Johnny Carson

Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings and Diane Sawyer all made their best pitch but were turned down. Johnny Carson, the man who changed forever the world of late-night talk, wasn't talking. The network news powerhouses had separately attempted to secure interviews with Carson to get him to speak about his life and his place as one of the most influential figures in TV history. But from his 1992 retirement after 30 years on"The Tonight Show"until his death in 2005 at age 79, Carson steadfastly refused to cooperate with almost all interviews, books or films that would have called on him to reflect on his past or his show, which simultaneously reflected and influenced the nation's conversation about itself.

Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings and Diane Sawyer all made their best pitch but were turned down. Johnny Carson, the man who changed forever the world of late-night talk, wasn't talking. The network news powerhouses had separately attempted to secure interviews with Carson to get him to speak about his life and his place as one of the most influential figures in TV history. But from his 1992 retirement after 30 years on"The Tonight Show"until his death in 2005 at age 79, Carson steadfastly refused to cooperate with almost all interviews, books or films that would have called on him to reflect on his past or his show, which simultaneously reflected and influenced the nation's conversation about itself.

Entertainer Johnny Carson's son was killed when his car plunged more than 100 feet down an embankment near the beach community of Cayucos, authorities said Monday. Richard Wolcott Carson, 39, of North Hollywood, was thrown from his four-wheel-drive vehicle and apparently died instantly in Friday's accident, said Officer Russ Johnson of the California Highway Patrol.

'American Masters: Johnny Carson: King of Late Night' Where: KOCE When: 9 p.m. Monday Rating: TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children)

On the face of it--and the closer you get to him--Johnny Carson seems not very different from other people. He has one best friend he trusts implicitly. He has a beautiful girlfriend he met on the beach. He drives himself to work, to the same job he's had for 24 years. He has three sons and three divorces. He works out regularly, yet smokes excessively. He's dallied with alcohol, but not on the job. He can be mischievous.

Johnny Carson and Alexis Maas, a woman he met on a beach two years ago, were married in a secret ceremony June 20, the comedian's fourth marriage, a spokesman for Carson said today in Los Angeles. The 61-year-old host of television's "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson," and Maas, a former employee of a stock brokerage firm, were married in a quiet ceremony at Carson's Malibu beach home, Carson's spokesman Jim Mahoney said. Mahoney said Maas is "about 35."

Florida Circuit Court Judge Robert C. Abel said Wednesday that an attorney for the mother of Johnny Carson's illegitimate granddaughter may come to Los Angeles and question the entertainer about financial support given the child's father, Chris Carson. Abel added that Carson fils might have to bear the travel costs for the attorney if Tanena Love Green wins her suit for more child support.

Jeff Sotzing remembers a Christmas party more than 30 years ago when he and his Uncle Johnny had a fateful chat. "I had actually run into Johnny at a Christmas get-together and told him I was going to school studying videotape editing in Pasadena," Sotzing recalled. "A few months later, he called and said this guy had just left the show and it would be a great place to work for the summer, learn all about the show and meet all the people. It wasn't just any summer job.

'American Masters: Johnny Carson: King of Late Night' Where: KOCE When: 9 p.m. Monday Rating: TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children)

JOHNNY TRIVIA: What person from Orange County made more appearances on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" than anyone else? Answer: Lido Isle's Joey Bishop, above, who made a combined 206 guest and substitute host shows. Bishop, 74, who tried to dethrone Carson but failed with his ABC show after two years, says Carson was always kind to him. And now television without Carson?

David Letterman and Craig Ferguson have signed contracts with CBS that will keep their shows, "Late Show" and "The Late Late Show," respectively, on the air through 2014. Letterman is set to become the longest-serving late-night TV host in history, surpassing Johnny Carson's 30-year run on "The Tonight Show. " What sets Letterman's run apart from Carson's is that it is divided into two distinct sections: his original "Late Night With David Letterman" run on NBC, which lasted from 1982 until 1993, and his CBS run, which began in late 1993 and is still going.

Younger audiences probably know Jack Carter best for his guest starring roles on everything from "Desperate Housewives" to Disney Channel's "iCarly. " But for baby boomers, Carter will always be the brash, antic, Brooklyn-born comedian who was a mimic as well as a singer and dancer. Just as the other comics who came to fame after World War II such as Jan Murray, Shecky Greene, Jack E. Leonard and Totie Fields, Carter was a mainstay in clubs and practically every musical variety show on TV. In fact, he said proudly, he made 45 appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show.

Maurice Hines Sr., a drummer who toured for a decade in the nightclub act Hines, Hines and Dad that helped propel his tap-dancing sons to fame, has died. He was 88. Hines died Tuesday after a brief illness at a hospice-care facility in his longtime home of Las Vegas, his family said. His sons, Maurice and Gregory, had performed professionally as the Hines Kids since they were young boys in the 1950s, tap-dancing onstage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem and touring. By 1963, his sons decided to emphasize singing in addition to dancing and asked their father to join the group.

The longtime home of the late comedian, announcer and game show host Ed McMahon is on the market in Beverly Hills at $4.6 million. The sidekick to late-night legend Johnny Carson fought a much-publicized battle in 2008 to avoid foreclosure on the residence. The seller is a family friend of the McMahons who has made improvements to the house, according to listing agent Alex Davis. The Mediterranean estate, with six bedrooms, 5 1/2 bathrooms and 7,013 square feet of living space, sits on a third of an acre with a swimming pool in the Summit, a gated community.

The last time Jay Leno said goodbye to America, it was in gala fashion, marked by high emotion, a cheering studio audience and tears. In ending his 17-year stretch on "The Tonight Show" last May, Leno gracefully honored his predecessor, the late Johnny Carson; figuratively passed the hosting baton to successor Conan O'Brien and then asked James Taylor to serenade viewers with "Sweet Baby James." Don't expect that kind of weepy, bittersweet send-off Tuesday when Leno signs off his failed prime-time program that was once trumpeted by NBC as a bold experiment that could reshape television.

Although he did other things in his 86 years, Ed McMahon, who died Tuesday in Los Angeles, will be remembered mostly as the man who sat next to Johnny Carson, except when more important celebrities came between them.

Conan O'Brien, the newly installed proprietor of "The Tonight Show" that Johnny Carson reigned over for nearly 30 years, paid tribute to the former host's sidekick during the opening of Tuesday's broadcast. "As you've probably all heard, Ed McMahon passed away last night, and this is obviously a very sad day," O'Brien said to the studio audience. "It is impossible, I think, for anyone to imagine 'The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson' without Ed McMahon. Ed's laugh was really the soundtrack to that show.