Johnny Carson

By: Henry Bushkin

Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg

“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

The Life and Death of johnny Carson, no great loss

Johnny Carson”s death was no great loss to humanity. He showed the truth in the old saying, if you want a friend? Get a dog. He was not a good friend, husband, or father.

Learning that Johnny’s Mom was so awful

I loved Johnny Carson, he made me laugh so much from my teens until he retired!
I enjoyed learning about Carson’s back story, this accounting of his life seemed fair and interesting!
If you watched the Tonight Show and Carson, you will enjoy and be stunned through this entire book!
I highly recommend it!

well written and the narrator had a good voice. interesting biography and well paced. Will look for similar biographies.

well written and the narrator had a good voice. interesting biography and well paced. Will look for similar biographies.

Carson was amazing

Enjoyed the story and insight regarding Johnny Carson. However, since this is told by his lawyer it is incomplete and one sided. Henry Bushkin, the author, comes across as conceited and disrespectful.

Great Listen

Carson may have been a prick but an entertaining one nonetheless!!! Laughed out loud many times.