Cody Englander
Staff writer
In Wayne Federman’s view, everyone has been influenced by Johnny Carson.
“I know we’re in an institution. Carson was an institution!” declared Federman.
At 10:45 am. this morning in the Amphitheater, Federman and David Bianculli present “Johnny Carson at 100,” a celebration of Carson’s 30 years on television and his influence on modern stand-up comedy. The lecture continues Chautauqua Lecture Series’ Week Two theme “Comedy Now: A Week Curated with Lewis Black” in partnership with the National Comedy Center.
Carson would have turned 100 years old this October. He hosted the third iteration of “The Tonight Show” —
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” —from 1962 to 1992. “He was this bigger-than-life, very powerful late night host that dominated the space,” Federman said. “He was called ‘The King of Late Night.’ ”
Federman is a comedian who appeared on “The Tonight Show” numerous times and was the head monologue writer during the first season of “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”
Federman has been a touring stand-up comic for over 35 years and has appeared in a number of movies and television shows including, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “What We Do In The Shadows,” “Community,” “Legally Blonde,” “Step Brothers” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”
Bianculli has been a television critic since 1975. He’s written four books and currently is a guest host on NPR’s “Fresh Air.” Bianculli also teaches television studies at Rowan University in New Jersey.
Federman plans on continuing to honor Carson’s legacy during today’s lecture, noting him as the most important person in comedy before Ed Sullivan and after Lorne Michaels.
“His two predecessors were on the show for a combined eight years,” said Federman. “He did 30! He was as good as anything on prime time.”
For today’s lecture, Bianculli plans on showing a series of clips from “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”
“Carson was singular,” Bianculli said. “What I’m hoping to do with this talk is isolate these moments when Carson defined, redefined or solidified himself.”
One of those moments during Carson’s three-decades-long tenure was a segment with actor Ed Ames.
Ames and Carson threw axes at the outline of a cowboy on a wall. When the ax hit the crotch of the outline, Carson held onto the moment as the audience laughed, holding Ames back from retrieving the ax.
“Carson would not let Ed Ames near the ax in the crotch,” said Bianculli. “He’s sharpening his axes, thinking about the next joke he’s going to say, and just letting the laughs build.”
Bianculli notes this as the moment that Johnny Carson the person became Johnny Carson the personality.
However, his impact on comedy went beyond the late-night format.
“There were decades when you weren’t a comic until you could get on ‘The Tonight Show,’ ” said Bianculli. “You weren’t a good comedian until Johnny called you over to the desk for an interview.”
Carson could be a king-maker in the industry, as in 1973 when a 19-year-old Freddie Prinze performed stand-up on “The Tonight Show.”
“Carson says on the air something along the lines of, ‘It gives me no bigger thrill than to watch a young unknown comedian connect with the crowd.’ He’s into breaking comedians. This is his biggest thrill,” said Federman. “He wanted to give a watershed moment to young comics.”
According to Bianculli, one of the reasons there won’t be another Carson is because of how much the medium of late night shows has changed.
“What’s happened, as with radio branching to AM and FM and cable going to streaming, there are now micro-niches,” said Bianculli. “That all-purpose person isn’t the same as one that’s focusing on just politics or one that’s focusing on just laughs.”
