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Johnny Carson: David Letterman
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Carson was close friends with astronomer Carl Sagan, who often appeared on The Tonight Show to give presentations on astronomy. (Carson himself was an amateur astronomer). The unique way Sagan had of saying certain words, like "billions" of galaxies, would lead to Carson ribbing his friend, imitating his voice and saying "BILL-ions and BILL-ions", a phrase soon erroneously attributed to Sagan himself. According to Sagan's biographer, Keay Davidson, Carson was the first person to contact Sagan's wife with condolences when the scientist died in 1996. Also a talented amateur drummer, Carson was shown on a segment of 60 Minutes practicing at home on a drum set given to him by close friend jazz legend Buddy Rich who was the most frequent jazz musician to appear on the Tonight Show. Writer Gore Vidal, another frequent "Tonight Show" guest and personal friend, writes about Carson's personality in his 2006 memoirs.
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Carson continued the vaudeville tradition of Steven Allen. Jack Paar used the Allen mold, but was more interested in guests than schtick. After Carson, the show veered to a convention or trade show style. The vaudeville mantel moved to David Letterman. If Conan O’Brien takes over the “Tonight Show,” in 2009, a 21st century version of the Allen, Paar and Carson style may reappear on the “Tonight Show.”
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Comedian David Brenner, who made 158 appearances on The Tonight Show — 75 as guest host — recalls that after one night guest-hosting, Brenner's ratings were higher than Carson had received. The next day, producer Fred DeCordova told Brenner that Carson was on the phone.
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On 25 January 2005, two days after Carson passed away, David Letterman performed a four-item monologue written entirely by Carson. In 2005, the material was on the mark and topical. In a sense, here’s the final Carson monologue.
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