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Endpoint: Johnny Carson (TV Host)



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Videos (6)
created on: 3/06/2026
by: bob (10778)
 
 

Person properties

General info :
John William Carson (born October 23, 1925 in Corning, Iowa, U.S. – died January 23, 2005 in Los Angeles, California, U.S. (aged 79)) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962–1992).

During World War II, Carson served in the United States Navy. After the war, he started a career in radio, then moved to television and took over as host of the late-night talk show Tonight from Jack Paar in 1962. Carson received six Primetime Emmy Awards, the Television Academy's 1980 Governor's Award, and a 1985 Peabody Award. He was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987. Carson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1993.

Carson remained an American cultural icon even after his retirement in 1992. He adopted a casual, conversational approach with extensive interaction with guests, an approach pioneered by Arthur Godfrey and previous Tonight Show hosts Paar and Steve Allen, but enhanced by Carson's lightning-quick wit.

A cultural phenomenon, Carson is widely regarded as the King of Late Night Television. Former late-night host and friend David Letterman, as well as many others, have cited Carson's influence.

In October 1949, Carson married Jody Wolcott in North Platte, Nebraska. The marriage was volatile, with infidelities committed by both parties, and ended in divorce in May 1963.
On August 17 1963, Carson married Joanne Copeland. After a protracted divorce in 1972, Carson's second, Copeland received a settlement of nearly US$500,000 (equivalent to $3,848,449 in 2025), in addition to an annual hundred thousand in alimony.
In 1972, Carson announced that model Joanna Holland (née Ulrich, 1931–2025) and he had been secretly married that afternoon in Santa Monica, shocking his friends and associates. On March 8, 1983, she filed for divorce.

On June 20, 1987, Carson married Alexis Maas. The marriage lasted until his death in 2005.
Relations :
Brother of : Dick Carson
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Married to : Joanna Holland
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Item number : 72818

Submitted by : bob (10778)
on : 03/06/2026