraska on Jack Benny and timing.

He was nice to have in the room with you.

He had something that all great performers have over the years. It was a sense, though he was a nice boy and Midwestern and maybe went to church in his life, there was a sense of danger. You never knew what he might do.

Whether he would throw himself all over Ed or dump Don Rickels into the bath on the air, he a mean kid's glint in his eye at times.

Robert Thompson, Professor of Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University also a guest on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer tonight added:

He had a smirk that you never knew just what he was going to do. At the same time, he appeared comparatively safe.

In a strange sort of way, he was the comic equivalent before bed of that era of Walter Cronkite was doing after dinner in that era.

And they were, in fact, trolling some of the same waters.

Carson also attracted the world's best entertainers, whether they were pitching a new album or movie, or had come on his show -- just to talk.

Entertainers

Carson's cast of entertainers included:

Judy Garland

Bob Hope

Dean Martin

Bette Midler

Dolly Parton

Frank Sinatra

John Wayne

Bette Midler summed up her experience with Johnny by saying:

I was his last guest and it was one of the most moving experiences of my life.

He had it all, a little bit of devil, a whole lot of angel, wit, charm, good looks, superb timing and great, great class.

Guests of All Sizes, Shapes & Colors

Johnny shared good laughs and giggles with all of his guests:

Big kids, little kids

Tame animals, wild animals

The "cute" fedgling actor, Zachary La Voy (1989)

President Jimmy Carter's mother, Lillian Carter (1979)

Movie Stars

Fred Astaire, Lauren Bacall, Warren Beatty, Marlon Brando, Chevy Chase, Cher, Glenn Close, Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, Joan Crawford, Tom Cruise, Tony Curtis, Bette Davis, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Faye Dunaway, Clint Eastwood, Henry Fonda, Judy Garland, Lillian Gish, Gene Hackman, Tom Hanks, Rex Harrison, Charlton Heston, Dustin Hoffman, William Holden, Anthony Hopkins, Rock Hudson, Gene Kelly, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck, Sidney Poitier, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jimmy Stewart, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, Orson Welles, Robin Williams, Natalie Wood.

Television Personalities

Steve Allen, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Walter Cronkite, Ted Danson, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Gleason, Arsenio Hall, Pee-wee Herman, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Michael Landon, Angela Lansbury, Dean Martin, Groucho Marx, Mary Tyler Moore, Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, Jack Parr, Burt Reynolds, Don Rickles, Roy Rogers, Tom Selleck, Phil Silvers, Red Skelton, Ed Sullivan, Danny Thomas.

Musicians

Louis Armstrong, the Beach Boys, Tony Bennett, Clint Black, David Bowie, James Brown, the Carpenters, Ray Charles, Bing Crosby, Placido Domingo, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Jimi Hendrix, Lena Horne, Jefferson Airplane, John Lennon, Liberace, Little Richard, Madonna, Johnny Mathis, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Liza Minnelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, the Supremes, Lawrence Welk, Stevie Wonder, ZZ Top.

Professional Athletes

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammed Ali, Arthur Ashe, Wilt Chamberlain, Wayne Gretzky, Magic Johnson, Billie Jean King, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mickey Mantle, Joe Namath, Pete Rose.

Politicians courted him.

Politicians, Presidents & First Ladies

Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and his saxophone, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Nancy Reagan, George Wallace.

After Carson moved his show from New York to Los Angeles, every Monday night a guest host was offered.

Johnny Carson's Guest Hosts

Joey Bishop (177 times)

Joan Rivers (93 times)

Bob Newhart (87 times)

John Davidson (87 times)

David Brenner (70 times)

McLean Stevenson (58 times)

Jerry Lewis (52 times)

David Letterman (51 times)

From September 1983 until 1986 Joan Rivers became the "permanent" guest host. In the Fall of 1987, Jay Leno became the exclusive guest host.

Guest Arnold Schwarzenegger with Jay Leno

Eventually, on May 25th 1992, NBC formally turned over the reigns to Leno, Carson's "Tonight Show" successor.

Today, NBC.com >the longest-running entertainment program in American television history is in its 51st year.

Tonight, Leno skipped his traditional monologue with personal remarks about his predecessor. Jay said:

It's strange, after all these years, I still feel like a guest in his house. Because he built this place, everyone who does this for a living owes it to him. Johnny was the best, plain and simple.

Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson

"Heeeeeeere's Johnny!"

Every night at the beginning of The Tonight Show Ed McMahon would kick off the hour-long television program with a gregarious "Heeeeeeere's Johnny!".

At the end, they always left you wanting more.

Johnny, you leave this earth wishing we could have more of you.

Thank God you were on television. Just like Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy Johnny Carson re-runs will go on for generation after generation after generation. It's taken three of you, Jay Leno, David Letterman and Conan O'Brien to fill your shoes.

Carson's nephew, Jeff Sotzing said:

Mr. Carson passed away peacefully early Sunday morning.

He was surrounded by his family at his home in Malibu, California.

Johnny leaves behind two sons, Christopher, born in 1950 and Cory, born in 1953 and his wife, Alexis Maas, whom he married in 1987.

Johnny was previously married to Joan "Jody" Wolcott (1948-1963), Joanne Copeland (1963-1972) and Joanna Holland (1972-1983).

Alexis and Johnny met on the Malibu beach in the early 1980s. He was 61 when they married in 1987. She was in her 30s.

Despite the sadness and challenges associated with having been married four times, he was the first to be able to poke fun at himself in this regard.

Dressed in a tux, he said on his show: "Twenty-five years is silver, right? Fifty years is gold. I wouldn't know much about that. The furthest I got in my personal life was 'formica.'"

Last June, he actually celebrated seventeen years of marriage to Alexis Maas.

He also left behind the human laughtrack, Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (born March 6, 1923), Johnny's announcer for 30 years.

Rest in peace, Johnny ... and laughter.

Thank you for inspiring so many.

We bid you a very heartfelt good night.

Inspire & Be Inspired.

Here's to healthy, adventuresome, soulful, "going out on top" living!

~ Jennifer Carolyn King