It wasn't the nation's first reality show, but it helped bring a new awareness and popularity to the form. [December 1967, interview in "Playboy" magazine] Find me any performer anywhere who isn't egocentric. He was popular for being the host of "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Johnny Carson signed off "The Tonight Show" for good on May 22, 1992.For those of us who grew up in a certain era, the name "Johnny Carson" meant more than just the man. Carson had a special knack for putting people at ease, comedian Jackie Mason said. Sadly, Johnny died in 2005 at the age of 79 after suffering a three year battle with emphysema. Johnny Carson was part of American Culture. The record was broken by. Not long ago, my Facebook feed offered up a video of one of Johnny's monologues from the 1970s, and because I clicked . The value of the trust remained a secret for five years until his lawyers were required to disclose the assets in an IRS tax return. I havent seen such an abundance of material in my life! In that role, he generally is regarded as the best successor to long-time Oscar host Bob Hope. Even today I watch the reruns and listen on Sirius Radio. ", "Nobody in the world was like him," she said. TV personality Johnny Carson had an easier life on screen than off. Throughout his life, Johnny privately donated millions of dollars to a wide variety of charities. When he retired in 1992, he held the record for hosting the same network series for the longest time: 29 years, 7 months, 21 days. Happiness is seeing the muscular lifeguard all the girls were admiring leave the beach hand in hand with another muscular lifeguard. "The Johnny Carson Show" spent 39 weeks on CBS in 1955 and 1956, then he moved to New York, where he was host of ABC's quiz show "Who Do You Trust?" His tempestuous love-life, which included two high-profile divorces, became the fodder of such celebrity staples as "The National Enquirer" and later "People Magazine", and he was even the subject of a roman a clef pulp novel in the early 1970s. Carson picked up a Golden Globe nomination in 1975, three years after moving the show from New York to Hollywood. After this confrontation Carson stopped making jokes about Newton from that point until his retirement from The Tonight Show in 1992.