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Johnny Carson, The King of Comedy (Volume Six, Episode Five) Part One

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The dark reality behind the persona of one of America’s most beloved public figures.

Johnny Carson, in the Navy.

Carson enlisted in the Navy fully intent on participating in action against either Japan or Germany.  Instead he wound up in officers training school, first in New York and then at tiny Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.  Finally in mid 1945, he shipped out on the battleship, the USS Pennsylvania, headed for the Pacific theater.  Despite atomic bombs being dropped in early August and the Japanese surrender, sporadic attacks continued, on August 12, the Pennsylvania was damaged by a torpedo.  The ship managed to make it to Okinawa, but twenty sailors were killed, the closest Carson got to mortality during the conflict.  After a short time in port, the Pennsylvania then turned around and headed to Seattle. There, Carson, an officer, was placed in charge of a troop train that not only carried veterans back to their homes in various stops across North America, but also carried the bodies of dead combatants, an odorously grim reminder that was unavoidable within the train compartments.

Carson, with his idol, Jack Benny

Writing his senior thesis on the topic of, “How to Write Comedy Jokes,” Carson listened to his own recorded tapes of the pre-eminent radio comedians of the day, Fred Allen, Milton Berle, Jack Benny and Bob Hope, endlessly studying their style intent on finding the formula that he could use for his own similar success.

Carson, hosting, “Who Do You Trust?”

“Who Do You Trust,” was both a different type of game show and a different form of television entertainment.  Groucho Marx appeared on the first breakout example of this format in, “You Bet Your Life,” a program spiced up by various hilarious Marx ad-libs.  “Who Do You Trust,” a kind of precursor to the Newlywed Game, featured couples interviewed about their lives and interests.  Johnny Carson ad-libbed hilariously and even re-enacted some of the hobbies and interests like scuba diving and race car driving in ways that were inventive.  Johnny dutifully got into an enclosed water tank on set and even crashed a small car into a stage wall during this portion of the show.  Never mind that the program was almost entirely pre-scripted, the ad-libs were contributed by writers and contestants were warned not to ad-lib themselves

Carson with his three sons, 1955

The network provided at least a foundation for success, allowing the hire of announcer Condon and Carson’s producer buddy Bill Brennan.  But once again the challenges of network television and sponsors stifled Carson’s various talents and attempted to fit him into the current variety show persona.  Although a great deal of publicity was generated, including an appearance on the cover of TV Guide, much of the focus was on Carson’s family life, with an emphasis on his wife and children.  This was ironic, because much of Carson’s free time was spent keeping late hours with broadcast cronies at various industry watering holes, his wife stuck in their home in the San Fernando Valley, raising a very demanding trio of young boys.  

Caron, publicity photo, 1957

Characteristically, Carson’s personal dysfunction did not affect either his onscreen performance or his ambition.  His management team was able to get him two weeks as a vacation replacement for Jack Paar, the current reigning host of NBC’s vaunted Tonight Show and Johnny’s marital difficulties were kept quiet, instead he cultivated a media image of a thoughtful, humble regular guy.  He made numerous guest appearances on such popular programs as I’ve got a Secret and the Perry Como Show, becoming what’s known in the industry as a “Personality.”  “Who do You Trust,” had served its purpose, Carson in a holding pattern, waiting to land bigger and better things.

Carson with Ed McMahon, shortly after their Tonight Show stint began.

This attitude also prevailed when Johnny dealt with the writers of his game show, essentially closeting himself away from them and communicating through the producer.  But one individual did manage to crack this seemingly impenetrable veneer.  When his initial announcer for the program got a job hosting another game show, this individual suggested Philadelphia television announcer and ex-Marine named Ed McMahon as his replacement.  Carson and McMahon had an immediate chemistry, Johnny literally setting the emcee’s script on fire on McMahon’s very first, “Who Do You Trust?” McMahon became more than a straight man, the butt of jokes but clearly an individual that Johnny cared deeply about. For once, this was not some manufactured TV construct.  McMahon assumed a critical role in Johnny’s life during this time period, that of his drinking buddy, usually immediately after, “Who do You Trust,” concluded.

Carson, early years of the Tonight Show.

