Johnny Carson

Henry Bushkin

Oct 2013 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

“A close look at how show business power corrupts . . . The dishiest read of the year.” – Janet Maslin, “Ten Favorite Books of the Year,” New York Times
“Here’s Johnny!” Probably everyone in America knows the phrase, whether they watched every episode of The Tonight Show or none because they had to go to bed early on school nights. From 1962 to 1992, Johnny Carson and his Tonight Show dominated the American consciousness.

Henry Bushkin was Carson’s best friend and lawyer during that period, and his book is a tautly rendered and remarkably nuanced portrait of Carson, revealing not only how he truly was, but why. Bushkin explains why Carson, a voracious (and very talented) womanizer, felt he always had to be married; why he couldn’t visit his son in the hospital and wouldn’t attend his mother’s funeral; and much more. Johnny Carson is by turns shocking, poignant, and uproarious — written with a novelist’s eye for detail, a screenwriter’s ear for dialogue, and a knack for comic timing that Carson himself would relish.

“A fascinating book about a complex man.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“Like The Tonight Show, the book has many a merry moment . . . [Johnny Carson] was also one of a kind, and is missed. This book brings a bit of him back.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A People magazine Top Ten Book of the Year

Ratings and reviews

As a JC fan for many years, I was eager to read this book. Especially; since I had read that Doc Severenson had bad mouthed Bushkin for writing it. Well, I really enjoyed the read. It dragged some in places, but, I found Bushkin's analysis/telling of the life of Johnny Carson to be believeable and interesting.BTW, Severenson was hardly mentioned in this book at all. I thought that was odd. His life ended sadly and lonely. Tnx for the memories Johnny.

Johnny Carson was apparently one of those people who was driven to do what he loved, without compromise, until success was his. Bushkin's insider portrait of an incredibly complicated, talented, and pained man pulled back the curtain on a star we didn't really know before. The relationship Johnny had with his mom was sad, but I ended up gaining much respect in my memories of him, now that I know how hard it must have been for him to hold it together for all those years.

Seems like a balanced portrayal of a talented, but complex man. Easy to read and very entertaining to someone who grew up watching the "King of Late Night."

About the author

Henry Bushkin is a lawyer living in Los Angeles. For 18 years, he was Johnny Carson's personal legal adviser, fixer, confidant, and close friend.