Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson Crowned the Number One TV Icon in TV Land and Entertainment Weekly's The 50 Greatest TV Icons
Boyhood Home of Johnny Carson Purchased
Historic Properties, Inc., purchased the boyhood home of the late television personality great Johnny Carson, located in Norfolk, Nebraska in February 2005.
Historic Properties would like to see the property restored and used in some form to honor Mr. Carson and his lifetime achievements. Specific plans, however, have not been determined for the home at this time. Further details will be announced as they develop.
Historic Properties, Inc. is a private real estate development company that specializes in restoring, preserving and operating buildings of historic significance throughout the U.S. Historic Properties is currently renovating several other properties including the 1907 First National Bank building in Oakdale, California, and an 1878 Flatiron building in the historic Little Italy section of Syracuse, New York.
Source: Historic Properties, Inc.
“I’m not certain that any entertainment show can quite compare to The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Comedians and artists were ‘made’ on his show. When I received my first invitation to appear on his show many, many years ago, that was at a time when Country artists were rarely ever featured. Being on his show was like winning an industry award for me. When a country music artist from my era was a special guest of Johnny Carson, then…we knew we had made it. I’m extremely proud to have had the honor.” -- Crystal Gayle, Grammy Award winning entertainer
“Johnny Carson is one of the greatest entertainers of all time in my book. There is no, nor will there be, another like him. I have to admit that I was pretty excited to just be in the studio. That was back when ‘Going Through The Big D’ was at the top of the charts and I thought…man, I have made it! I’m gonna hang with Johnny Carson! It ended up that Johnny couldn’t make it after all and Jay Leno filled in. But, he left me a note to say ‘sorry kid…’ I’m really sorry too, cause I never had the chance to meet him.” Mark Chesnutt, who made his first appearance on The Tonight Show in 1994, shares his story surrounding his first visit to the studio:
“I was fortunate enough to be on Johnny’s show twice. The time I shared the make-up room with him is my favorite memory. He was so easy to talk to. Another interesting time from the show was when my manager and I parked our rental car in Ed McMahon’s space. We got in big trouble for that one. Johnny Carson was such a nice guy and one of the biggest influences on the entertainment world. He was an absolute leader.”
Janie Fricke, 3x Female Vocalist of the Year: “Johnny Carson was the master of television. I was fortunate enough to be on his show seven times. Being invited on the show in the first place was a true honor, but being asked back was the real thrill.
I will never forget one night when Johnny asked me to perform two songs…I knew then that the comedy guest must be bad, because they were not getting their full time. Then as I was headed to the stage, Johnny said ‘Hey Lee, only one song,’ so the comedian must have redeemed themselves.
He will be missed by all. He made us all laugh and will continue to for years to come. My memories from being on his show will always be among my favorites.” Lee Greenwood, Grammy Award winning entertainer
“Johnny Carson was a natural. He was the ‘Top Banana.’ He helped a lot of talent. Many entertainers owe their income to him. When you were a guest on his show, you wouldn’t see him until you were on stage with him. All of his questions just came off the top of his head, which is one reason he was so great. Johnny got on to me at one point for not being on his show for eight years. Of course I wanted to tell him that I had tried, but his people wouldn’t let me. I feel like I had a real friendship with the guy. He was so classy.” Ray Price, Country Music Hall of Fame Member
“We were on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and we were somewhat disappointed when Johnny was out that evening and Jay Leno sat in,” Richard laughed. “Doc Severson and the other horns players from the house band sat in and played “Some Folks Like To Steal” from our first album. They were all wearing coon-skin hats! It was pretty funny! Although I never personally met Johnny, I was a huge fan, and he’ll be missed!” Richard Young of the Kentucky HeadHunters
The Ultimate Johnny Carson DVD Collection -