"Johnny Carson" by Henry Bushkin (2014)

It’s time for some light summer reading. This is a great “beach” book; also ideal for the extra wait at the airport. Henry Bushkin was Johnny Carson’s attorney/business manager for about 20 years during the 1970’s and the 1980’s. He became friends with the late night show host and was very involved in every aspect of his life; both personally as well as professionally.

The author paints a portrait of a Johnny Carson the public hardly knew. He was the gregarious, happy go lucky man we all came to know and love on television; but beneath that façade was a more complicated individual; who could go from being the nicest guy in the world, to a vindictive and petty man in a heartbeat. But that aspect is not the sole focus of the book.

Mr. Bushkin was a young newly minted lawyer when he met Johnny through a friend in 1970. So this is also an account of a young inexperienced attorney learning the ropes in one of the most competitive businesses around; the entertainment industry. It is also the story of 3 of Mr. Carson’s marriages. (Interesting note: all 4 of Carson’s wives names began with J.)

When the authors career takes off; and his friendship with Carson becomes solid; Mr. Bushkin learns that there are limits to his employer’s largesse. Everything seems free and easy, but there is always a price to be paid. As he becomes involved in every aspect of Johnny’s life; including lining up female companionship for his boss; he falls prey to the easy access he has to women. This takes a toll on Johnny’s wife; Joanna; whom the host is able to mollify by purchasing large diamonds, cars and other luxury items as a way of apologizing.

But Mr. Bushkin is caught up in the whirlwind of easy access and eventually loses his wife because of it.

The stories are fast and furious as Mr. Bushkin recounts their escapades together in Los Vegas; at the Presidential Inauguration of Ronald Reagan and Mr. Carson’s 5 year run heading the Oscar Awards. 

As things get bigger and Carson Enterprises soars, the author reaps huge financial rewards from his sometimes brilliant work. But all good things must come to an end and soon he finds himself caught between his desire to stay with Carson or to strike out on his own.

The line between friendship and employment can become blurred by many things. This is true in all of our lives. But, when you add the lure of easy money and star power to the mix, it can become an intoxicant to be avoided. Still, when all the money and power is gone, the memories that are left can never be erased. You just have to decide if it was all worth it. 

Johnny Carson and Jack Webb (196 )

This is probably the best tongue twister ever. Jack Webb and Johnny Carson wowed me with this one when I was 14 years old, and it still floors me today. It’s not really that hard to pull off;  but the part which always impressed me the most was the alliteration itself. I mean, just when you think it can’t go any further; it does.

Entertainment has changed drastically over the years. Our perception of what’s funny changes with time and fashion. But words will always be a source of fun and amusement. Just think back to Abbott and Costello with their iconic “Who’s on first?” routine, or even the Marx Brothers with their myriad word plays and double entendres. That stuff never gets old.

" A Dog Named Beau" - Jimmy Stewart (1981)

Johnny Carson used to let Jimmy Stewart read his poetry quite often when he appeared on his show. This one, filmed in July 1981 is particularly good on several levels, the most important being his delivery.

Notice that when he begins that the audience is merely indulging this aging thespian, expecting something “cute” from the old guy. They laugh; appropriately; at the right moments as Mr. Stewart recalls his beloved dog, Beau. 

What the audience didn't fully grasp at the outset was that the poem is really a eulogy, extolling his love for his companion, who is now gone. What’s more, they didn’t expect to feel anything, let alone witness someone else bear his own emotions so unashamedly, as Mr. Stewart does.

So, if you have never seen this clip, please take the time and listen to the reaction of the audience as this seasoned professional, in his own folksy way, takes the audience from laughter to tears with this paean of love for his now lost dog, Beau.

He never came to me when I would call
Unless I had a tennis ball,
Or he felt like it,
But mostly he didn't come at all.

When he was young
He never learned to heel
Or sit or stay,
He did things his way.

Discipline was not his bag.

But when you were with him things sure didn't drag.
He'd dig up a rosebush just to spite me,
And when I'd grab him, he'd turn and bite me.

He bit lots of folks from day to day,
The delivery boy was his favorite prey.
The gas man wouldn't read our meter,
He said we owned a real man-eater.

He set the house on fire
But the story's long to tell.
Suffice it to say that he survived
And the house survived as well.

On the evening walks, and Gloria took him,
He was always first out the door.
The Old One and I brought up the rear
Because our bones were sore.

He would charge up the street with Mom hanging on,
What a beautiful pair they were!
And if it was still light and the tourists were out,
They created a bit of a stir.

But every once in a while, he would stop in his tracks
And with a frown on his face look around.
It was just to make sure that the Old One was there
And would follow him where he was bound.

We are early-to-bedders at our house--
I guess I'm the first to retire.
And as I'd leave the room he'd look at me
And get up from his place by the fire.

He knew where the tennis balls were upstairs,
And I'd give him one for a while.
He would push it under the bed with his nose
And I'd fish it out with a smile.

And before very long
He'd tire of the ball
And be asleep in his corner
In no time at all.

And there were nights when I'd feel him
Climb upon our bed
And lie between us, And I'd pat his head.

And there were nights when I'd feel this stare
And I'd wake up and he'd be sitting there
And I reach out my hand and stroke his hair.
And sometimes I'd feel him sigh
and I think I know the reason why.

He would wake up at night
And he would have this fear
Of the dark, of life, of lots of things,
And he'd be glad to have me near.

And now he's dead.
And there are nights when I think I feel him
Climb upon our bed and lie between us,
And I pat his head.

And there are nights when I think
I feel that stare
And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair,
But he's not there.

Oh, how I wish that wasn't so,
I'll always love a dog named Beau.