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“You have to understand,” Ed McMahon once explained. “Every day, no matter what else is going on in his life, he has to come out there and be Johnny Carson.”
Imagine meeting the biggest name in late night TV, Johnny Carson – and meeting him like this!
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“What was I doing here? I was a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School! I had sworn an oath to uphold the law, not violate it, and breaking and entering in the state of New York was a felony. As if sensing my panic, Johnny looked over at me.
“Don’t worry, kid”, he said reassuringly. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. Trust me.”
And with that, young Lawyer Henry Bushkin goes along as Johnny Carson breaks into his wife’s secret love nest, surrounded by men who are carrying guns.
Now THAT’S how to start off a celebrity memoir!
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Bombastic Bushkin’s Inside Look At Johnny Carson!
Henry Bushkin was Carson’s lawyer and confident for two decades – and he shares amazing stories about life with the “King of Late Night”!
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Johnny Carson was one of America’s most beloved Talents, and he ruled the late night airwaves for decades…and Bushkin was right there with him.
First, the excerpt from the book above is amazing: Bushkin is with Carson as Johnny and his “friends” enter his wife’s love nest! A great story in a book full of them!
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You get all of the inside stories about Johnny’s tough negotiations with NBC – and you get a LOT of inside stories about some of his female friends…
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Bushkin relates a hilarious story about Johnny’s pursuit of Joyce DeWitt, the star of “Three’s Company” – and yes, Johnny was married at the time!
Pushkin became famous when Carson began to refer to him on-air as his Attorney “Bombastic Bushkin”, who advised him to get into such “sure fire” money-making ventures as “Orson Welles Designer Jeans”, “Crazy Glue Toothpaste” and “Club Med Beirut”!
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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 14: Henry Bushkin visits SiriusXM Studios on October 14, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images)
The Battle For Johnny’s Oscar Seat!
Bushkin had to handle all of the details for every Carson appearance, such as when the Host acted as Emcee at the Inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1980, and getting Carson’s then-wife Joanna to the Oscars on time – Johnny hosted the Academy Awards many times and was considered the best Host of all time.
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One year, Johnny’s wife Joanna was running late, and when they finally arrived at the show – just moments before the live event was to begin, there was trouble!
“Suddenly, there was a problem. There were people in our seats. Kids – Jane Fonda’s kids! She was an Oscar winner and was attending the event to see her father, Henry Fonda, receive an honorary Oscar. She only had two tickets, but she didn’t want her kids to miss this, so she planted them in our seats.
“I’m sorry, but these are our seats” I said, brandishing our tickets. “You have to move them!’
“I’m not moving anybody now!” she replied with all the tenacity of a Hollywood princess who had grown into an award-winning excercise=company millionaire and Hollywood-family diva’ “The shows’ starting! Go sit down before you embarrass yourself on national TV!”
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The “Bushkin” Backlash!
I loved the book, and felt that Bushkin was honest, candid and willing to take the blame for many personal mistakes he made during the years with Carson as well…that said, there has been backlash to the book:
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“The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” host Johnny Carson (C) poses with band leader Doc Severinsen (L)and sidekick Ed McMahon, in an undated photo. REUTERS/NBC/Handout
Longtime “Tonight Show” Bandleader Doc Severinsen was asked about the controversial tell-all book on Carson, and he didn’t hold back.
“I know Henry Bushkin and I knew Johnny Carson,” Severinsen said this week, choosing his words carefully and making what appear to be his first public remarks about the book. “And the idea that anybody would ask any single person to write a book about Johnny Carson and have it be Bushkin is beyond disgusting.”
If you want to only remember the best parts of “TV Johnny”, then this is for you:
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“Heeere s Johnny!!”
There are number of ways to enjoy classic Johnny, but this huge box set on Amazon is one of the best!
This Definitive DVD Collection includes the following: 1. Timeless Moments: Capturing Johnny at his best, these 6 DVDs include classic Carson characters, The Mighty Carson Art Players, guest stars, favorite comedians and more. Timeless Moments was previously only available to Carson Club members and is now only available through the Heeere’s Johnny collection. 2. The Original Ultimate Collection: The 3 DVD collection that started it all! From the 60 s to the 90 s, this best selling collection features 7 hours of Johnny s favorite moments from three decades of The Tonight Show. 3. Stand-Up Comedians: Featuring a virtual who s-who of the funniest comedians ever to appear on The Tonight Show. Laugh along with Johnny and enjoy 20 classic stand-up routines. 4. Carson Country: Great music, hilarious tall tales and homespun humor on this one-of-a-kind collection of country legends.
And if all of this whets your appetite for late night talk show stories, there is no better one than the intrigue that surrounded Johnny’s replacement!
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The Late Shift!
This huge bestseller by Bill Carter chronicled the behind-the-scenes corporate battle surrounding Johnny Carson’s 1992 retirement as host of The Tonight Show. The book detailed the power struggle between David Letterman and Jay Leno to succeed Carson as the “King of Late Night”…with the infamous scene when Jay Leno hid in a closet to listen in on the NBC debate over who would get the coveted job!
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HBO made a great film based on the book as well…it was one of the most fascinating behind-the-scenes battles for late night of all…well, until THIS happened!
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“The War For Late Night”!
Bill Carter followed up with another incredible book about the late night wars! “The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy” is his 2010 non-fiction book that chronicles the conflict surrounding the American late-night talk show The Tonight Show involving Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno.
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Jay didn’t want to get pushed out, so he got pushed into prime time – but soon Conan was pushed out altogether! A fascinating look at the debacle surrounding The Tonight Show…where is Johnny when we need him?
Let me know what you think of America’s true “King Of Late Night!”
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