King of the Night: The Life of Johnny Carson

by Laurence Leamer

Overview

Johnny Carson was a phenomenon, the most successful performer in the history of television. For the better part of three decades, the enormously popular host of "The Tonight Show" was welcomed into millions of American homes — as a friend, an entertainer, and an inexhaustibly sage and witty commentator on our lives and times. But there was a dark side to this charming and inscrutable enigma that only those closest to Carson ever saw — a sadness, mistrust, and cruelty behind the glitter and glamour, intensified by a lifelong pursuit of power, wealth, and fame.

Based on more than two years of intensive research including more than 700 personal interviews with ex-wives, ex-friends, colleagues, and celebrities — with all-new, never-before-published material on Johnny's post-"Tonight Show" life, from his retirement through his final days — Laurence Learner's King of the Night is an intimate and powerful portrait of an unforgettable personality, at once a tribute and a revelation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780688074043
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	07/01/1989
Edition description:	1st ed
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Laurence Leamer is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including The Kennedy Women and The Price of Justice. He has worked in a French factory and a West Virginia coal mine, and was a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal. His play, Rose, was produced off Broadway last year. He lives in Palm Beach, Florida, and Washington, D.C., with his wife, Vesna Obradovic Leamer.

Editorial Reviews

The King of the Night--the entertainer adored by millions of devotees of The Tonight Show --is Killjoy of the Day, according to Leamer ( As Time Goes By , etc.) who in this lively unauthorized biography depicts ``the most uptight, nervous guy you'll ever want to meet.'' Almost every aspect of John William Carson's life is shown to be different from the way it publicly appears to be: ``the great host'' is a reclusive man who rarely invites anyone to his home; ``the loving husband'' seeks solace outside his marriage; ``the caring father'' lacks rapport with his three sons. He is the sun and everything rotates around him, yet when the camera is off, ``Johnny seems diminished, washed out.'' He does not praise his employees; silence is his highest accolade. To this workaholic who dreads vacations, The Tonight Show is everything. But to those whose livelihood depends on him--including three former wives--the man who has been seen ``by more people on more occasions than anyone in American history''--the man who insists on privacy for himself, and who becomes belligerent and obnoxious when he gets drunk--is cold, uncomfortable and isolated. Photos not seen by PW. BOMC featured selection. (July)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Why yet another Carson biography? Carson refuses to be interviewed (he's going to write his own book), so earlier efforts (by Paul Corkery, Carson: The Unauthorized Biography , LJ 9/15/87; and Ronald Smith, Johnny Carson , LJ 12/87) have suffered as biographers have had to rely on published material and interviews with friends and ex-wives. However, interest in Carson remains high, and though Leamer also had to rely on interviews (over 700) with others, his book is the closest thing to ``definitive'' until Johnny writes his own. The private Carson who emerges, cold and retiring, doesn't much resemble the public outgoing, clownish Carson. The life is all here; wives and relationships are explored. This is neither a flattering puff piece or Carson-bashing. The exhaustive research has culminated in a revealing and entertaining account. But despite how well done this is, we'll have to wait for Carson's book for the whole story.-- Rosellen Brewer, Monterey Cty. Free Libs., Seaside, Cal.

Library Journal

A thoroughly researched, objective life of the celebrity. An unflattering biography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews