The Carson Podcast

Robert Smigel and Dana Carvey discuss their Carson sketches on Saturday Night Live, Carvey's 5 Johnny appearances, and their thoughts on Carson's 30-year run.

TV Curator, James Comisar, discusses Carson personally giving him the famous Carnac turban, how he got Carson's full Tonight Show set, & the amazing TV artifacts in his Comisar Collection.

Gabe Kaplan discusses his 40 appearances on Carson's Tonight Show, 18 times guest hosting the Tonight Show, how going on Carson led to Welcome Back Kotter, Battle of the Network Stars and Robert Conrad, friendship with Howard Cosell, Bob Hope, & Groucho Marx.

Barry Gibb discusses Carson, Bee Gees, brother Andy, Streisand, McCartney, Dolly, Letterman, Leno, Hope, Burns, & being knighted by Prince Charles.

Tina Sinatra discusses Johnny Carson, her famous father, Don Rickles, Sammy Davis Jr, Suzanne Pleshette, David Janssen, and Dean Martin.

Richard Lewis discusses his Carson appearances, nearly getting banned, an awkward airplane flight involving Carson, going on Letterman's NBC show, David Brenner's advice & Larry David.

Carol Burnett returns to discuss Johnny Carson, working with Carson on The Garry Moore Show,the Carson appearance discussing her daughter's substance abuse issue, Carol Wayne, & Jimmy Stewart.

Jan Schwarz discusses her 15 years at the Tonight Show, her Carson interactions, working with Bobby Quinn, Carson's loyalty, the issues with sketch rehearsals, & Carson having her on the show on her final day working.

Roger Cortes discusses working on The Tonight Show, the famous Malibu Restaurant sketch with Betty White, Tony Bennett, Linda Ronstadt, Alan King, Shelley Winters, Fred de Cordova, & Joey Bishop.

Cowboy poet, Baxter Black, discusses his Carson appearances reading cowboy poetry, why it took years to get booked on Carson, turning down Johnny's request to do the show more often, & crying when Carson passed away.

Franklyn Ajaye discusses his Tonight Show appearances, Carson's helpful advice, Why Make Me Laugh was more impactful than going on Carson, Richard Pryor, Freddie Prinze, & the 1976 movie Car Wash.

Cathy Guisewite discusses her Carson appearances, Johnny being a fan of the “Cathy” comic strip, Carson visiting her before the show, being a guest during the final months of Carson's Tonight Show, & her friendship with Charles Schulz. 

Don Mischer discusses working with Carson on the 1993 Kennedy Center Honors, Bob Hope's 90th Birthday featuring Carson, asking Carson during  retirement to host the Oscars and Emmys, Don Rickles, & Garry Shandling.

Rona Barrett discusses going on Carson's Tonight Show, working with Tom Snyder, Steve Lawrence, Mae West, Frank Sinatra, Cher, Eddie Fisher, Michael Landon, and much more.

Pete Hammond discusses being an NBC Page, Johnny Carson, Ed McMahon, working at the Arsenio Hall Show, Lauren Bacall, Mel Brooks, & Bette Davis.  

Carson Writers Round Table 3 with Tony DeSena, Andrew Nicholls, & Darrell Vickers discussing writing meetings at Carson's home, Misery Bingo, buzz words to elicit laughs, & writing Carson's famous long intro for Bill Clinton.

Saundra McClain discusses working on Carson's NY Tonight Show, her funny incident with Carson, Ed McMahon, Joanne Carson, Sidney Poitier, & Paul Newman.

Brian Ross discusses his NBC News 1980 investigative report on Wayne Newton and the mob, talking to Johnny Carson, Newton and Carson bidding on the Aladdin Hotel, & Newton suing Ross and NBC.

Albert Fisher discusses working with Carson & Ed McMahon, his 5 years at the Merv Griffin Show, Richard Pryor, Lucille Ball, 1962 NY World's Fair, Carol Channing, Red Skelton, & Jonathan Winters.

Famed Dodgers peanut vendor, Roger Owens, discusses how his 1976 Carson appearance changed his life, teaching Carson how to throw peanut bags, Mel Brooks casting him in a film, & being a judge on The Gong Show.

Carson Writers Round Table returns with Darrell Vickers, Tony DeSena, & Andrew Nicholls discussing writing for Carson, their favorite sketches, joke topics that were off-limit, & why writing Carnac jokes were hard.

Marc Summers discusses interviewing Carson, visits to Carson's show, working with Ed McMahon, Jack Benny, Andy Kaufman, Frank Sinatra, Joan Rivers, Sonny & Cher, & his infamous Leno appearance with Burt Reynolds.

Richard Zoglin discusses Carson, his definitive Bob Hope biography “Hope”, book “Comedy on the Edge: How Stand-Up In the 1970's Changed America”, David Letterman, Arsenio Hall, Tom Snyder, & Robin Williams.

Tom Dreesen returns to discuss Carson guests Richard Jeni, Michael Keaton, Jay Leno, Johnny Brown, Maureen Murphy, David Letterman, Liz Torres, Richard Belzer, Lola Falana, Johnny Yune, Garry Shandling, & Bob Hope.

Scot Morris discusses his 7 Carson appearances, being the games editor of Omni Magazine which Carson was a big fan of, Jerry Seinfeld, & Garry Shandling.

Joe Drago discusses working on Carson's Tonight Show, Johnny's famous cigarette box and lighter being stolen, Ed McMahon, Peter Lassally, John Denver, & Fred de Cordova.

Cheryl Ladd discusses going on Carson, Bob Hope, Carol Burnett, Gene Kelly, guesting on The Muppet Show, Gregory Peck, & Battle of the Network Stars.

Shelley Herman discusses being an NBC page in Burbank, Carson's Tonight Show, Freddie Prinze, Jimmy Stewart, Redd Foxx, Janet Leigh, Andy Kaufman, & Buddy Hackett. 

Michael Klein discusses being an NBC Burbank exec, his Carson encounters, Frank Sinatra going on Carson in 1976, Muhammad Ali, Lucille Ball, Redd Foxx, Don Rickles, Joe Namath, Nell Carter, Fred Silverman, Gary Coleman, & Brandon Tartikoff.

Woody Woodbury discusses following Carson as host of “Who Do You Trust?”, his friendship with Ed McMahon, Don Rickles, being in the Marines with Ted Williams, Jerry Lewis, & Steve Allen.

Fred Kayne discusses his 16 years as Carson's stock broker, playing tennis with Carson, Don Rickles, John DeLorean, & his wife's memorable visit to Carson's home.

Peter Poriss discusses his four Carson appearances, his 1971 best selling book “How to Live Cheap”, upsetting guest Tony Randall, & telling Carson viewers not to buy his book.

Alan Hamel discusses Carson, being mentioned in Carson's monologue, his wife Suzanne Somers' Carson debut, hosting the Alan Hamel Show, being called The Johnny Carson of Canada, Steve Allen, Carol Wayne, Groucho Marx, & Rodney Dangerfield.

Robert Shields discusses his 4 Johnny appearances as part of the mine duo “Shields & Yarnell”, Groucho Marx, Marcel Marceau, Flip Wilson, Cher, Hope, & Sinatra.

Joan Van Ark discusses appearing on Carson, Dom LeLuise, Richard Chamberlain, Michael Landon, Ava Gardner, & Battle of the Network Stars.

Cathy Rich, daughter of Buddy Rich, discusses her Carson appearances, Carson's friendship with Buddy, Carson speaking at Buddy's funeral, Judy Garland, & Frank Sinatra.

Susan Sullivan discusses Carson and her 19 appearances on Carson's Tonight Show, Joan Rivers, Garry Shandling, Cary Grant, & Charlton Heston.

Suzanne Charny discusses going on Carson, her friendship with Sammy Davis Jr, doing Bob Hope specials, Bob Fosse directing her in Sweet Charity, & dancing with Danny Kaye.

Todd Yasui discusses working for Helen Kushnick at Leno's Tonight Show, Carson leaving, booking the infamous Hugh Grant appearance, having guests that Carson wouldn't have on, and his 5 years as Leno segment producer.

Dr. Michael W. Fox discusses his Carson appearances, Shelley Winters, Fred de Cordova, Dick Cavett, and being on with guest host Kermit The Frog.

Remi Messenger discusses working at Carson's Tonight Show in NY, Doc Severinsen, the show's Burbank trips, Joey Bishop, & the Carson writers.

Carson Stage Manager Round Table with Kevin Quinn and Dan Ford. Topics include Carson, Rodney Dangerfield, Walter Matthau, Ray Charles, Mel Brooks, anniversary parties, & both being guests on Carson's show.

Dan Pasternack returns again to discuss Carson, Jonathan Winters, Joan Rivers, Milton Berle, Jay Leno, Carol Burnett, and Mel Blanc.

John Mendoza discusses his Carson appearances, being Carson's NY chauffeur,  Fred de Cordova, going on Letterman, Ed McMahon, Jay Leno, & Larry David.

Karen Morrow discusses going on Carson, Buddy Hackett, singing on Ed Sullivan, Joan Rivers, Jim Nabors Hour, Dick Shawn, President Lyndon Johnson, & Sid Caesar.

Carson stand-up comic round table with Mark Pitta, Al Lubel, & John Wing discussing appearing on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. Topics include how they got booked on Carson, backstage stories, Robin Williams, & favorite Carson guests growing up.

Tim Reid discusses his Carson appearances, WKRP in Cincinnati, The Richard Pryor Show, his comedy team with Tom Dreesen, Frank's Place, Della Reese, & Robin Williams.

Mark Simone returns to discuss Johnny Carson, Skitch Henderson, Jackie Mason, Ed Sullivan, & Rodney Dangerfield.

Dan Pasternack returns to discuss Carson's Tonight Show, Jonathan Winters, Joan Rivers, Jay Leno, Bonnie Hunt, and Carol Burnett.

Irving Davis returns again to discuss working for Carson, Joan Rivers, Bob Hope, Della Reese, Milton Berle, Linda Hopkins, Wayne Newton, and Jay Leno.

Carson talent coordinator round table with Paul Block, Pat Bradford, & Howard Papush discussing working for Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. Topics include favorite guests they worked with, challenging guests, & discovering new talent.