But Paar’s fundamental angst remained and within two years, it was announced that he would leave the Tonight Show, on March 30, 1962.  He was considered such an irreplaceable fixture at the time that several major stars including Jackie Gleason, Groucho Marx, Bob Newhart, and Joey Bishop all declined an offer to replace him as the Tonight show host.  Carson himself also initially declined, believing he wasn’t ready for such a high profile, practically daily situation.  Because of the reluctance of the other potential candidates, and because the network and Carson’s manager Al Bruno were becoming more insistent once Paar had an official exit date, Johnny finally agreed.  NBC was very enthusiastic, most likely because they did not realize that, “Who Do You Trust,” was the most scripted game show on television, and they allowed Carson to fulfill the final six months of his ABC contract.  The network used various guest hosts to run out the clock until October 1, 1962, including Art Linkletter, Jerry Lewis and Merv Griffin, the latter host so good that he got his own NBC daytime show out of it.

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Johnny Carson, The King Of Comedy (Volume Six, Episode Five) Part Two

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The dark reality behind the persona of one of America’s most beloved public figures.

Johnny’s second wife, Joanne, 1960

On August 17, 1963, Carson, possibly feeling more secure professionally with more than a year under his belt at the new show, married his longtime girlfriend, Joanne Carson.  This despite years of fighting publicly, acrimonious vacations in which one of them left and went home early and numerous friends and acquaintances advising them not to tie the knot.  Even the ceremony and reception were odd.  Only a tiny number of participants witnessed the actual marriage, the couple’s parents not even invited.  The reception included only a few more individuals and was held at Johnny’s apartment, the guests mostly Tonight Show related staff like bandleader Skitch Henderson and producer Art Stark. 

Johnny’s third wife, Joanna

Joanna Carson was a former fashion model who had spent much of her life in the rarified company of extremely wealthy, sophisticated, older men.  Her companion before Johnny was the CEO and chairman of the Hertz Rent a Car corporation.  Johnny, still essentially a scotch drinking steak and potatoes Midwesterner, began to acquire a more diverse outlook courtesy of his latest wife.  Completely uninterested up to that point in travel, he began his annual pilgrimage to the Wimbledon tennis championships, featured prominently on the NBC broadcast back to the US.  He typically followed that up with several weeks on the Cap D’Antibes along the French Riviera, enjoying the fact that he went mostly unrecognized.  Instead of hard liquor he began to temper his alcohol intake with a fine Bordeaux or Montrachet.  But one constant, despite a well appointed Bel Air residence on St. Cloud Road, the Carsons never threw parties and were rarely seen socially, their house again a secluded refuge to escape from public exposure.

Johnny and frequent guest, Angie Dickinson

It was hard to feel sorry for Carson, whose womanizing was so blatant that when Joanna convened a meeting in her home of the women’s Beverly Hills charity that she participated in, Johnny would single out at least one of the participants and strongly come on to them.  Upon signing the divorce papers, Johnny turned to his now ex-wife and said, “What I’ll miss most is not being able to talk to you.”  Carson certainly made good on his word, never speaking with Joanna Carson again.

Henry Bushkin, 2014, discussing his memoir about his relationship with Carson

By then, the Bombastic Bushkin had also been reduced to non-person status.  In his tell all memoir, written in 2014, Henry Bushkin claimed that this was all due to a specific misunderstanding over the possible sale of Carson Productions without the involvement of Johnny Carson in the specific details.  Johnny was told by another business advisor that Bushkin was attempting to enrich himself at Johnny’s expense and in a very brief, intense exchange lasting only a few minutes Carson fired his advisor of eighteen years and negotiated his severance package.  This insured that the two men did not have to interact again, and they did not, with not so much as a phone call for the rest of Johnny’s life.  This, the man that Johnny Carson once described as his best friend. 

Joan Rivers got her big break on the Tonight Show, but ultimately was exiled.

