Johnny Carson, who in three decades as host of "The Tonight Show" became one of America's most influential entertainers as well as one of television's most powerful figures, died Sunday. He was 79.
His nephew, Jeff Sotzing, a former producer of "The Tonight Show," said Carson died peacefully, but declined to give a location or other details.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday January 26, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 40 words Type of Material: Correction
Johnny Carson obituary -- The obituary of late-night TV star Johnny Carson in Monday's Section A said he worked at television station KNXT when he came to Los Angeles in 1950. The station's call letters at the time were KTSL-TV.
NBC, Carson's longtime employer, said the comedian died of emphysema at his Malibu home. He had suffered a heart attack and undergone quadruple bypass surgery in 1999.
Sotzing said there would be no memorial service.
Former NBC Chairman Grant Tinker once called Carson's run on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" "the biggest and best television has ever been."
When Carson announced his retirement in 1991, another comedy legend, Bob Hope, said it was "sort of like a head falling off Mt. Rushmore."
Although Carson was not the first "Tonight" host -- Steve Allen and Jack Paar preceded him -- he carried the format to previously unimagined heights and made late-night TV an enduring institution.
Millions of fans stayed up past their usual bedtimes to watch his interviews with stars and odd newsmakers, as well as sketches involving his silly, sometimes demented characters, such as TV host Art Fern and fortune teller Carnac the Magnificent.
He also is frequently credited with giving vital early breaks to two top-rated late-night hosts -- Jay Leno and David Letterman -- as well as a legion of stand-up comics. That list includes David Brenner, George Carlin, Billy Crystal, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers and Jerry Seinfeld.
Ed McMahon, the sidekick who always introduced Carson with "Heeeeere's Johnny!" said the former talk-show host was "like a brother to me."
"Our 34 years of working together, plus the 12 years since then, created a friendship which was professional, family-like and one of respect and great admiration," McMahon said in a statement
"It's a sad day for his family and for the country," Letterman said in a statement. "All of us who came after are pretenders. We will not see the likes of him again."
Leno, who followed Carson as host of "The Tonight Show," called him "the gold standard" of television.
"No single individual has had as great an impact on television as Johnny," Leno said in a statement. "It's hard to believe he's actually gone. It's a tremendous loss for everyone who Johnny made laugh for so many years."
