MSNBC reporting that Johnny Carson has died

Perinquus · Post by **Perinquus** » 2005-01-23 01:53pm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

Damn. This was sudden. Apparently, he died of emphysema.

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » 2005-01-23 01:54pm

I did not know that .....

Post by **AdmiralKanos** » 2005-01-23 01:55pm

Shit. He was the original king of late night TV; I remember watching his show as a little kid.

Post by **Coyote** » 2005-01-23 02:18pm

I'll miss Carson. He was funny.

jegs2 · Post by **jegs2** » 2005-01-23 02:32pm

A truly gifted comedian -- he will be missed.

Flakin · Post by **Flakin** » 2005-01-23 02:39pm

A really funny, charming man. Goodbye Johnny.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2005-01-23 02:56pm

I grew up watching him.

His public expose and humiliation of Uri Geller was artistic, although I'm to young to have watched it, it's something that should be remembered fondly by anyone who loves to see stupidity mocked and frauds crushed.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2005-01-23 02:59pm

The man was the king of late night, period. Letterman and Leno couldn't hold a candle to what he did over his 30 year run. It's too bad he became a recluse, but at least he came out to do a Simpsons episode about ten years back.

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » 2005-01-23 03:03pm

In memoriam, some classic putdowns from 'Karnak the Magnificent'

*May a love-starved fruit-fly molest your sister's nectarines.
*May a desert weirdo lower his figs into your mother's soup.
*May the Shah of Iran seek refuge under your sister's skirt.
*May a diseased yak squat in your hot tub.
*May you get your first French kiss from a diseased camel.
*May your prize bull hate cows.
*May a crazy holy man set fire to your nose hair.
*May your Perrie water be secretly bottled in Tijuana.
*May your only daughter take up with a yak of another faith.
*May a crazed lizard unravel your underwear.
*May a desert nomad do a desert no-no to your sister.
*May a diseased Holy man soil your shelf paper.
*May your platform shoes fail you in a camel pasture.
*May a weird holy man with a rash play with your face.
*May a queasy camel freshen up your mother's evening bath.
*May a sick yak leave a gift in your sock drawer.
*May Orca the Whale relieve himself on your carpet.
*May a nearsighted sand flea suck syrup off your short stack.
*May the winds of the Sahara blow a scorpion up your sister's caftan.
*May a camel with a weak kidney condition find your Hope Chest.
*May a weird Holy man use a Black & Decker tool on your only sister.

Elfdart · Post by **Elfdart** » 2005-01-23 03:07pm

I hope they show the Tomohawk Clip. That cracks me up every time I see it. Karnak was great, too. And "Put the lid on the CHEEEE-TAAAAHS!".

Macross · Post by **Macross** » 2005-01-23 03:24pm

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2005-01-23 03:45pm

Chmee wrote:In memoriam, some classic putdowns from 'Karnak the Magnificent'

*May a love-starved fruit-fly molest your sister's nectarines.
*May a desert weirdo lower his figs into your mother's soup.
*May the Shah of Iran seek refuge under your sister's skirt.
*May a diseased yak squat in your hot tub.
*May you get your first French kiss from a diseased camel.
*May your prize bull hate cows.
*May a crazy holy man set fire to your nose hair.
*May your Perrie water be secretly bottled in Tijuana.
*May your only daughter take up with a yak of another faith.
*May a crazed lizard unravel your underwear.
*May a desert nomad do a desert no-no to your sister.
*May a diseased Holy man soil your shelf paper.
*May your platform shoes fail you in a camel pasture.
*May a weird holy man with a rash play with your face.
*May a queasy camel freshen up your mother's evening bath.
*May a sick yak leave a gift in your sock drawer.
*May Orca the Whale relieve himself on your carpet.
*May a nearsighted sand flea suck syrup off your short stack.
*May the winds of the Sahara blow a scorpion up your sister's caftan.
*May a camel with a weak kidney condition find your Hope Chest.
*May a weird Holy man use a Black & Decker tool on your only sister.

One of the most memorable was this one ...

[Carnak puts the envelope to his temple.]
"Yahoo. Serious."
[Carnak opens the envelope and reads the card.]
"Name the two stages of sex."

Drooling Iguana · Post by **Drooling Iguana** » 2005-01-23 03:47pm

Durandal wrote:The man was the king of late night, period. Letterman and Leno couldn't hold a candle to what he did over his 30 year run. It's too bad he became a recluse, but at least he came out to do a Simpsons episode about ten years back.

At least it looks like he'll finally have a worthy successor when Conan O'Brien takes over the Tonight Show in a few years.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2005-01-23 03:49pm

Drooling Iguana wrote:
Durandal wrote:The man was the king of late night, period. Letterman and Leno couldn't hold a candle to what he did over his 30 year run. It's too bad he became a recluse, but at least he came out to do a Simpsons episode about ten years back.
At least it looks like he'll finally have a worthy successor when Conan O'Brien takes over the Tonight Show in a few years.

Conan's okay, but he's not in the same league as Carson.

Post by **Broomstick** » 2005-01-23 04:15pm

I remember Carson's last Tonight Show - wow, that was a classy exit.

Actually, that whole final week he was host was one of his best runs.

Petrosjko · Post by **Petrosjko** » 2005-01-23 06:02pm

There is just no figure with his stature in the field these days. When Carson was on, he was the one people talked about over the water cooler. Johnny Carson made late night TV.

I remember those occasions when my parents would let me stay up past my bedtime, and I'd sit on the floor in front of their bed to watch Johnny Carson with them.

As I got older and insomnia kicked in, I remember that Johnny Carson was usually the high point of the night, before most of the stations went off the air.

I hadn't even thought of him for years.

"Take the Sluisson Cut-Off. Stop, get out and cut off your Sluissons."

Here's to ya, Johnny.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2005-01-23 06:23pm

Chmee · Post by **Chmee** » 2005-01-23 06:27pm

Petrosjko wrote:There is just no figure with his stature in the field these days. When Carson was on, he was the one people talked about over the water cooler. Johnny Carson made late night TV.

I remember those occasions when my parents would let me stay up past my bedtime, and I'd sit on the floor in front of their bed to watch Johnny Carson with them.

As I got older and insomnia kicked in, I remember that Johnny Carson was usually the high point of the night, before most of the stations went off the air.

I hadn't even thought of him for years.

"Take the Sluisson Cut-Off. Stop, get out and cut off your Sluissons."

Here's to ya, Johnny.

I'd totally forgotten Carol Wayne, the Matinee Lady in that 'Art Fern Teatime Movie' bit .... when I was too young to know what lust was, I was lusting for Carol Wayne.

Marksist · Post by **Marksist** » 2005-01-23 06:32pm

“It’s a sad day for his family and his country,” David Letterman said. “All of us who came after are pretenders. We will not see the likes of him again ... He was the best, a star and a gentleman.”

Very touching thing for Letterman to say.

Post by **Coyote** » 2005-01-23 08:53pm

Karnak, I forgot..! The longest sustained laugh clocked on Carson...

"Sis-boom-baa."

(Opens envelope)

"Describe the sound a sheep makes as it explodes"

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2005-01-23 09:48pm

Coyote wrote:Karnak, I forgot..! The longest sustained laugh clocked on Carson...

"Sis-boom-baa."

(Opens envelope)

"Describe the sound a sheep makes as it explodes"

LOL! I forgot about that one. Classic stuff.

And who can forget when his crew played a joke on him and made his desk out of cardboard. Carson tried sitting down and fell on his ass.

Vohu Manah · Post by **Vohu Manah** » 2005-01-23 10:14pm

Farewell to the true master of late night, you will be missed.

Slartibartfast · Post by **Slartibartfast** » 2005-01-23 10:21pm

I've never seen him, but I heard he was good, and a lot of people will surely miss him.

My condolences to everyone affected.

Post by **Kuja** » 2005-01-23 10:57pm

Karnak: Hey diddle-diddle.

*opens envelope*

Karnak: What do you say to your diddle-diddle in the morning?

CaptainChewbacca · Post by **CaptainChewbacca** » 2005-01-23 11:13pm

Coyote wrote:Karnak, I forgot..! The longest sustained laugh clocked on Carson...

"Sis-boom-baa."

(Opens envelope)

"Describe the sound a sheep makes as it explodes"

Actually, the longest sustained laugh on Carson, and television in total, was when they had the guy from the Davey Crockett TV show on demonstrating a tomohawk throw. He hit the plywood cutout of the man directly in the crotch, and it stuck there.