Joan Rivers also was exiled when, in 1987, she accepted an offer from Fox Television to host a late night talk show that would compete with Johnny.  Rivers was already frustrated by NBC’s refusal to both offer her a contract as Johnny’s replacement host, and especially that she was not on an NBC list of stars to even be considered when and if Johnny retired.  Although other hosts and comedians attempted to compete with Johnny and still remained in Carson’s good graces, most notably Joey Bishop, Joan Rivers made the unforgivable sin of negotiating with Fox, putting together her show and never even telling Johnny about it in advance.  Her eleventh hour attempt to reach out to him on the eve of the program was rejected, assistants told that he would not take her call at any time in the future. 

NBC President Fred Silverman, 1979

If Silverman thought confronting Johnny publicly and even implying that his show was somehow deficient were effective negotiating tools, he was sorely mistaken.  Having never formally even met Carson as network president, Silverman did so on March 17, 1979.  Carson not only refused to work additional hours, he also told Silverman that he wanted off the show as soon as possible.  Although Silverman did remind him at this meeting that he had a contract through 1981, Carson publicly announced that he would be leaving the show on September 30, 1979, the seventeenth anniversary of the program.  Whether this was his actual intent, a negotiating ploy or merely a gesture designed to put an arrogant egotistical network executive in his place, the negotiations dragged on into May of 1980.  When they concluded, Johnny Carson had extracted the most favorable contract in the history of network television.  

Johnny and fourth wife, Alexis Maas

Following his retirement, Johnny Carson became even more reclusive, spending most of his time behind the gates of his massive Malibu mansion that overlooked Point Dume.  He spent a great deal of time on his private tennis court, especially built for him by NBC, one of the few of its kind in the vicinity.  His only companion, his fourth wife, who he married in 1987, Alexis Maas, a stunning blue eyed blonde he met while she was walking by his other Malibu beach house, which he eventually sold to John McEnroe. 

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Johnny Carson, The King of Comedy (Volume Six, Episode Five) Book and Music Information

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The books used to prepare this program included:

“King of the Night,” by Laurence Leamer

“Johnny Carson,” by Henry Bushkin

The music used during this podcast included:

Part One Intro: “Apolllo,” by Patrick Patrikios

Part One Outro: “Smokey’s Lounge,” by Track Tribe

Part Two Intro: “Namaster Trip,” by Ofshane

Part Two Outro: “A Kiss for Amanda,” by DJ Williams

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Elvis Presley’s Manager: Colonel Tom Parker (Volume 5, Episode 11) Part One

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The true story about the man who contributed mightily to the destruction of one of America’s greatest 20th century icons.

Elvis and the Colonel, on set.

According to Colonel Tom Parker personally, he was born in early 1900, in Huntington, West Virginia and began working in touring carnivals at a very young age.  He served in the military, eventually developed and promoted his own carnival acts and graduated to first promoting and then managing country musicians until obtaining the exclusive management contract of Elvis Presley in 1954.  While he was always able to obscure his true beginnings, his singular accent was ascribed to his origins in rural Appalachia.  In fact, although slight, his accent was Dutch because Colonel Tom Parker was not born anywhere near West Virginia, he was not even born in the United States.  He was born Andreas Van Kuijk on June 26, 1909, in Breda, The Netherlands, the seventh of eleven children of Maria and Adam Van Kuijk.

Elvis, Jailhouse Rock, 1968, NBC special

Initially conceived as a Christmas special by Tom Parker, both Elvis and the shows creative team of Steve Binder and Bones Howe agreed that they wanted a more stripped down return to Elvis’ musical roots and were able to convince Parker to generally accept moving away from Elvis singing Christmas carols, most likely because that was something Presley wanted no part of.  Once they got that general agreement, Elvis made the creative decisions on his own with a great deal of input from Binder whose perspective Presley respected.  The resulting special, with a tanned, refreshed Elvis in an especially remarkable leather outfit, among other wardrobes, performing an extended medley of some of his most popular or distinctive hits was the highest rated television show of the year, the program also a critical hit.

Graceland

With Elvis on the road and her husband engaging in various romantic adventures as a result of his newfound notoriety, Gladys Presley, already a heavy drinker, began to consume alcohol on a daily basis and abuse sleeping pills.  Quite domineering in her relationship with Vernon, it is believed as she deteriorated physically, her husband, in Elvis’ absence began to be much more physically abusive.  Her son’s fame was also troubling and overwhelming, her fear that an hysterical crowd might eventually harm or even kill Elvis.  Depressed because her neighbors disliked her habit of raising chickens and feeding them on the front lawn of Graceland, Gladys never really adjusted to her family’s radical transformation, once telling her friend, “I wish we had stayed poor.”

Elvis and Priscilla, shortly after the birth of his daughter.

While in Germany, Presley also met Priscilla Beaulieu, a fourteen year old daughter of an Air Force officer stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany.  Because of her youth, her relationship with Presley was extremely restrained until 1962, although her ability to then visit Elvis and ultimately live at Graceland while Priscilla attended a local Catholic High school, was conditional upon an agreement that the couple eventually marry.

Joe Esposito, circa 2010

Because some of the Memphis Mafia especially Joe Esposito, were conduits to the Colonel, he was fully aware of Preley’s restlessness and anger over his stalled career.  He also was mindful that at some point, Elvis’ public might completely tire of the formulaic nonsense that was now the mainstay of Elvis’ income stream.  He began discussions with NBC for a television special live performance that would be billed as Presley’s comeback as an entertainer.

Lamar Fike, circa 2005

Another close associate of Presley, Lamar Fike, was in Portland, Maine, also to help get ready for the tour.  He was attempting to get some sleep after taking a redeye from Los Angeles when there was a loud knock on his door, a voice telling him intently that the Colonel needed to see him right away, despite Fike’s protestations.  Entering the Colonel’s hotel room, he noticed other employees avoiding his gaze as Parker hung up the phone.  In an unemotional tone of voice, the Colonel explained that Fike needed to go to Memphis and be with Vernon Presley, Elvis’ father and that Elvis was dead.  Like many members of the entourage and even Elvis himself, Fike’s relationship with Parker at this point was at best, ambivalent, in Fike’s case, he frequently expressed concern over Elvis Presley’s physical condition.  Parker typically ignored such entreaties, maintaining whenever forcefully pressed on this concern “that the only thing that mattered was getting Elvis ready to appear on stage that night.”

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Elvis Presley’s Manager: Colonel Tom Parker (Volume 5, Episode 11) Book and Music Information

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The books used in this podcast included:

“The Colonel: The Extraordinary Story of Colonel Tom Parker and Elvis Presley,” by Alanna Nash.

“Careless Love, the Unmaking of Elvis Presley,” by Peter Guralnick.

“Elvis Aaron Presley: Revelations From the Memphis Mafia,” by Alanna Nash.

The music used in this podcast included:

“The Goon’s Loose,” by Nathan Moore, Part One and Part Two intros.

“Summer Solstice on the June Planet,” by Bail Bonds, Part One and Part Two, outros.

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the three stooges (volume 4, episode 7) part one

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A uniquely American institution.

The Stooges, Mid-Thirties

Columbia quickly designated “Women Haters” as the Stooges first project.  They play travelling salesmen who vow never to get married or even romantically involved.  This predictably does not last very long with each Stooge eventually charmed by actress Marjorie White and Larry married to Marjorie.  The studio was encouraged enough by this production to green light additional films.

Moe Howard

Of the six individuals who eventually comprised the Three Stooges, three members came from the same family.  The fourth oldest brother from this family, Moses Harry Horwitz was born on June 19, 1897.  Adopting the stage name of Moe Howard, he was the ringleader of the Stooges both during their act and in the various business affairs and negotiations that were an integral part of any autonomous show business enterprise.

Larry Fine

Born Louis Feinberg, in Philadelphia on October 5, 1902.  Aka, Larry Fine, this individual started his career as a talented violinist who Ted Healy signed up for his revue.  Eventually, Larry stopped performing as a musician and teamed up comedically with the two Howard brothers.

Jerome “Curly” Howard

Although legend has it that because of a lack of experience, Moe was not initially enthusiastic about Jerome, nicknamed “Babe,” by his family as the youngest of the five Horwitz brothers, joining the Stooges, in fact he suggested his brother to Healy.  Although Babe had no real acting or comedic experience, he did spend most of his free time watching his brothers rehearsing and performing and he was quite familiar with their act.  When Ted Healy was approached about this potential addition, he suggested that Jerome shave off his wavy hair and full mustache and assume the name Curly.  Somewhat quiet and reserved, Jerome Howard quickly became a mainstay of the Stooges, improvising strange mannerisms and vocal sounds that established his unique identity and popularity.

Samuel “Shemp” Howard

Although Moe did not rule out Curly’s eventual return, he immediately floated the idea of replacing him with Shemp Howard.  Shemp was in the midst of a reasonably successful career as a contract player appearing in numerous studio produced comedies, most notably in The Bank Dick with WC Fields but he quickly agreed to replace his brother in what was initially supposed to be a temporary fix.  As stipulated in their original agreement, Moe submitted a letter to Curly, formalizing Shemp’s temporary replacement which was signed in September of 1946.

Stooges, mid-Thirties, with Curly in full swing
Coinciding with these personal challenges, Curley’s physical condition began to affect his film performances, becoming increasingly evident on film.  He could no longer incorporate the physicality of previous antics, pratfalls and improvisational floor spinning.  Heavy drinking also removed his ability to make the high pitched sounds that initially made him unique.  He barely could remember his lines.  On May 6, 1946, while literally in the middle of filming the Stooges’ 97film, Half Wits Holiday, Howard suffered the first of several devastating strokes.  This medical event occurred with the movie almost complete, the ending needed to be changed so that Larry and Moe led a massive pie fight, the cast having no idea that Curly was incapacitated. 

 

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WC FIELDS (VOLUME 3, EPISODE ONE) PART TWO

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W. C. Fields, Hollywood Legend

Fields with Mae West in My Little Chickadee

To much excitement, it was announced that Fields would next team up with Mae West.  One of America’s biggest stars in the mid-thirties, West, now aged 43, had also recently been cut loose by Paramount after her popularity waned.  Months would pass before a script and director would be selected, the result of Fields’ cantankerous and territorial approach to his participation.  Surprisingly, the two actors were able to co-exist and what was eventually entitled “My Little Chickadee,” came to pass.  The film was a commercial success but West was apparently embittered by the experience in which Fields was paid substantially more, got a dubious screenwriting credit and she received poor reviews that caused Universal to pass on another more expensive option for a second film.  She would disparage Fields for the rest of her life.

WC Fields as Wilkins Micawber in David Copperfield

Charles Laughton, against his better judgment, had been persuaded to take the key role of Wilkins Micawber and after three days of shooting, the skilled actor was convinced that he was completely unsuitable to continue. Reluctantly, Selznick and director George Cukor set about getting the man they had initially contemplated casting: WC Fields.  Because he was under contract with Paramount, the actor would not come cheap and Fields, always mindful of money and sensing he had MGM over a barrel, held out for $50,000 for two weeks work.

Fields On Radio, March, 1938

With Paramount reluctant to cast him in anything tangible, Fields decided to head in a different direction and embrace the medium of radio.  By 1937, he was appearing on the prestigious Chase and Sanborn hour mostly trading barbs with Edgar Bergen’s ventriloquist dummy, Charlie McCarthy.  The radio show quickly became the most popular in the US but the pressure on Fields to perform on a weekly basis was unpleasant and as soon as he got another film from Paramount, he quit.

Fields’ grave at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California

WC Fields died on Christmas Day, 1946.  Despite the legal protestations of his wife and son, he was eventually cremated and interred in a vault in Forest Lawn Cemetery.  The plaque adorning his ashes merely lists his stage name and the years of his birth and death.  Contrary to urban myth, there is no epitaph concerning the city of Philadelphia.

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Podcast Book and Music Information and Purchase

WC FIELDS (Volume 3, Episode 1) BOOK AND MUSIC INFORMATION

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The following books were used during this podcast:

“WC Fields: A Biography,” by James CurtisW. C. Fields: A Biography

“WC Fields, By Himself,” with commentary by Ronald FieldsW.C. Fields by Himself: His Intended Autobiography with Hitherto Unpublished Letters, Notes, Scripts, and Articles

“WC Fields, A Life On Film,” by Ronald J. FieldsW. C. Fields: A Life on Film

The two pieces of music used to introduce and conclude this podcast:

“Four Way,” by William Ross Chernoff’s Nomads

Also,  “In Shadows,” by William Ross Chernoff’s Nomads